An accused killer claims to be the highest-ranking member of the Bloods gang in North Carolina and is now suspected of impregnating a jailer and a jail nurse.
Darrius “King Blood” Tyson, 32, exploited his influence to obtain sex and orchestrate 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.
Two correctional employees were arrested in connection with the matter. The date of infraction mentioned on their warrants is August 1, but the dates of pregnancy are uncertain, as is whether they delivered the infants.
Jade Shanicia Lanique Robertson, 27, a detention officer, was arrested in September on a felony charge of “sex activity by a person having custody of a victim in a governmental institution,” according to a Durham County Sheriff’s Office press release. She was instantly fired as a jail officer after most recently working as a sergeant on a security team. She was hired in October of 2019.
L’Erin Burnette, 41, a correctional nurse and contractor, was also arrested in the case, according to online court documents.
Both women are out on $25,000 unsecured bonds and are set 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, maintained that 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 reports. “Having sex with a detainee is a Class E felony. Legally, a detainee cannot consent. He is a victim in those situations.”
Tyson will stand trial in February on accusations of murder, conspiracy, kidnapping, and burglary in the disappearance and suspected death of Shawn Burton, a 44-year-old father of six. Burton was last seen on March 22, 2022, and his remains have not been discovered.
Tyson is one of at least three people accused of detaining and hurting Burton. According to a warrant obtained by the News & Observer, Tyson unlawfully confined and restrained Burton, transporting him from one location to another without his consent. Burton was not released by Tyson “in a safe place and was seriously injured,” according to the warrant, which provides no other information.
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 served more than ten years in prison for a 2010 murder committed during an attempted murder in Durham when he was 18. His conviction was reversed in 2020 because prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, according to court filings.
Tyson was transferred from Durham County Detention Center to Central Prison in Raleigh, where he remains in detention.