ROCKINGHAM — A civil rights activist is returning to Richmond County Tuesday to “demand full transparency” from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
John C. Barnett III, of True Healing Under God, is hosting a second press conference in relation to the Dec. 14 incident outside Ellerbe when 23-year-old Sidney Dillon Pittman reportedly fired into the back of Tashika Trimble’s Dodge Challenger.
Trimble said she was delivering packages for Amazon when she mistakenly pulled into Pittman’s driveway. After realizing her mistake, Trimble said she made the delivery to the correct address and as she was leaving, Pittman shot into her car.
Pittman was arrested Dec. 15 and charged with a single felony count of discharging a weapon into an occupied property and a misdemeanor count of injury to personal property.
He was jailed on a $200,000 secured bond and released on bail Dec. 18.
Some in the community have compared the charges filed against Pittman with those recently filed against Xavier Antonio Dequan Wall, who is accused of shooting into a Hamlet home in 2023 and was arrested Dec. 16, 2025.
Barnett hosted a press conference on Dec. 22 outside the old courthouse, calling for the sheriff’s office to charge Pittman with two counts of attempted murder, since Trimble had her teenage son in the car with her.
At that time, he wanted the charges filed by Christmas.
District Attorney Jamie Adams watched the press conference and later posted a video to social media saying she was “going to do the right thing.”
As of 5 p.m. Jan. 5, no additional charges had been filed.
A rally was held at Macedonia Church in Ellerbe on Jan. 3.
“This was not an accident. This was not a misunderstanding,” Barnett said in a press release ahead of the rally. “A mother and her child were placed in mortal danger while she was simply doing her job.
“Our goal is to ensure that the justice system treats this case with the seriousness it deserves.”
Tuesday's press conference is scheduled for 4 p.m.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
NOTE: This story has been updated to add the time of the press conference. 6:11 p.m. 1-5-26.
