VANCEBORO — A man wanted on attempted murder charges in Hamlet was recently apprehended nearly 200 miles away.
Marterio Jonta Clark, 20, is accused of discharging a high-powered weapon into an occupied moving vehicle on March 19. He was 19 years old and had a Hamlet address, according to court documents.
Arrest warrants were issued to the Hamlet Police Department on March 31, charging Clark with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling or moving vehicle.
According to the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, deputies with the Criminal Patrol Division conducted a traffic stop on Bailey Lane in Vanceboro on Sept. 20.
Deputies reportedly developed probable cause to search Clark’s vehicle and found a Glock .357-caliber handgun, a scale, packaging materials and “a large amount of money.”
The Craven County Sheriff’s Office arrested Clark without warrant and charged him with misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana paraphernalia and carrying a concealed gun.
Court records show Clark has an address just north of the Vanceboro town limit.
Deputies also reportedly learned of the outstanding warrants from Richmond County.
Clark is being held without bond on the Richmond County charges and was given a $20,000 secured bond on the Craven County charges. He is scheduled to appear before a Richmond County Judge on Sept. 23. His next court appearance for the Craven County charges is Nov. 9.
"(T)his is a prime example of the daily proactive work performed by our Criminal Patrol Bureau in getting dangerous individuals off the streets of Craven County," Sheriff Chip Hughes said in a statement.
Records show Clark has several prior traffic infractions in Craven, Richmond and Moore counties. The attempted murder case is the only one to list a Hamlet address.
Clark has no prior convictions in the state.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
