Durham father of 6 vanished 2 months ago. Now police say a group plotted to kill him.
A Durham man has been charged with kidnapping and conspiring to kill a father of six.
Darrius Lavale Tyson, 30, was charged about two months ago in the disappearance of Shawn Burton, according to an arrest warrant issued April 13. Tyson was arrested earlier this month and remains in jail on $2 million bail.
Tyson’s arrest warrant says he and at least three others conspired to murder the 44-year-old Burton.
Tyson unlawfully confined and restrained Burton, moving him from one place to another without his consent, the warrant states. Burton wasn’t released by Tyson “in a safe place and was seriously injured,” the warrant states with no further details.
Burton was last seen March 22, a relative told The News & Observer. Burton’s wife told WRAL he left his home to go to work at Club 919, but didn’t make it there.
Murder conviction vacated, charges now pending
Tyson was convicted of murder and other charges in 2012.
The convictions — second degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, and robbery with a dangerous weapon — were vacated and he was released in May 2020, according to court documents.
The move sent the process back to the beginning, letting prosecutors decide whether the charges should move forward. The charges are still pending, Sarah Willets, the spokesperson for the Durham County District Attorney’s Office, said in an email.
After the convictions were vacated, Tyson was released on a $250,000 unsecured bond, meaning he didn’t have to provide money to be released.
2010 murder and robbery charges
When Tyson pleaded and was sentenced in December 2012 for two incidents in 2010, he took an Alford plea, which meant he did not admit guilt but recognized the state had enough evidence to convict him.
Tyson pleaded guilty to charges related to:
▪ An April 3, 2010, incident in which a man said Tyson put a gun to his head while another man rummaged through his pockets and took his cell phone and $4.
At the time, Tyson was on probation with Orange County and had pending possession of stolen goods and felony breaking and entering charges in Durham.
The case went to trial and a jury deadlocked on the charges Feb. 23, 2011. In a second trial the next day, the jury found Tyson guilty of robbery with a dangerous weapon and sentenced him to up to seven years in prison.
However, a new trial was ordered by a Court of Appeals ruling that said Tyson should have been granted a trial transcript before the second trial began.
▪ A Sept. 4, 2010, incident in which Tyson and five others faced murder and other charges for killing Bernardo Ponce and shooting another when attempting to rob multiple men they saw walking down Chapel Hill Street.
Tyson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.
Those involved gave conflicting statements about Tyson’s involvement, and Tyson contends he wasn’t there and there is no DNA or other evidence connecting him to the killing.
An assistant district attorney said during the 2012 sentencing hearing that Tyson’s fingerprints were found in the SUV the killers were riding in, but that turned out not to be the case, according to court documents. Tyson’s fingerprints were found on ammunition police found in kitty litter and linked to the killing, according to documents.
17-year sentence
The charges from the two cases were consolidated and Tyson was sentenced to up to 17 years, meaning he would be in prison possibly through 2028.
The new convictions ran concurrent with an up to year-long sentence he received in 2011 for five felony convictions that included possession of stolen goods and felony breaking and entering.
In May 2020, Chief Resident Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson signed a consent order — meaning both Tyson and the prosecutor agreed for the robbery and murder convictions to be vacated through a motion for appropriate relief.
“The court after a discussion of the issues with the parties is of the view that the concessions made by the State and its consent to this motion that the interest of justice will be served by granting the defendant a new trial,” the consent motion states.
Motions for appropriate relief are typically made to correct errors in the judicial process such as proof that a key witness lied or that a defendant had ineffective counsel.
The law allows a judge to grant such motions if the prosecutor and defendant agree in a consent motion, according to a UNC School of Government blog post on the motion.
Since taking office in 2019, District Attorney Satana Deberry has increased and streamlined the process for consent motions for appropriate relief to reduce sentences that prosecutors agreed were too long.
“When presented with a Motion for Appropriate Relief, the DA’s Office considers a range of factors — including the validity of the claim for relief being made, the nature of the case, the defendant’s prior criminal history and record in prison, public safety and the views of victims or surviving family members. In order for relief to be granted, a judge must also agree that relief is appropriate,” Deberry said in a previous statement.
Asked about the DA’s Office’s reasoning for consenting to the motion for appropriate relief in 2020, Willets pointed to a 2018 motion that cited concerns about ineffective counsel and misrepresentation of the evidence by a prosecutor “at a time when there was issues of misconduct by some in the District Attorney’s Office.”
In 2018, the District Attorney’s Office, then under DA Roger Echols, fought the motion to vacate the convictions and Hudson dismissed the request, citing insufficient evidence.
Victim wasn’t notified, again
The News & Observer informed Ponce’s family Wednesday that Tyson’s murder conviction had been overturned in 2020.
“Let’s just say I am very upset. Plus, I am really surprised to hear it from you,” Debra Ann Ponce told the reporter.
Ponce is married to the twin brother of the man who was killed. Her husband doesn’t speak English well. Ponce said detectives had previously been keeping her informed about the case, she said. She has had the same cell phone number since the murder happened, she said.
“Something needs to be done. How can somebody shoot another person, that person dies on the scene, and he gets released?” Ponce said. “Something is not right.”
4 victims not notified of hearings
This is the fourth victim or victim’s family member that has told The N&O the District Attorney’s Office didn’t inform them of a hearing that led to an assailant’s sentence being shortened and the assailant being released from prison.
The other cases identified by The News & Observer involved a 1972 rape, a 2003 rape and a 2012 murder.
Deberry has apologized for the lapses.
“We continue looking into victim contact in a small number of Motion for Appropriate Relief cases and will take necessary steps to address any lapses,” Willets wrote in an email on Wednesday.
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 4:08 PM.
