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Teen's death was drug related, sheriff says

Left to right, Demarus Carver, Rodney Fearrington and Jemeison Torain
Left to right, Demarus Carver, Rodney Fearrington and Jemeison Torain

10:30 A.M. WEDNESDAY — The death of an Orange County teen on Monday was likely the result of a robbery and failed drug deal, Orange County Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass said this morning.

Originally, deputies said they did not believe that Paylor James Daniels, 19, was injured before being thrown from a vehicle about 15 miles north of Hillsborough, but they are now looking for a weapon because they believe it might have been a kind of robbery, Pendergrass said.

Marijuana was later found at the scene, he said, leading the deputies to believe it was a drug deal.

“It went sour, and we wound up with a situation on our hands,” Pendergrass said.

Deputies believe that there was a fight in the back seat that eventually led to Daniels being thrown from the car and flying several hundred feet, Pendergrass said.

He said that witnesses who knew the three who have been arrested were in a car coming from the opposite direction and had to swerve to avoid hitting the body.

Demarus Carver, 19, and Jemeison Torain, 21, turned themselves in late Monday night, Pendergrass said.

“They knew we were looking for them,” he said.

Rodney Fearrington, 19, came in around 11 a.m. Tuesday, Pendergrass said.

All three have been charged with first-degree murder.

Carver and Torain are being held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bond. Fearrington was not in the jail as of 10:20 a.m. Wednesday.

Daniels was transported by Life Flight to Duke Hospitals where he was pronounced dead. There are no drug charges being pressed, Pendergrass said.

Deputies will go to the scene to look for a weapon today, Pendergrass said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.

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