A traffic stop on Bailey Lane in Vanceboro over the weekend ended with deputies discovering the driver was wanted on attempted murder charges hundreds of miles away in Richmond County. Deputies searched the car and turned up a pistol and items consistent with illegal drug packaging before the 20-year-old driver was taken into custody without incident.
The Craven County Sheriff's Office Criminal Patrol Bureau conducted the stop on September 20, according to newbernlive.org. The driver was identified as Marterio Jonta Clark, 20, of Vanceboro. Deputies developed probable cause to search his vehicle, a search that resulted in the recovery of a pistol and items consistent with illegal drug packaging.
Warrants Traced Back to Richmond County
Once deputies ran Clark's information, they discovered he had active felony warrants out of Richmond County, North Carolina, per the same account. Authorities said Clark was wanted on two felony counts of attempted first-degree murder, along with a felony charge of discharging a weapon into a moving vehicle that struck a person.
Clark was taken into custody without incident, the report notes. As reported by WCTI, the arrest closed out warrants tied to a shooting case that had been outstanding in Richmond County before Clark turned up on a routine patrol nearly across the state.
Additional Charges Filed in Craven County
Beyond the out-of-county warrants, Clark was charged in Craven County with possession of drug paraphernalia and carrying a concealed gun, stemming directly from what deputies found during the search of his car. He is currently being held in the Craven County Confinement Facility under no bond.
Sheriff Chip Hughes pointed to the arrest as evidence of his department's ongoing enforcement efforts. “This is a prime example of the daily proactive work performed by our Criminal Patrol Bureau in getting dangerous individuals off the streets of Craven County,” Hughes said, according to newbernlive.org's report on the arrest.
