Suspect’s mother charged with accessory to murder in fatal Durham shooting
A Durham woman was arrested Monday after a grand jury indicted her on a charge of accessory after the fact to murder in a fatal shooting her son allegedly plotted, court records show.
Crystal Alise Baine, 42, is charged in the Sept. 15, 2024, death of Dashaun Khilief Johnson, 23, according to the indictment.
Johnson was fatally shot in an apparent drive-by about 3 p.m. near Glenbrook Drive and Dubonnet Place in Durham, The News & Observer previously reported. The 23-year-old suffered gunshot wounds to the head and left leg and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Three people were previously charged with first-degree murder in Johnson’s death: Marcus Beatty Jr., 22, Baine’s son; Elijah Page, 20; and Simone Cameron, 19, The N&O reported. Beatty and Cameron were also charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Johnson’s killing was reportedly tied to an argument and earlier shooting from the night before that injured three people, according to his autopsy report. Multiple bullet casings of different calibers were found at the scene, The N&O reported.
Now, Baine stands accused of collecting potential evidence in the case from the home where she and her son lived and moving it to another location. The indictment states Baine tried to dispose of the following items:
- Beatty’s Jordan sneakers
- A paper towel or tissue inside the sneakers
- A North Face coat
- A digital box
- A scale box
- An “unnamed item in the kitchen”
- 80 grams of marijuana
- A partially full box of .40 caliber ammunition
- An empty Glock .40 caliber magazine
“This was done at the direction of Marcus Beatty Jr. while he was on the phone from jail telling the defendant, his mom, what each item was and where she should look to locate the items,” the indictment states.
Baine then allegedly put the items in plastic bags, placing the bulk of them in a white Lexus with Beatty’s sister’s help, according to the indictment. Baine stuffed the bags containing the marijuana, box of ammunition and empty magazine down the seat of a red Nissan, the indictment alleges.
The pair then left their Chapel Hill Road home with the items, according to the indictment, which doesn’t specify if the items were recovered or where they were ultimately taken.
A grand jury indicted Baine on the charge Dec. 2. It’s not clear why she wasn’t arrested until Monday.
Meanwhile, Beatty’s, Page’s and Camero’s murder cases remain pending in Durham County Superior Court, with administrative hearings set for 10 a.m. Jan. 16.
