Shooting victims of store robbery mourned

Friends and family mourned the deaths of Alexander “Skip” Wade and Phillip Johnson at memorial services this weekend.

Johnson, store owner of the Week in Treasures store in Cedar Grove, and Wade, a former Orange County investigator, were shot and killed Jan. 25 at Johnson’s store, according to a press release from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The store was also robbed of a cash register containing money, the press release states.

The sheriff’s press release stated deputies arrested Curtis K. White, 18, and Ladell Alverez Faucette, 22, Friday, and charged the men with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Both White and Faucette are being held, pending a first appearance in Orange County court.

White and Faucette have also both been charged with one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon in a separate armed robbery that was reported on Jan. 24 at the Sam’s Food Mart located on U.S. Highway 70 in Mebane.

Johnson, 52, and Wade, 68, were both members of the Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill chapter of the American Poolplayers Association. Johnson joined the association in 2009, and Wade joined in 2003.

Both men played pool together on the team “Top Dawg” at Oscar’s ‘Q’ and Bar in Chapel Hill every Tuesday night, said Kimberly Ramsey, league manager for the APA chapter.

“Their pool team was like a second family, and they will be missed,” she said.

Skip was the captain of the “Top Dawg” team, which competed in the APA national championships in billiards held in Las Vegas last year.

The association will hold a memorial 9-ball tournament for the two men Friday night at Oscar’s. The event will be coordinated by members Susann Broyal and Tracie Rufini.

“They both meant a lot to the APA,” Rufini said. “Everyone at the APA knew them.”

All proceeds from the event will go to Johnson’s family to help with the costs of his funeral.

“Some of the players who were close with Skip and Philip wanted to do something for these families,” Ramsey said.

The APA hopes to organize a larger billiards event to benefit both families later this month, Ramsey said.

“Skip and Philip were both dearly loved by everyone here,” she said.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.