Two plead guilty in 2011 murder
By John Joyce
Published in News on March 10, 2013 1:50 AM
In separate plea agreements, Natasha Monet Bonaparte and Virgil Devon Cox were both sentenced Thursday in Wayne County Superior Court for their roles in the March 2011 shooting death of 46-year-old Edward Lee Brewington.
Brewington was assaulted and shot several times inside his home at 134 Mill Dam Lane on March 5, 2011. Deputies with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office found him conscious and speaking. He was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where he later died.
Ms. Bonaparte, 24, who was sentenced first, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. She was sentenced to a maximum of seven years in prison, and will receive credit for nearly two years she has already served behind bars.
Cox, 36, pleaded down from first-degree murder and armed robbery charges to second-degree murder and attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced to 17 to 21 years on the murder charge and two to four years for the robbery, to be served consecutively. Cox will serve a minimum of 18 years before being considered for parole.
Cox was arrested a month later after a traffic stop on N.C. 111 North. He had been under surveillance when the Wayne County Sheriff's Office SWAT team, the SBI and members of the Wake County Sheriff's Office converged on his vehicle and took him into custody without incident.
Ms. Bonaparte, who fled Wayne County shortly after the botched robbery, was apprehended a day earlier in Philadelphia. In her capture the Wayne County Sheriff's Office was assisted by the SBI, FBI, and homicide investigators from the Philadelphia Police Department.