A Raeford man was charged with murder Tuesday, four days after he ran over a (black) man suspected of trying to rob his wife at knifepoint outside a Fayetteville pizzeria.
Stanton Moretti Jr (pictured right)., 41, of 119 Raymond St., has been charged with first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. He was released Monday on a $25,000 bond on the assault charge, and police said he would surrender Wednesday morning on the murder charge.
Moretti’s wife, Anna Moretti, was outside Primo Pizza on Yadkin Road Friday night when Aaron McLeod approached her and tried to rob and stab her, police said. Anna Moretti called out to her husband, who came outside and fired two warning shots from his handgun, police said.
McLeod fled on foot down Horseshoe Road, and Stanton Moretti got into his GMC Yukon, caught up to McLeod and struck him several times with his vehicle, police said.
Investigators declined to say whether a knife was found near McLeod’s body or between the restaurant and where he was run over.
McLeod, 28, of 412 Horseshoe Road, died Monday at UNC Hospitals.
Stanton Moretti couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, and Anna Moretti declined to comment.
McLeod’s father, Gilbert McLeod, said he wants to see Stanton Moretti brought to justice.
“I wouldn’t even run over a dog that way,” McLeod said. “I would want to see justice done, and him (Moretti) to get the full extent of that the law can get to him, because you just don’t do this. You don’t take the law into your own hand.”
McLeod said he saw his son in the hospital Monday before he died.
“I had a chance to talk with him,” he said, fighting back tears. “I was able to tell him (Monday) morning that I loved him and (that) this was not his fault.”
Moretti also was arrested in September on charges of assaulting a female and misdemeanor child abuse. Several misdemeanor charges against McLeod, including larceny and shoplifting, had been dismissed, according to a criminal records check.