Suspect sought in 2009 fatal shooting of soldier in Spring Lake

July 15, 2011

Cumberland County homicide detectives are trying to find a man, believed to be in New York City, who is accused of aiding another man in a 2009 fatal shooting at a bar in Spring Lake.

Warrants are on file charging Tobijah Nelson, 28, with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of a Fort Hood soldier who was attending a birthday party for a friend, said Debbie Tanna, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office.

In recent months, detectives have appeared on several TV network shows in an effort to find Nelson, Tanna said.

That led to a tip that Nelson, a Jamaican national who is in the country illegally, had been seen recently in New York City, Tanna said.

The shooting happened March 29, 2009, at the Ikola Jamaican Lounge, Tanna said.

Nelson and 24-year-old Demar Bryan, described as club regulars, began arguing outside the club with a woman, Tanna said.

The soldier, Charles Clemens, 24, came to the woman's aid, Tanna said, and was drawn into the argument.

Clemens was in the club, on the dance floor, when Bryan opened fire, hitting the soldier and his friend, Arthur Mwebe, Tanna said.

Bryan and Nelson left the club, she said.

Several months later, Bryan was arrested in Sebring, Fla. He was carrying false identification and told investigators he was moving to Miami.

He was returned to Cumberland County and is in jail awaiting trial, Tanna said.

Anyone with information about Nelson is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 323-1500.

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