Last Sunday, the family of Patrick McClendon reported him missing from Lakeview Drive in Marshville, NC. Tony Blakeney, a friend of McCClendon's- was aware of the search and found the car McClendon was last seen driving- hidden on the Blakeney family's property, located on Eliza Rushing Road in Marshville. At around 5:45 pm yesterday, a 911 call was made to report the found car to police.Meanwhile, about a dozen of McClendon's friends and family went to Blakeney's house because they heard the car was found. While there- the group began to accuse Blakeney and his brother Shelton Blakeney of having something to do with McClendon's disappearance.
The group allegedly began punching and kicking Tony Blakeney, which caused fatal injuries. A Union County Sheriff's detective, responding to the initial 911 call, arrived to find the worked up crowd, who then focused their anger on the officer. The deputy immediately called for back-up and when officers finally secured the scene, they found Blakeney, lying on the ground, seriously injured. Blakeney was transported to CMC-Union, where he later died from his injuries.
As Sheriff's investigators and members of the SBI processed the crime scene- they got a telephone tip from a person who had information about the McClendon disappearance. After Deputies met with Leonard Staton, 18 (Shown Left) and charged him with the murder of Patrick McClendon. From the information Staton gave officers, police found McClendon's body in a wooded area near the Blakeney house.Authorities do not believe Tony Blakeney had any connection to the murder of Patrick McClendon. "It appears that he was simply trying to notify authorities about finding the car," said Sheriff Eddie Cathey. "Instead, this group of people decided to act on inaccurate information and conjecture, which resulted in the tragic death of Tony Blakeney."
Deputies charged ten individuals, ages 16-30, in the murder of Tony Blakeney. They are all being held without bond in the Union County jail, pending a district court date of October fourth. Arrested and charged with the murder of Tony Blakeney are: Brandon McClendon of Marshville, Rick Nelson of Marshville, Jermaine Howard of Wingate, Rodney Belk Jr. of Marshville, Shaun Burns of Peachland, Curtic White of Monroe, Timothy Streater of Marshville, Wendell Rovinson of Monroe, Terry Barrino of Monroe, and Terry McClendon of Marshville.
Authorities said they believe McClendon had been dead for several days and that the killing did not occur on the Blakeney property. They recovered a small-caliber handgun believed to be the weapon used to kill McClendon. Source: WSOC-TV