Issiah Mekhi Ross, the 17-year-old accused of shooting two other juveniles to death on Sept. 17 in Mebane, North Carolina, appeared in an Orange County courtroom Tuesday.
Authorities released Ross’ name after charging him with murder as an adult in connection to the deaths of Lyric Woods, 14, and Devin Clark, 18.
The suspect’s Tuesday court appearance was procedural after the 17-year-old’s case was transferred from juvenile court to Superior Court, according to CBS 17.
Family members of the deceased also appeared in court wearing t-shirts that read, “Justice for Lyric Woods” and “Justice for Devin,” according to CBS 17 reporter Hayley Fixler, who posted a video of Ross walking into the Orange County courtroom on Tuesday morning.
Prior to Ross’ arrest, on Oct. 5, Delaware State Police arrested and charged Nakaysha Ross, 22, and McKenzie Mitchell, 21, with hindering prosecution after they allegedly harbored Ross, who was considered a fugitive for 18 days before police finally caught him, according to Orange County and Delaware authorities.
Ross was located at their residence, according to Delaware State Police.
ATV riders found the teenage friends shot to death on Sept. 17 after their families last saw them on Sept. 16 and reported them missing the next morning, according to authorities
One of the ATV riders, who called 911 after coming across the grisly discovery, told police here was no address where he found the bodies. They were located bedside a gravel road beneath power lines parallel to an ATV trail in a rural area off of Buckhorn Road in Mebane.
NORTH CAROLINA DOUBLE MURDER: JUVENILE SUSPECT ACCUSED OF KILLING 2 TEENS ARRESTED
“They’re just laying on the side of the road,” the caller said at the time.
Clark was a junior at East Alamance High School in Mebane, where he played football. Woods was a freshman at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough.
CBS 17 reported that Ross was also a student at Alamance High for a total of six days this year.
It is unclear what the pair were doing together when they disappeared on Sept. 16 or how they were shot dead by Sept. 17. Authorities have not revealed Ross’ motive for allegedly killing the two friends.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Orange County Investigator Keith Goodwin at 919-245-2918.
