John Jefferson
Left: Darrius Tyson (WRAL). Right: Jade Shanicia Lanique Robertson (WNCN).
An accused murderer who says he’s the highest-ranking member of the Bloods gang in North Carolina is now accused of impregnating a jailer and jail nurse.
Darrius “King Blood” Tyson, 32, used his influence to get sex and coordinated drug smuggling at the Durham County Detention Facility, Assistant District Attorney Mary Jude Darrow said in court on Tuesday, local NBC affiliate WRAL reported. Two jail staff workers were arrested in the case. The date of offense listed on their warrants is Aug. 1, but the dates of pregnancy are unclear and it’s also not clear whether they delivered the babies.
Detention officer Jade Shanicia Lanique Robertson, 27, was arrested in September for a felony charge of “sex activity by a person having custody of a victim in a governmental institution,” the Durham County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release. She was immediately terminated as a detention officer, most recently serving as a sergeant on a security squad. She was hired in October 2019.
Jail nurse L’Erin Burnette, 41, a contractor at the jail, was also arrested in the case, online court records show.
Both women are free on $25,000 unsecured bonds and are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 3.
In the press release, Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead said, “This behavior is not indicative of the values of the men and women of this agency, nor does it align with the training, policies, and procedures of the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.”
Tyson’s attorney, Daniel Meier, argued his client is a victim.
“He was sexually assaulted by two employees who have now been charged with felonies,” he told the judge on Tuesday, WRAL reported. “It’s a Class E felony for someone to have sexual relations with a detainee. A detainee, by law, cannot consent. He is a victim in those cases.”
Tyson faces trial in February on charges of murder, conspiracy, kidnapping and burglary in the disappearance and presumed death of Shawn Burton, a 44-year-old father of six. Burton was last seen on March 22, 2022, and his body has not been found.
Tyson is allegedly one of at least three others suspected of restraining and injuring Burton. According to a warrant obtained by News & Observer, Tyson unlawfully confined and restrained Burton, moving him from one place to another without his consent. Burton wasn’t released by Tyson “in a safe place and was seriously injured,” the warrant states, with no further details.
Burton’s wife spoke to WRAL about the mystery.
“He left the house at night and said that he was going to the club to promote an event he had coming up,” she said. “That was the last time I saw him.”
Tyson served more than 10 years for a 2010 murder during an attempted murder in Durham when he was 18. His conviction was overturned in 2020 after prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, court documents said.
Tyson was moved from the Durham County Detention Center to Central Prison in Raleigh, where he remains in custody.
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