Van Milton DeBerry
LAURINBURG — A Laurinburg man is behind bars after a Friday night shooting left one dead.
According to Capt. Chris Young with the Laurinburg Police Department, officers responded to Blues Farm Road around 9:35 p.m. in reference to shots fired with a gunshot victim.
At the scene, officers found 23-year-old Vendell Taylor DeBerry inside the residence with a gunshot wound. Scotland County EMS transported him to Scotland Memorial Hospital where he later died of his injury.
Detectives charged his brother, 22-year-old Van Milton DeBerry with first-degree murder, discharging a firearm from within an enclosure to incite fear and discharging a firearm in the city limits.
This is not the first time Van DeBerry has had run-ins with law enforcement, on May 12, 2022, he was arrested after being one of the multiple people discharging firearms on Pitt Street. At the time he was charged with discharging a firearm into occupied property, felony inciting a riot, two counts of felony conspiracy, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, three counts of assault by pointing a gun, going armed to the terror of the public, discharging a firearm in the city limits and two counts of injury to personal property.
In November of 2022, Van DeBerry was shot in the upper back leg at the Tobacco House on South Main Street but would not cooperate with law enforcement at the time.
This is also not the first time law enforcement has come to the home on Blues Farm Road, on July 20, 2021, a search warrant was obtained for the property which lead to finding numerous firearms and drugs inside.
At the time the LPD partnered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after a narcotics investigation found marijuana and Schedule II controlled substances were being distributed by residents of the home.
During that search warrant, Vincent Hall, Ellen Hall, and Vandell DeBerry were all arrested while warrants were obtained for Van Deberry as he wasn’t at the home at the time of the search.