Police arrest man wanted for murder in fatal downtown Durham stabbing
A man accused of murder in a recent stabbing in downtown Durham has been arrested, police said Friday.
Daniel Lamont McCray, 40, was charged in the death of 41-year-old Alexander Bernard Jordan on Nov. 30.
Shortly after 7 a.m., police responded to a report of a man stabbed near the intersection of Liberty and Queen streets downtown. The area is near the Durham County Main Library and Urban Ministries of Durham.
Jordan was taken to the hospital, where he died.
Police previously released surveillance images of a man they said might be connected to the stabbing.
Police investigated two separate homicides that morning, among a growing number of killings in the Bull City this year.
Durham police investigate shooting
A man was found shot inside a vehicle before 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of Rose of Sharon and Hillandale roads in northwestern Durham.
Billy Ray Dickerson Jr., 51, of Durham died from his injuries at a hospital. A suspect has not been taken into custody.
Dickerson was released from federal prison in February after being sentenced to seven years in 2018 for being a felon in possession of a firearm, The Herald-Sun previously reported. He was found guilty of shooting at a driver in a road-rage incident the year prior.
Possible motives or other details in either case were not released, though both were considered isolated incidents
2023 crime statistics
Here’s where violent crimes stand. Violent crime is trending down in Durham, but homicides are up 9.4% over last year at this time and approaching the city’s possible record 50 homicides in 2021.
Clearance rates for homicides as of September in Durham were 80%, compared to 62% in all of 2022, meaning police are making more arrests when people are killed, according to a recent crime briefing.
There were 45 homicides as of Nov. 25, the most recent crime data from Durham police shows. There have now been two fatal shootings, including that of a 17-year-old high school student, and the stabbing since then.
The total number of reported violent crimes is down 5.5% in 2023 compared to this time last year. Besides the homicides, robberies and aggravated assaults are down, while reported rapes, some from prior years but being reported now, are up 21.6% from last year, statistics show.
Where does police staffing stand? Hiring and retaining officers remains a key challenge for police.
“We’re operating at a deficit,” Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews told the City Council on Nov. 21.
Just 414 of 535 sworn officer positions are filled, meaning about a quarter of positions are vacant.
How long does it take police to get to calls? Response times to 911 calls have not met targets this year — 49.5% of Priority 1 calls for service were answered in under five minutes, which is less than the target of 57%, according to the police chief’s third-quarter crime briefing.
The average response time is six minutes and 42 seconds, which is off a whole minute from the target of five minutes and 48 seconds.
How can the public help? Anyone who may have information about Monday’s killings can call investigators B. Paulhus at 919-560-4440, ext. 29136 and D. Johnson at ext. 29541, or call CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200.
CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.
This story was originally published November 30, 2023 at 5:50 PM.
