Durham police charge 14-year-old with murder in snow-day killing of 15-year-old

Durham police investigators have charged a 14-year-old boy with murder in the killing of a 15-year-old boy last month.

Aryion “AJ” Clendenning, a sophomore at Riverside High School, was shot Jan. 11 at Magnolia Pointe Apartments on Danube Lane, The News & Observer previously reported.

It was a snow day, and the teen was outside when the shooter drove by, police said.

On Thursday, Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton praised police for making an arrest.

“There are no winners here. They are both children. They are both minors,” he said.

A GoFundMe campaign for AJ’s family, which includes his mom and sister, described him as a “dedicated student” who was skilled at football and enjoyed video games.

“I don’t know how much resolution or comfort this will bring to that family. I imagine very little,” Middleton continued.

On the run after shootout

The murder suspect, whose name has not been released, is also charged with shooting at a state trooper in Chapel Hill on Jan. 25, two weeks after AJ’s death.

That incident began on Interstate 40 in Orange County, when the trooper tried to stop a stolen car traveling at over 100 mph around 2:30 a.m., the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

Three people in ski masks were inside and began shooting at the state trooper during a pursuit. They went on the run for several days and twice escaped near captures in Durham. Two teens, including the 14-year-old charged with killing AJ, were arrested near downtown Durham on Jan. 29. The third person hadn’t been identified as of last week.

“We all are responsible for raising the kids in this community, but it makes no sense that we have a 14-year-old shooting at state troopers and killing someone their own age,” Mayor Leonardo Williams said this week.

The 14-year-old is “in secure custody,” police announced Wednesday afternoon.

State law has a process for teens, 13 to 15 years old, to be tried as adults in Superior Court, at which point their names would become public. The News & Observer left a message for Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry late Wednesday afternoon to ask if she might pursue that.

The 14-year-old faces a long list of charges:

• First-degree murder
• Attempted first-degree murder
• Assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill
• Assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer
• Possession of a stolen firearm
• Possession of a stolen motor vehicle
• Possession of a firearm by a minor
• Assault by pointing a gun
• Discharging a firearm into a patrol vehicle
• Discharging a firearm in the city limits
• Resisting an officer

He is also accused of breaking into and stealing from cars in Durham.

• 4 counts of damaging personal property
• 8 counts of felony breaking and entering into a motor vehicle
• 6 counts of felony breaking and entering a motor vehicle with theft
• 8 counts of financial transaction card theft
• 5 counts of injury to personal property
• 4 counts of conspiracy
• 7 counts of financial card fraud
• 2 counts of misdemeanor conspiracy
• Felony breaking and entering a motor vehicle with theft of less than $1,500
• 2 counts of larceny of a firearm
• Felony conspiracy

Anyone with any information is asked to call Investigator J. Smith at 919-560-4440 ext. 29365. You can also submit a CrimeStoppers tip online at durhamcrimestoppers.org or call 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 February 5, 2025 at 4:42 PM.