Teens — one 13 — charged in deaths of two North Carolina brothers, sheriff says
Two brothers were found dead in a home on Tuesday, authorities in North Carolina said. Now teenagers nearly half the age of the victims have been charged with their murders.
Derrick Deshawn Hunt, 19, and a 13-year-old juvenile were charged with first-degree murder, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Friday. Hunt also faces charges for conspiracy and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
The sheriff’s office did not name the younger suspect, who is a minor.
“Some have questioned our aggressive enforcement efforts regarding drug offenses in the county as this is yet another case that has a drug component attached to it,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in a statement. “Unfortunately, some of our youth continue to take the wrong road and while this murder was an isolated incident, no one deserves to be killed in such a manner.”
Deputies responded to a home in Lumberton — 30 miles south of Fayetteville — on Tuesday, according to a previous statement from the sheriff’s office.
Frank Thomas, 34, and Adam Thomas, 33, who were brothers, were reportedly already dead. Police haven’t released how the Thomas brothers died.
Two days later at around 5:45 p.m., deputies arrested the teenagers at a home roughly 10 miles away in Rowland, according to Friday’s statement.
The sheriff’s office said Hunt is being held without bond on the murder charge. He received a $1 million bond on the remaining charges.
The 13-year-old is reportedly being held at a Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
Law enforcement expect more charges will follow, according to the statement. The investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published October 18, 2019 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Teens — one 13 — charged in deaths of two North Carolina brothers, sheriff says."
