Photo: Branson Lambert
ASHEBORO — An Asheboro man was sentenced to death by a Randolph County jury last week.
Branson Lambert received that sentence following a trial that found him guilty in the 2021 killing of Dillion Wirt.
Lambert, now 26, was convicted of first-degree murder, with the jury recommending the death penalty.
The shooting took place in the overnight hours Feb. 7, 2021, in Asheboro. Police reports say that the shooting occurred at a Farr Street address.
Wirt’s body was located in Moore County at the former Glendon Pyrophyllite Rock Quarry. He was 23 years old.
Lambert was arrested later that day in Virginia. Court records show he was 21 years old at the time of his arrest.
Lambert will be held on death row at the state penitentiary in Raleigh. Experts said death-penalty cases often last for years before any execution takes place. The last execution in North Carolina came in 2006.
Lambert is a former Uwharrie Charter Academy wrestler.
There’s more to be resolved regarding Wirt’s death. Jessica Lynn Loflin was charged with accessory after the fact and that’s a pending case.
