Hillsborough man shoots girlfriend, is charged with first-degree murder

A Hillsborough man who last week told 911 dispatchers that he shot his girlfriend has a criminal history dating back decades, according to police records.

Christopher Eugene Rone, 41, of 5507 N.C. Hwy. 86 N. is accused of slaying Custain Levoya Crisp, 33, of Cedar Grove, last Friday.

Orange County Sheriff Investigator Dawn Hunter said Rone called 911 at 11:15 p.m. and said he had shot and killed his girlfriend.

Rone is now being held in Orange County Jail without bond.

Rone’s criminal record includes a 1989 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon and for driving while intoxicated.

He also had his driving licence revoked in 1998. In 1999, Rone was convicted of habitual impaired driving in Person County, according to Department of Correction Records.

Rone is facing first-degree murder charges for Crisp’s death. Under N.C. law, that charge that can lead to punishments of life in prison or the death penalty.

“Deputies arrived to the scene and took him into custody without incident,” Hunter said.

She said they found Crisp dead on arrival at the scene with one gunshot wound.

Hunter said the two weren’t living together at the time of the shooting, but they were in a relationship.

Violent crime in Orange County is rare, with a rate of only about 0.2 percent in 2010, according to N.C. Department of Justice data.

Mani Dexter, Rone’s attorney, said she was hired to represent Rone by the district’s public defender office because of a conflict of interest within the office.

The public defender office was representing Crisp on a separate charge before her death, which means that someone else must represent Rone, Dexter said.

“Because they were representing her, they can’t represent him,” she said.

Rone’s next court date is set for the morning session of Jan. 30.

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