A Duplin County man convicted of being an accessory in the murders of three Clinton residents in November 2003 has lost his appeal of the ruling.

Antavio Derrell Best, 25, of Warsaw, was accused along with two others in the murders of Jimmy Ray Turner, Randolph Merrill Carr and Carrie Faith Jones, who were taken from their home on Lorraine Road in Clinton early the morning of Nov. 16, 2003.

The three victims were bound and driven to an abandoned lot in the Keener community, where they were later found beaten to death and their bodies partially burned.

Rafty Harold Brown Jr., 31, and Stephen Antonio “Bernie” Bell, 28, pleaded guilty in the murders and were sentenced on back-to-back days in March 2007 to three consecutive life sentences. Best went to trial.

During the first trial in June 2006, Best was acquitted of the most serious charges against him — the three separate counts of first-degree murder. However, the jury was deadlocked on the remaining charges.

At a second trial on the remaining charges, held in October 2007, the jury found Best not guilty on three counts of first-degree kidnapping, one count each of first-degree burglary and accessory after the fact to first-degree burglary. However, Best was found guilty of three counts of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and accessory after the fact to first-degree kidnapping.

For each count of accessory to murder, Best received a minimum sentence of eight years and four months in prison. A total sentence of between 25 years and a maximum of 32 years, three months was handed down, according to the N.C. Department of Corrections.

Upon the conviction, Best’s attorneys filed an appeal in the N.C. Court of Appeals and the matter was heard this past November.

In the appeal, Best’s attorneys argued that the evidence was insufficient to support charges of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and accessory after the fact to first-degree kidnapping because the state established that Best was a principal offender, not an accessory. Additionally, Best’s attorneys argued that convictions on those charges violated Best’s right against double jeopardy because the same evidence was used to establish elements in both crimes and a defendant cannot be punished for felony murder and for the underlying felony.

His attorneys also maintained in their appeal that the court failed to properly instruct the jury that Best could be found not guilty if it was believed he committed the acts under duress or out of fear for his life. In the appeal, attorneys for Best said the court used “confusing and incomplete instruction” and omitted elements in the explanation of the accessory after the fact to first-degree murder charge.

In an opinion announced this week, the state Court of Appeals rejected the defendant’s arguments as being without merit.

No restitution

While the Court of Appeals upheld the October 2007 verdict, they did vacate the award of restitution to the families of Turner, Carr and Jones.

In its opinion, the Court of Appeals found “there is no ‘direct and proximate’ causal link between (the) defendant’s actions as an accessory after the fact and the harm caused to the victims’ families.” That direct link is in obstruction of the investigation or covering up the evidence.

The Court of Appeals stated that the only evidence that the defendant attempted to cover up the murders was that he cleaned the inside and outside of his car, used to drive the victims to the vacant lot in Keener. Best also attempted to pick up Brown and Bell at a local motel the day after the murders, but there was no evidence that either of those actions obstructed the investigation or assisted any of the three men from evading arrest, according to the Court of Appeals opinion.

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