Preliminary motions were heard Monday in Orange County superior court for the trial of Issiah Mekki Ross, 21, black male, who is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Devin Clark, 18, black, male, of Mebane, and Lyric Woods, 14, white, female, of Efland.
The victims’ bodies had been discovered on Sunday, September 18, 2022 off a power-line easement near the then-Buckhorn Flea Market off Buckhorn Road in Mebane.
During Monday’s hearing, Ross rejected a plea deal that would’ve reduced the charges from two counts of first-degree murder to two counts of second-degree murder, potentially lowering the maximum sentence to between 40 and 50 years in prison. If convicted, Ross faces life in prison.
Jury selection is expected to begin Tuesday, January 13.
Ross may argue self-defense, based on a motion that visiting superior court judge Stephanie Reese heard in Orange County court on Monday.
Reese also agreed Monday to a stipulation by both parties to not have crime scene photos of the victims shown on large screens in the courtroom.
Ross and Clark had been students at Eastern High School; Woods had just started her freshman year at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough.
Woods had left home late Friday night on September 16, 2022 and was reported missing by her family the following morning, based on a timeline of the events leading to the discovery of the two teens that Orange County sheriff Charles Blackwood elaborated at a press conference in Orange County in November 2022.
Clark’s family reported him missing to the authorities in Alamance County the morning of September 18, 2022, Blackwood said during the press conference. Two men who had been riding four-wheelers through the woods came upon the victims along a power-line access off Buckhorn Road, the sheriff said.
Several people in the area later reported hearing gunshots in the area early that Saturday morning, Blackwood said at the November 2022 press conference. “That’s when we believe the murders occurred,” he said.
Investigators later learned that Ross had fled the area on September 18, en route to Delaware, where he was ultimately apprehended by the Delaware violent Crime Safe Streets Task Force, according to Blackwood.
Two women had been suspected of harboring Ross in Delaware – Nakaysha Ross, then 22, and McKenzie Mitchell, then 21 – and were later arrested in Dover, Delaware and charged with felony hindering prosecution, according to multiple news reports published at the time. There have been no subsequent reports about the disposition of their charges; criminal court files do not appear to be publicly-accessible through Delaware’s online filing system.
Orange County district attorney Jeff Nieman announced in November 2022 that Ross, who was 17 when he allegedly murdered Clark and Woods, would be tried as an adult. The defendant made his first appearance in Orange County superior court on November 15, 2022.
The double-homicide led to the passage of “Lyric and Devin’s Law,” authorizing the release of identifying information about juvenile suspects charged with serious crimes, such as murder and other Class A to F felonies, providing a judge authorizes the release. (Ross had been about two months shy of his 18th birthday when he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.)
Previously, state law only allowed law enforcement officials to release the names, photos, and charges involving alleged juvenile offenders to be released once a case had been transferred from juvenile court to superior court.
Ross has been held without bond in Orange County jail since his arrest in 2022. He is being represented by attorney Jonathan Trapp of Raleigh.
The case is being prosecuted by Orange County assistant district attorney Anna Elizabeth Orr.
MORE MEBANE NEWS! See other recent Mebane stories:
Public records: disciplinary actions for city of Mebane employees:https://alamancenews.com/public-records-mebane-city-government-fires-three-suspends-eight-employees/
City council approves rezoning for large daycare center: https://alamancenews.com/mebane-city-council-oks-rezoning-for-large-daycare-center/
Land being cleared for large warehouse beside Tanger in western Orange County: https://alamancenews.com/land-cleared-for-warehouse-near-tanger-in-mebane/
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