A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy is now facing criminal charges after he allegedly led a group of white men who were armed to the wrong home in a search for a missing girl, according to TIME.
New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David said that Jordan Kita, who was employed by the New Hanover Sheriff’s Office, is expected to be charged with trespassing and breaking and entering.
According to the report, Kita led a group of all-white men to the home of teenager Dameon Shepard while searching for Lekayda Kempisty, a 15-year-old girl who was reported missing earlier that day but later found safe.
Kita and the armed group tried to force their way into Shepard’s home, despite it being the wrong house.
Shepard tried telling the group that they had the wrong house, but 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.”
Kita has reportedly been fired by the department.
