Man charged with First-degree murder appears in New Hanover County Courtroom for the first time
NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) –A man charged with first-degree murder appeared in court for this first time after a deadly shooting on Castle Hayne Road.
26-year-old Derrick Lamont Jones is accused in the murder of 24-year-old Larry Brown. Jones appeared Tuesday at the New Hanover County Courthouse. He’s been behind bars since Tuesday, December 26th. The shooting happened early Tuesday morning in the 19oo block of Castle Hayne Road in the Wrightsboro community.
During Tuesday’s court appearance, District Attorney Ben David said the murder happened during a Christmas party, when Jones allegedly shot Brown in the back. Brown later died from his injuries at Novant New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
“This is yet another example of gun violence in our community involving a young man who’s now lost his life and I just say again, how we need to get in charge of what’s going on in our community. We’re doing everything we can to prioritize these cases. We’ve said that this is our highest priority as to going after the most violent criminals and career criminals,” said District Attorney Ben David.
Family and friends of Larry Brown were at Tuesday’s court appearance and were emotional when listening to what happened that night.
Jones is eligible for the death penalty in this case. According to the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Jones already has pending charges in Brunswick County and was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of the deadly shooting.
