Man charged with murdering cousin in Newport parking lot

A Newport man was charged Tuesday with fatally shooting his older cousin Monday morning in the parking lot of the Newport Transit Center.

Sylvester Tremaine Jones, 37, was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm in the death of Terrell E. McIntyre, 39.

Investigators arrested Jones on Monday night after McIntyre was found dead of gunshot wounds just before 11 a.m., the Washington County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Deputies were called to the parking lot for an "unknown medical situation" after a witness saw McIntyre slumped over in the driver's seat of an SUV. They found the driver's side door open with McIntyre's legs hanging out of the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. Deputies found .22-caliber casings in the SUV and on the ground.

The witness said he saw a man leave the area 20 minutes earlier, and surveillance footage showed a man walking from the lot toward Maxwell Avenue, according to the complaint.

Additional footage shows a man who is believed to be Jones get into the passenger side of the SUV, then leave 19 seconds later and walk out of view of the camera.

Investigators tracked the suspect to a home in the 1700 block of 1st Avenue, a few blocks from the shooting scene.

Clothing matching the clothing worn by the suspect in the security footage was found in a laundry basket, the criminal complaint said.

According to the complaint, Jones told police he shot McIntyre eight to 10 times. Seven bullet fragments were recovered from his cousin's body.

Jones reportedly said he had exchanged text messages with McIntyre about meeting at the parking lot and that McIntyre was supposed to bring Jones to a Target store.