A North Carolina inmate who is believed to be the state’s highest-ranking Blood gang member has been accused of impregnating two former jail staffers.
Darrius Tyson is suspected of murdering a man who vanished in 2022. He is now being imprisoned at Central Prison in Raleigh. During a hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors alleged Tyson used his position to obtain narcotics and sex inside a Durham facility. According to the county’s website, one of his nicknames is “King Blood”.
Durham County Assistant District Attorney Mary Jude Darrow also accused him of impregnating a contracted nurse, Lerin Burnette, and a jail officer, Jade Robertson. The two women were accused of having sexual contact with an inmate, a felony offense.
The revelation came during Tyson’s hearing to decrease his $1.25 million bond. A judge denied the request, according to WRAL.
Tyson’s attorney, Daniel Meier, maintained that his client was a victim during the hearing.
“He was sexually assaulted by two employees who have been charged with felonies,” he stated to a judge on Tuesday. “Having sex with a detainee is a Class E felony. Legally, a detainee cannot consent. He is a victim in those situations.”
Tyson was transported from the Durham County Detention Center to the Raleigh prison in response to the sex charges. He is charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and burglary. He had previously done time for murder in 2010, but his conviction was reversed in 2020 owing to prosecutorial misconduct.
According to the report, the prosecutors did not turn over any exculpatory material.
The man’s mother, Murryette Tyson, told WRAL that county officials are “out for [her son].” She declined to comment on her son’s gang affiliations or the allegations that he had sex with the workers.
“He’s innocent,” she told WRAL. “Of all the charges.” She claims that in August, prison officers beat her kid and injured his jaw.
When the publication enquired about the allegation, a jail official stated that no assault had been registered at the time and that they would be unable to pursue a claim based on the information provided.