A North Carolina sheriff's deputy is facing criminal charges after he allegedly led a group of armed individuals to the wrong home in search of a missing girl, TIME reports.
According to New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David, Jordan Kita, who was employed by the New Hanover Sheriff’s Office, will be charged with trespassing and breaking and entering.
Kita led an all-white group to the home of Dameon Shepard, who is a black high school senior. The group unsuccessfully tried to force its way into Shepard's home. But the group had the wrong home -- they were looking for Lekayda Kempisty, a 15-year-old girl who was reported missing earlier that day but later found safe.
Despite Shepard telling the group that they had the wrong house, they tried to force their way in anyway.
“Coming to the door like that with a mob of people with guns, what do we expect? What were their intentions?” Shepard's mother, Monica Shepard, told WECT-TV. “What if he was the person they were looking for or what if I was not home? What would’ve happened? I don’t want to have that conversation. I don’t want him to be a statistic. It’s scary.”
According to District Attorney David, Kita is somehow related to the girl who was reported missing.
Kita has reportedly been fired by the department.
