Teen faces nine felonies
Published 12:00 am Monday, August 20, 2007
WINDSOR – An escapee from a juvenile home will be tried as an adult following his alleged crime spree August 16.
Demetrius Damon Dukes, 16, of 244 Weeping Mary Road in Lewiston, was arrested Sunday and charged with nine felonies stemming from his escapades.
According to Detective Sergeant Ed Pittman with the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), events began after Dukes apparently escaped from Uprising Home, located on 340 School Road outside of Windsor.
Shortly after the escape, the defendant entered a resident’s shop near there by breaking out a back window.
&uot;He attempted to take a motorcycle by driving it down the driveway, but it was too heavy for him and it fell over and he couldn’t pick it back up, so he left it there,&uot; Pittman said.
He went on, &uot;The defendant had also put a handgun and a camera in the saddlebag of the motorcycle, but he left those behind too. He did succeed in stealing a motorcycle vest and helmet away from the residence.&uot;
Dukes then apparently proceeded down the street and attempted to take a vehicle from another yard, but at that point the police were coming by looking for him and a person came out on the porch, so he put the car keys in his pocket and fled.
&uot;He then went to another barn where he found a four-wheeler with the keys in it. He took that and drove off. The vehicle was later found out of gas on Hwy. 308 about five miles out of Lewiston,&uot; Pittman explained.
The motorcycle accessories and car keys were found at the same location as the four-wheeler, according to the police report.
Friday afternoon, a call was received by the BCSO from a subject working at a chicken house located halfway between Windsor and Lewiston that someone had stolen his pickup truck.
&uot;I began a search and kind of figured it was related because I was familiar with the subject. We continued to look for him in the truck, and it was found Saturday afternoon in a field one mile from the defendant’s residence,&uot; Pittman said.
Sunday, Dukes turned himself in at the BCSO and confessed.
He was arrested and charged with one count of breaking and entering, one count of larceny, three counts of larceny of a motor vehicle, one count of larceny of a firearm, two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and one count of attempted larceny.
All counts were felonies.
Dukes was confined in the Bertie Martin Regional Jail under a $30,000 cash bond. His first court appearance is set for tomorrow (Wednesday).