Monica Shepard, wearing all black at right, talks to neighbors as Pender County Sheriffâs deputiesâ vehicles are parked behind them. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy Kelly Estes)
PENDER COUNTY â Two men facing criminal charges for confronting a Black teenager at his Pender County home with firearms last spring were found not guilty on Thursday, Feb 18.
Former New Hanover County Sheriffâs deputy Jordan Kita
led an all-white crowd on a search for his missing sister on May 3, 2020, and approached the home of Monica and Dameon Shepard, who had no ties to the girl. Kita was off the clock, yet carried a weapon and wore his uniform.
Wilmington StarNews
A 28-year-old Wilmington man was convicted of two counts of armed robbery Thursday, according to a press release from District Attorney Ben David’s office.
Jonathan Omar Kelly was convicted of robbing the Phoenix Travel Center located on Highway 210 in Pender County on Oct. 14, 2019.
According to the release, he entered the building with his face and hands covered and pulled a handgun on the two clerks working at the counter. He demanded they empty the three registers and stole $1,334 before exiting the store on foot.
The incident was recorded on the store’s video cameras and several eyewitnesses chased Kelly to the I-40 intersection, where they lost him after he fled on foot down the interstate embankment. One of the eyewitnesses attempted to block the getaway car while it was parked on the exit ramp, but it also escaped.
Wilmington StarNews
Jordan Kita, a former New Hanover County Sheriff s Office deputy who was terminated for his alleged involvement in an armed incident, is halfway through his trial.
Kita, 24, is accused of leading an armed group that showed up at the wrong house in Pender County looking for his missing sister.
Kita is charged with forcible trespass, breaking and entering, and willful failure to discharge duties.
According to the New Hanover County District Attorney s Office, the first half of the trial was completed in December, but was sidelined by COVID when the second half of the trial was set to take place. Further details about why the trial was paused were not immediately available.
Devon Scott, a former Wilmington mayoral candidate, has been indicted by a grand jury for the charge of second-degree sex offense.
Samantha Dooies, assistant to District Attorney Ben David, said Scott was indicted on Nov. 30, which moved his case to the administrative calendar. His case is next slated to be in court on Feb. 8 in New Hanover County, but Dooies said it is unlikely he will appear in court then.
“The (Administrative) Court is setting when the exchange of discovery takes place, we await lab results in applicable cases, witnesses are identified and interviewed, etc.,” said Dooies. “The case will remain in (Administrative Court) until it is arraigned, at which point Scott will have to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.”
Wilmington District Attorney Ben David has tested positive for the novel coronavirus after a Wilmington visit with Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Chief Johhny Jennings, Judge Elizabeth Trosch and Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather. (Port City Daily/Mark Darrough)
The story below is courtesy of Port City Daily’s media partnership with WECT, written by anchor Frances Weller. The video can be viewed on WECT’s website
as well.
WILMINGTON District Attorney Ben David said he has tested positive for COVID-19 following a meeting last week with a group from Charlotte here on a “site visit.”
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, Judge Elizabeth Trosch and Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather flew to Wilmington last Wednesday for a meeting hosted by David on youth violence and childhood trauma.