Suspect pleads in child's shooting
By John Joyce
Published in News on September 4, 2015 1:46 PM
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Derrick Raymont Best
More than four years after firing the stray bullet that claimed the life of 3-year-old Princess Shelby King, her killer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Wayne County Superior Court Thursday.
Derrick Raymont Best, now 33, will spend 180 to 225 months in prison.
According to court records, Best has 1,632 days of jail credit -- the amount of time he served in jail awaiting trial -- to his advantage.
That means Princess' killer will serve between 11 and 15 years in prison.
As part of his plea agreement, Best admitted to firing the bullet that went stray of its target, finding instead a toddler on a swing in the Grand at Day Circle housing community in February 2011. She was shot on the housing project playground and died a short time later at Wayne Memorial Hospital.
Following the shooting -- while Best eluded capture for three weeks -- the Goldsboro community rallied around Renada McLamb, Princess' mother, who was left to grieve the loss of her daughter.
Maj. Anthony Carmon, head of investigations for the Goldsboro Police Department, said Investigator Chris Melvin worked the case. Both felt confident there was a strong enough case against Best to go to trial.
"I'll tell you this, there wasn't any lack of evidence," Carmon said.
The investigation revealed that Best was shooting at another man with whom he had a disagreement, Carmon said.
According to reports at the time of the shooting, Best fired a long gun several times into the crowded playground at 1800 Day Circle -- now known as The Grand at Day Circle and commonly referred to as Courtyard -- after a dispute with another man. No one else was injured.
Carmon said community cooperation was instrumental to identifying Best as a suspect in 2011, as well as to the collection of the evidence against him and his eventual capture.
Best was taken into custody in Greenville on March 16, 2011.
Neither the district attorney's office nor Princess' family could be reached in time for this report.
Carmon said law enforcement has nothing to do with what goes on in making arrangements for sentencing.
"Whatever the judicial system decides is the correct punishment, we accept that and move on," he said.
He called any loss of life unfortunate.
"It is unfortunate. No, it is more than unfortunate. It is sad that a young child was killed," he said.