Man accused of murdering hostages appears in court in Gaston County

GASTONIA, NC (WBTV) – The Gaston County man accused of holding several people hostage before reportedly shooting and killing one of them faced a judge in a Gaston County courtroom on November 6th opposite.

David Pace is charged with multiple crimes following the incident, including first-degree murder and kidnapping.

It happened in March at a home on Chrisco Lane.

[Police: 1 dead, 2 rescued, 1 in custody after domestic incident at Gaston Co. home]

Pace was scheduled for an arraignment hearing today where he was expected to plead either guilty or not guilty; However, he did not enter a plea at all.
Instead, the arraignment will now take place in February.
It was postponed for two reasons: First, Pace was just assigned a new attorney. And he racked up several new charges while behind bars in Gaston County.
In court, the state said Pace was charged with breaking and entering, breaking and entering and possession of burglary tools while in prison.
According to Gaston County Court records, Pace was also charged with criminal interference with the prison fire protection system.

It all started in March when a neighbor called 911 to report a disturbance at a home on Chrisco Lane in Gastonia.

[Related: Violence a family has been dealing with for years ends in Gaston Co. shooting]
Police responded and found Pace, his girlfriend Erica Welch and two other people inside the home.
They reportedly told police everything was fine and the police left.
Shortly thereafter, a second 911 call came from a neighbor and police visited the home a second time.
When officers arrived, they said they heard several gunshots, including the shot that killed Welch.
Two bullets were also fired in the direction of the officers taking cover.
Gaston County officers entered the home and arrested Pace. He has been in the Gaston County Jail ever since.

Ultimately, the judge ruled that Pace’s next court date will be in February.

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