Spring Lake high-speed chase suspect out on bond for 2023 murder, faces new charges
SPRING LAKE, N.C. (WTVD) -- As 25-year-old Darren Powell faces new charges for a deadly high-speed crash in Spring Lake during the weekend, neighbors are speaking out about how they don't believe he should've been let out on bond while he awaits trial in a murder case.
Powell is facing one first-degree murder charge and two attempted murder charges for a shooting last July that left one woman dead.
Court documents show that investigators believe both Powell and a man named Hakeem Wilson shot at a home on Mammoth Drive in Fayetteville while two men were inside. A neighbor named Barbara Adair driving a vehicle in the area was shot and killed.
Powell and Wilson were both charged. Powell faces one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West told ABC11 that his office argued against the release of Powell as he awaits his murder trial. However, back in October, Judge Luis "Lou" Olivera signed a pre-trial release order granting Powell bond if he posted $350,000.
"We had argued that this defendant should remain in custody because he was a danger to the community," West said.
Powell posted bond and agreed to several pre-trial release conditions. He was placed on house arrest and ordered to wear an ankle monitor. He was not supposed to leave Cumberland County. He was not allowed to consume or possess any alcohol.
On Saturday, North Carolina State Highway Patrol claims he violated several of those conditions when they caught him speeding down Highway 87 in Harnett County going 110 mph, double the speed limit in that portion of the highway.
I think it's messed up that how he was able to get free and then commit another crime as serious as this.- Ash Thomas, neighbor of shooting victim
Troopers tried to pull him over, but they said he sped off toward Cumberland County where Highway 87 turns into North Bragg Boulevard. When he came to the intersection of N. Bragg and McKenzie, the light was red. Troopers said he tried to go around stopped traffic and ended up hitting another car, killing the car's passenger, Delfina Sanchez, and seriously injuring the driver of that car.
Powell then hit a light pole and his car caught fire. Troopers said they pulled him out of the car, and he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Troopers said they believed alcohol was a factor in the crash.
"This is the type of thing we're trying to prevent from happening. So, just frustrating and just a very sad for the victim and the victim's family in this case," West told ABC11.
Powell is now facing three additional charges for speeding, reckless driving, and eluding arrest in a motor vehicle causing death.
He did appear in court Monday to have his bond revoked but has yet to appear in court on his new charges as he had to be taken back to the hospital Tuesday.
West said his office is still deciding whether to seek the death penalty against Powell for Adair's murder.
ABC11 went to the neighborhood where Adair was shot. Neighbors told us she lived in that neighborhood, and recalled her being a friendly woman.
One neighbor, Ash Thomas, said his wife and 4-month-old daughter were home across the street when the shooting began last July. He said his wife called him once the shots started.
"I was terrified. I was worried for their safety. I didn't know what the outcome of it was going to be, and my first thought was, I need to get home," Thomas told ABC11. His wife and child were not hurt in the shooting, but Thomas said they were shaken up.
Another woman who did not want to be named said she witnessed the shooting, saying she had to run to get away once the shots started.
"It was scary because I didn't know I could have got shot. I had to get out the way I could have got shot, and then I ran," she said.
Both neighbors were disappointed to hear that their neighbor's alleged killer was accused of killing someone else in that high-speed chase while out on bond.
"I think it's messed up that how he was able to get free and then commit another crime as serious as this," Thomas said.
ABC11 will be at Powell's next court appearance and continue to track this story.
