Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

North Carolina Sheriff's Deputy Charged After Leading Armed 'Mob' That Tried To Force Its Way Into Black Family's Home

North Carolina Sheriff's Deputy Charged After Leading Armed 'Mob' That Tried To Force Its Way Into Black Family's Home
WECT News

A mother and son's relaxing Sunday night at home suddenly turned scary and dangerous when an all-white crowd of armed local residents demanded entry into their home.

The mob eventually dispersed after realizing it had the wrong house, but not before creating an alarming scene in the doorway.


Monica Shepard and her son, Dameon live in Pender County, North Carolina. They aimed to spend their recent Sunday night quietly: Monica heading to sleep early and Dameon remaining awake to play video games.

The peaceful night at home came to an abrupt halt when a large mob arrived at the Shepard's front door.

WECT reports that when Dameon answered the door the group—composed entirely of White people—demanded information about a local missing girl, according to a letter written by the Shepard's attorney, James Lea.

Monica and Dameon Shepard are both Black.

Lea's letter, which was addressed to the Pender County District Attorney, goes on to provide even more details about the incident. The crowd arrived at the Shepard's hoping to find someone named Josiah, a possible connection to the missing child. Josiah had lived in the house next door but moved away a month prior.

And even though Dameon repeatedly identified himself, the mob remained at the doorstep and pressed for more information, despite Dameon's complete lack of any knowledge at all. One person in the crowd carried an assault weapon and another held a shotgun. Among the mob's members was an armed and uniformed off-duty Sheriff's Deputy, J.T. Kita.

Lea's letter goes on to explain that when Dameon tried to close the door, Kita held it open with his foot and demanded entry. It was at this point that Monica Shepard awoke and came to her son's aid.

She told WECT what happened when she tried to shut the door.

"[Deputy Kita] just said 'I'm going to step inside, close the door and talk to you guys.' And I said, 'no you're not.'"
"He had his foot on the threshold of my door, holding the door open and he said it again, he said 'I'm going to step inside close the door and I'll talk to you,' when I said 'no you're not,'"

When the facts became clearer the mob dispersed, only to return again as illegitimate backup when more Sheriff Deputies arrived at the house on account of the disturbance.

Nobody in the mob was charged or questioned.

Lea's letter to the DA demands greater accountability for the trespassing group:

"We obviously cannot have armed groups of citizens patrolling the streets of Pender County or New Hanover County terrorizing innocent families."
"Add to the fact that they were also accompanied by apparently a New Hanover County Sheriff's Deputy that was off duty and armed, makes this matter particularly egregious."

According to Yahoo! News, Deputy Kita has been fired and charged with trespassing, as well as breaking and entering. Another gun-toting member of the mob was charged with "going armed to the terror of the public."

May 8 Press Conference on 'vigilante group' in Pender Countyyoutu.be

All are misdemeanor charges.

After several outlets covered the story, people across the internet were quick to share their appalled responses to the incident.





Though the incident is all over with, Monica Shepard is still reeling from the horror of the nighttime threat. Unfortunately, she has no trouble seeing how this story could have ended.

"Coming to the door like that with a mob of people with guns what do we expect? What were their intentions? What if he was the person they were looking for or what if I was not home? What would've happened?"
"I don't want to have that conversation. I don't want him to be a statistic. It's scary."

More from Trending

Screenshot of JD Vance
Fox News

Vance Blasted After Making Gaslighting Claim About How Tariffs Are Actually Helping 'Average Americans'

Vice President JD Vance was quickly called out after he claimed in a Fox News interview focused on President Donald Trump's tariffs that tariffs will actually lead to "tax relief" for Americans.

Vance spoke as Trump continues to leave countries reeling over his chaotic tariff policies; he just announced, for example, yet another 90-day pause on sweeping tariffs on China. The Chinese government said they hope the move will lead to "positive outcomes" for China and the U.S.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Vladimir Putin
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Contributor/Getty Images

Trump Sparks Concern After Repeatedly Confusing Alaska With Russia Ahead Of Putin Meeting

President Donald Trump turned heads on Monday after he repeatedly claimed he's going to "Russia" on Friday—very openly confusing the country with the state of Alaska, the actual location where he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a highly anticipated summit.

Trump made the mix-up during a press conference about crime in Washington, D.C., where he has already moved to federalize the police and deploy the National Guard, citing inflated crime statistics that compared D.C. to Baghdad and Brasilia.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hillary Clinton; Pete Hegseth
Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Hillary Offers Chilling Warning After Pete Hegseth Reposts Video Of Pastors Saying Women Shouldn't Vote

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned women around the U.S. about what's to come after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amplified a video about a Christian nationalist church that showed pastors saying that women shouldn't be allowed to vote.

The segment Hegseth aired was a nearly seven-minute CNN investigation into Doug Wilson, cofounder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
NBC News; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

JB Pritzker Explains Exactly Why Trump Is Pushing His GOP Allies To Redistrict—And He's Spot On

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker perfectly explained why President Donald Trump is pushing for gerrymandered redistricting in Republican-led states amid pushback from Democrats in Texas.

Redistricting has been all over the news cycle in the days since Texas Democrats fled the state to avoid voting on a new heavily-gerrymandered redistricting map and to deny their GOP colleagues a quorum, the minimum number of lawmakers required to conduct legislative business.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

MSNBC Fact-Checks Trump In Real Time As He Blatantly Lies About Crime Rates In DC

President Donald Trump is facing criticism after he was fact-checked by MSNBC in real time as he lied about crime statistics while announcing his decision to federalize police in Washington, D.C., and deploy the National Guard in an effort to fight crime.

Trump's announcement is a significant escalation of his previous attacks on the nation's capital, which he has repeatedly referred to as "crime-infested." He claimed in his remarks to the press that D.C. is “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,” a claim at odds with Justice Department data showing that the city’s crime rate hit a 30-year low last year.

Keep ReadingShow less