Attorney General Jeff Jackson Keeps Violent Criminals Behind Bars, Preserves Convictions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
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RALEIGH - Attorney General Jeff Jackson and the North Carolina Department of Justice successfully defended several criminal convictions in cases where defendants were seeking to have their convictions overturned or reversed. The convictions were originally argued and obtained in trial courts by district attorneys across North Carolina. The North Carolina Department of Justice is responsible for defending criminal convictions obtained by local district attorneys in the state's appellate courts.

"My top priority as Attorney General is keeping people safe, and that means going after violent criminals," said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. "Each of these cases involves a violent criminal who was lawfully convicted by local district attorneys and appealed to reverse their conviction. My job is to make sure those convictions stay in place and that justice was upheld."

In Court of Appeals opinions released June 17, the court upheld convictions in several cases, including a first-degree murder case in Wake County, a sexual battery case in Hertford County, and an assault case in Cleveland County.

In State v. Calvo-Hernandez, the court upheld Juan Manuel Calvo-Hernandez's conviction of first-degree murder and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. The case was initially investigated by the Cary Police Department and tried by the office of Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. According to the court opinion, in February 2021, a group of friends met at a Cary bar, and one person in the group noticed the defendant staring or throwing gang signs. Later, a person shot the defendant, then sped away. When others in the group left the bar, the defendant then started shooting at everyone through an open car door. Four people were shot, and one of them eventually died. The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and three terms of 72 to 98 months in prison.

In State v. Roberson, the court upheld Marty Bryan Roberson's convictions of four counts of sexual battery, four counts of indecent liberties with a child, and two counts of second-degree kidnapping. The case was initially tried by the office of Hertford County District Attorney Kim Scott. The court described that Roberson had a romantic relationship with a woman who had a 13-year-old niece. On multiple occasions in 2022, he sexually abused the niece multiple times while the two were at her grandmother's house, where the victim visited almost daily and the victim's aunt lived. The child disclosed the abuse in 2023. The defendant was sentenced to 73 to 144 months in prison.

In State v. Sanders, tried by the office of Cleveland County District Attorney Mike Miller, the court upheld Jermaine Sanders' conviction of assault inflicting serious bodily injury. In March 2022, Sanders and his wife got into an argument about his plans to take her car despite not having a license. The argument escalated, leading to Sanders choking his wife to get her car keys. Eventually, the defendant got in his wife's car, and she sat on the hood to prevent him from driving away. Sanders drove down the driveway with her on the hood. She put her foot on the ground to try to stop the car, and Sanders kept accelerating, causing his wife to fall off the hood of the car. She was taken to an emergency room and was diagnosed with a concussion, an ankle fracture, left hip pain, and a skin abrasion. The defendant was sentenced to 19-32 months in prison.

In recent weeks, the Department of Justice has also successfully defended convictions in cases including the following:

In State v. Wise, the court upheld Tyrique Lazara Wise's conviction of two counts of sale or delivery of a schedule II controlled substance, possession of cocaine with intent to sell or distribute, and two counts of aggravated death by distribution. The case was initially tried by the office of Dare County District Attorney Jeff Cruden. In September 2021, a woman purchased cocaine from the defendant for herself, her friend, and her friend's boyfriend. The woman and her friend's boyfriend both died after snorting the cocaine. The woman's sister told an officer that she and the woman had been buying cocaine from Wise since June 2021 and that he had sold the woman cocaine on the night she died. Post-mortem toxicology tests revealed that both victims had fentanyl in their systems and died from multi-drug toxicity. The purported cocaine purchased was tested and revealed to be a cocaine-fentanyl mixture. The defendant was arrested and later found guilty by a jury. The defendant was sentenced to consecutive terms of 17 to 30 months and two terms of 207 to 261 months in prison.

Death by distribution charges have historically been difficult to prove. The state's original death by distribution law went into effect in 2019 in response to the opioid crisis. In 2023, the General Assembly revised the law, establishing harsher penalties and simplifying the burden of proof.

In State v. Tyson, originally tried by the New Hanover County District Attorney's Office, the court affirmed Breon Jaquel Williams Tyson's conviction of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. A jury found Tyson guilty in 2024 on this charge, along with five counts of taking indecent liberties with a child and five counts of solicitation of a child by computer. He was charged after he hired the victim, who was 14 years old at the time, to work in his ice cream shop in April 2023. Shortly after that, Tyson began relentlessly messaging the teen, soliciting sexual material. The victim told a friend about the texts, and the friend's mom reported the behavior to authorities. The investigation later revealed additional unlawful behavior. The defendant was sentenced to 16 to 80 months and two terms of 16 to 29 months in prison.

In State v. Huff, the court upheld Brandan Daniel Huff's conviction of contributing to the delinquency or neglect of a juvenile and statutory rape of a person who was 15 years of age or younger. This case was initially tried by the office of Yancey County District Attorney Seth Banks. The defendant was sentenced to between 23 and 32 years and eight months in prison.

In State v. Jackson, the court upheld Tiffany Latoya Jackson's conviction of first-degree murder. This case was originally tried by the office of Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. Jackson was convicted of shooting and killing another driver. The defendant was sentenced to 276 to 392 months in prison.

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