The North Carolina man charged with murder in the shooting deaths of three people, including a 3-year-old girl, will find out next month if he’ll face the death penalty when he goes on trial.
District Attorney Andrew Womble said Monday his office has requested a “Rule 24” hearing, which is a procedural step in criminal cases in which the defendant has been charged with a crime punishable by the death penalty.
“We wouldn’t be requesting the hearing” if we weren’t seeking the death penalty against Ricky Etheridge Jr., said Womble, whose 1st Prosecutorial District includes Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties.
The Rule 24 hearing has been set for May 9.
But Etheridge’s defense attorney, Jeff Dobson, said Monday the death penalty should not apply to his client, since the state did not follow what he said were required judicial procedures.
Etheridge, 34 at the time of his arrest in Norfolk, Virginia on December 15, 2021, is facing three counts of first degree murder in the Dec. 2 shooting deaths of Jaquan Tobias White, Takeyia De’Shay Berry and Berry’s 3-year-old daughter, Allura Pledger.
Police said 3-year-old Allura Pledger, 39-year-old De‘Shay (Takeyia) Berry and 18-year-old Jaquan White were shot and killed during a shooting near the intersection of Perry and Jordan streets around 5 p.m. on December 2. Police have declined to release further information.
Etheridge was taken into custody in Norfolk on a fugitive warrant and transported to the city’s jail, Elizabeth City police said. He has since been extradited to North Carolina, where he has been confined at Albemarle District Jail since Jan. 14. Monday was his first appearance on the charges in court.
Dobson said Womble’s office should have made the request for the Rule 24 hearing as early as Jan. 3, the day Etheridge was indicted for the murders by a Pasquotank grand jury.
A Rule 24 hearing gets its name from Rule 24 of North Carolina’s “General Rules of Practice for the Superior and District Courts,” which was established by the Office of Administrative Counsel, Supreme Court of North Carolina. Titled “Pretrial Conference in Capital Cases,” Rule 24 states that within 10 days of a Superior Court taking jurisdiction of a case, the district attorney must request from the presiding judge a pretrial conference that must be attended by the prosecutor and defense attorney. The conference must be held within 45 days of the request.
Dobson said that the 10-day mark should have started on Jan. 3, the day of Etheridge’s indictment.
Dobson also expressed concern about how long his client has waited in jail before making a first court appearance. State law mandates that citizens taken into custody must appear in court within 72 hours of their arrest, he said. The reason is if a person is charged and taken into custody on a Friday, they can be assured of a first-court appearance no later than the following Monday. That didn’t happen in Etheridge’s case, Dobson said, noting his client did not appear in court on January 17.
Since Etheridge’s initial arrest in Norfolk, he’s remained confined for 119 days before his first appearance on Monday, Dobson said. That period includes 31 days in custody in Norfolk and another 88 days at Albemarle District Jail.
Etheridge faces additional felony charges in connection with the Dec. 2 triple homicide. He’s also charged with three counts of discharging a weapon into occupied property, causing serious injury, and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of a firearm by a felon and habitual felon, according to court documents.
A second Elizabeth City man indicted in the Dec. 2 triple murder was arrested in New Bern in January.
Terence Tyrone Seymore, 37 at the time of his arrest, of the 500 block of Ownley Road, was arrested Jan. 11 on a fugitive warrant in connection with the fatal shootings. Seymore was indicted Jan. 3 on three counts of first-degree murder. He also is charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and inflict serious injury. An online search indicated Seymore is still in custody at ADJ.
Etheridge had been released from parole for a prior gun-related conviction in August 2021. According to N.C. Department of Public Safety records, Etheridge’s parole was terminated Aug. 25 after he completed the terms of his sentence for a conviction of possessing a firearm while a felon. Etheridge had been living in the 1100 block of Megan Drive.
The state’s records also show Etheridge has several prior convictions for assault by pointing a gun, possession with intent to sell Schedule II of a controlled substance and possession of Schedule VI controlled substance.
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