A 19-year-old who pleaded guilty to the July 2008 murder of a Warsaw teen, and unrelated felony marijuana charges brought months before, will serve at least four years in prison as part of a consolidated prison sentence brought this week.

Devon Hobbs, 19 of Warsaw, pleaded guilty Tuesday to accessory after the fact to second degree murder in the shooting death of Derrick Shonte Barden, 18, of Warsaw. He also entered guilty pleas to the unrelated offenses of possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana and selling marijuana, which occurred on Jan. 8, 2008 and Jan. 16, 2008, respectively.

The offenses were consolidated by presiding Judge Jay D. Hockenbury of Wilmington, who sentenced Hobbs to a minimum of 51 months and a maximum of 71 months in the North Carolina Department of Corrections. Hobbs was represented by Duplin County attorney Robin Rhodes.

Prior to the sentencing, state prosecutors Chief Assistant District Attorney Ernie Lee and Assistant District Attorney Bob Roupe presented the facts of the case in the fatal shooting, which occurred shortly after midnight July 3, 2008. Warsaw Police Department officers responded to a call at the 200 block of Matthews Street at the Stewart Creek Apartments in Warsaw, where they found Barden shot in the upper torso. According to witnesses, Barden was sitting on a car talking to his friends when he was shot. He died shortly thereafter.

An autopsy performed by Dr. John Almeida at Onslow Memorial Hospital confirmed the single gunshot to Barden’s upper, exterior left arm near Barden’s shoulder. The autopsy revealed that the bullet traveled through Barden’s chest cavity, striking both the lungs and heart, and causing his death.

During investigation by Warsaw police officers and State Bureau of Investigation agents, it was able to be determined that Hobbs, Joleski Floyd, Jordan Guy and Ivan Wallace were in the woodline near the apartment complex when the shooting occurred.

Statements were provided by Guy and Wallace to law enforcement, however there were initial inconsistencies in them. After further interviews, both Guy and Wallace indicated they were present in the woodline near the apartments, both noting that Floyd was the one who fired the shot that killed Barden.

Hobbs told the SBI that he saw an AK-47 assault rifle in the wooded area, but said he was not present when the shooting occurred. However, he admitted to SBI agents that he got the gun after the shooting and placed it in the trash near the apartment complex. The weapon was never located by law enforcement.

Guy, 19, of Warsaw and Wallace, 17, of Turkey, both pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to second degree murder in December 2009. Both Guy and Wallace agreed to testify against Floyd and Hobbs if called upon by the state, which will not be necessary with the guilty pleas of Floyd and Hobbs, prosecutors said.

Guy and Wallace are now awaiting sentencing.

Floyd, 18, of Warsaw, pleaded guilty in January to the second degree murder of Barden and was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years, five months in the North Carolina Department of Corrections.

District Attorney Dewey Hudson said prosecutors met many times with the family of the victim. He called the shooting a “senseless tragedy” for Barden’s family, the Warsaw community and Duplin County.

“It is hoped that these guilty pleas will help provide some closure to the grieving family of Derrick Shonte Barden,” Hudson said in a prepared statement.

In addition to his guilty plea in Barden’s death, Hobbs pleaded guilty to selling marijuana to an undercover officer in separate deals little more than a week apart, one for 3.7 grams and the other for 3.2 grams. In both instances, prosecutors said Hobbs was acting as “the middle man” in a deal between a seller and an officer working in an undercover capacity.

Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.