M’boro Police catch alleged carjacker
Published 5:51 pm Saturday, December 5, 2009
MURFREESBORO – A Bertie County man – wanted for allegedly carjacking a vehicle, operated by an elderly female, at gunpoint in Plymouth – saw his 34-day flight come to end here Thursday.
Murfreesboro Police Chief Darrell Rowe reported the arrest of 22-year-old William Deontay Majette of Jeff White Road, Merry Hill.
Majette was wanted for first degree kidnapping, armed robbery and felony larceny in connection with an Oct. 30 incident in Plymouth. There, a 75-year-old woman reported she was approached by a man with a handgun as she was making her way to her car after leaving a restaurant.
According to a report on the WITN TV-7 website, the man forced the woman to get into her parked car. She followed those orders, but managed to escape by exiting the vehicle via the passenger’s side door. The suspect took off in the victim’s 2003 Cadillac Seville. The woman was not injured.
The vehicle was discovered Nov. 17 in Milford, Delaware. Plymouth Police Officer Kevin Sitterson told the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald that Majette’s father lives in a town approximately 15 miles away from Milford.
Sitterson said Majette became a suspect in the case after an informant told a Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy that Majette was seen in the Windsor area with the Cadillac. He added that the victim also selected Majette’s face from a photo line-up.
Sitterson added that a Milford Police officer confronted Majette on Nov. 17 after seeing him walking away from a Cadillac parked on the shoulder of the road.
“That officer was informed by Majette that the vehicle ran out of gas and he was walking to a gas station, which was about one block away,” Sitterson said. “The officer waited by the vehicle for Majette’s return, which never occurred. That promoted the officer to run a license check on the vehicle. The tags didn’t match the vehicle, prompting the officer to check the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). That information came back as a stolen vehicle.”
On Thursday, Majette turned-up in Murfreesboro.
Rowe told the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald that Murfreesboro Police Lt. Joe Burgess was on routine patrol at around 12:40 p.m. on Thursday on Main Street at which time he noticed a male, traveling on foot, acting in a suspicious manner.
“That person was making an attempt to hide his face as Lt. Burgess was traveling along Main Street,” Chief Rowe said. “This aroused Lt. Burgess’s suspicions.”
Rowe said that Lt. Burgess exited his vehicle and approached the man.
“Initially, the man gave Lt. Burgess a false name,” Rowe reported. “Upon further investigation, Lt. Burgess was able to learn the man’s true identity. That name was run through a national crime database from where we learned that he was wanted on charges in Plymouth.”
Murfreesboro Police Officer Donald Cuff assisted Lt. Burgess in the investigation and arrest.
Chief Rowe said his office contacted the Plymouth Police Department to make them aware that Majette was being detained at the Murfreesboro Police Department.
“Two officers from Plymouth came and picked up Mr. Majette later on Thursday,” Rowe said.
Sitterson said Majette was being held in the Washington County Detention Center under a $150,000 cash bond.
Rowe praised the work of Lt. Burgess.
“This shows the high degree of professionalism of the Murfreesboro Police Department,” Rowe noted. “Acting on a hunch after seeing someone attempting to hide their identity, a dangerous felon was taken off the street. Law enforcement officers are only able to have the instinctive ability, as demonstrated in this case by Lt. Burgess, after years on the street dealing with similar situations.”