An accused murderer claims to be the highest-ranking member of the Bloods gang in North Carolina and is now accused of impregnating a jailer and a jail nurse.
Darrius “King Blood” Tyson, 32, used his influence to obtain sex and coordinate drug smuggling at the Durham County Detention Facility, Assistant District Attorney Mary Jude Darrow testified in court on Tuesday, according to local NBC affiliate WRAL.
The case led to the arrest of two jail employees. The date of offense listed on their warrants is August 1, but the dates of pregnancy are unclear, as is whether they delivered the babies.
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According to a press release from the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, “sex activity by a person having custody of a victim in a governmental institution” led to the arrest of Jade Shanicia Lanique Robertson, 27, a detention officer, in September.
Her most recent role was as a sergeant on a security squad, which led to her immediate termination as a detention officer. In October 2019, they hired her.
Online court records also show the arrest of L’Erin Burnette, 41, a jail nurse and contractor.
On $25,000 unsecured bonds, both women are free to appear in court on December 3.
Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead stated in a press release, “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 that his client is a victim.
He told the judge on Tuesday, according to WRAL reports, that two employees had sexually assaulted him. “Having sex with a detainee is a Class E felony. Legally, a detainee cannot consent. In such situations, he becomes a victim.
Tyson will stand 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’s last sighting occurred on March 22, 2022, and his remains remain undiscovered.
Tyson is one of at least three people accused of restraining and injuring Burton. The News & Observer obtained a warrant, which states that Tyson unlawfully confined and restrained Burton, transporting him from one location to another without his consent.
The warrant, which provides no additional information, states that Tyson did not release Burton “in a safe place and seriously injured him.”
Burton’s wife spoke with 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 told me. “That was the last time I saw him.”
Tyson, then 18 years old, spent more than ten years in prison for a 2010 murder he committed during an attempted murder in Durham. Prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, leading to the overturning of his conviction in 2020, according to court documents.
The Durham County Detention Center transferred Tyson to Central Prison in Raleigh, where he is still under custody.
