A rural eastern North Carolina sheriff is speaking out after a sting of violent crimes, many involving teenagers.
“What I find to be very heartbreaking in this day and time is that over the past three weeks, my staff has arrested four teenagers for violent crimes, shooting into residences and shooting other people, and even murder,” said Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin. “That's heartbreaking. And there's got to be a solution to this problem.”
Over the weekend two people, including a 15-year-old, were arrested in connection with a homicide in Bertie County.
Ruffin said 16-year-old Anthony Parker and his mother, Tiffany Parker, were found with gunshot wounds in Lewiston. Anthony Parker was killed and Tiffany Parker is hospitalized with serious injuries. A 15-year-old was arrested for murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury on Sunday and the sheriff said 38-year-old Joe Clark Jr. was also arrested in the case on an accessory-after-the-fact charge, with warrants alleging he helped the teen leave the scene and avoid arrest.
Ruffin said the surge in youth crimes extends far beyond county lines.
“This is not just a Bertie County issue that I am seeing the trend of teenage violence throughout our state, but we also seeing the trend of teenage violence throughout the nation, and oftentimes we kind of hear the quote that it all starts at home. But from what I am seeing is that a lot of teenagers have been raised in a suitable household, but in some of these rural areas like Bertie County, we don't have the resources and we don't have the funding that some other areas have, which may lead our youth to find interest in doing things that does not represent them in the way that they were raised,” he said.
While the North Carolina Division of Juvenile Justice has historically classified the vast majority of local juvenile complaints as minor or property-related, recent severe cases have shifted local metrics. State-level data from the 2024 NCSBI Annual Summary shows statewide arrests for juveniles under 18 committing violent crimes spiked by 10 percent.
Also in 2024, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Violence Profile put the Bertie County's overall violent crime rate at roughly 10 percent higher than the North Carolina state average.
In Bertie, there are several other recent cases involve young people. Last month, two teenagers were arrested in a shooting south of Windsor. Just two weeks ago, a 16-year-old faced charges for shooting into two homes.
Ruffin emphasized that community safety remains his department's main focus.
“I want you and your family to feel safe in your home and I want you to feel safe in your community,” he said, “I want you to know that every day that my staff and I spend numerous hours that the public don't see working on cases to seek justice for family, for friends and the community that have been victims of violent crimes.”
The sheriff also announced major breakthroughs in other cases from earlier in the year. Ruffin said an arrest has been made in the January murder of Tahlik Deloatch in Kelford. He was found dead in a crashed, bullet-riddled car on Harrell Siding Road near Highway 11. With help from the SBI, the FBI, and other agencies, 18-year-old Shawrun Maggette of Kelford was identified as a suspect. He was already in custody on unrelated gun charges. He was charged on Monday with the murder of Deloach, and Ruffin said others are expected to be arrested.
On March 1, Paul Dudley was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds at the Cashpoints ATM at the Valero Gas station on Commerce Street in Aulander. 27-year-old Darquail Wilkins was identified as a suspect, also with the help of the FBI and SBI, and on Friday warrants were issued for being an accessory after the fact. He has not yet been arrested. Charges against others involved are expected.
Sheriff Ruffin pledged to use every available resource to end the recent wave of violence.
