Tomar Bloodworth, a 19-year-old African American male, was fatally shot on May 8, 2018, in Wilmington, North Carolina. The incident occurred in the 2800 block of Chestnut Street around 8:50 p.m. Bloodworth was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when he was shot in the right side of his abdomen. His father drove him to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where he arrived at 8:45 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after the shooting.
Despite multiple blood transfusions and resuscitative efforts, Bloodworth was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m. The autopsy revealed that the gunshot wound came from either a .38- or .22-caliber handgun. At the time of his death, Bloodworth was wearing an electronic monitoring device on his ankle, as he was serving a 30-month probation sentence for a January conviction in Lincoln County for possession of a firearm with its serial number removed.
Three teenagers were charged in connection with Bloodworth's murder. Brandyn Queen, 17, Devontae Ronnie Mitchell, 18, and an unidentified 15-year-old were arrested and faced murder charges. Queen and Mitchell were scheduled to appear in New Hanover County court on November 13, 2018. Mitchell was on pre-trial release at the time of the killing, awaiting trial on charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon. He was also charged with first-degree murder and held at the New Hanover County Jail without bail. The 15-year-old's identity was not publicly disclosed by the Wilmington police.
On April 8, 2021, Brandyn Queen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to up to 13 years in the department of adult corrections. Devontae Mitchell pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to second-degree murder and was sentenced to up to five years. Mitchell admitted to contacting Bloodworth to buy marijuana, which led to an argument and the subsequent shooting. Mitchell initially lied to detectives about the crime, blaming the juvenile for the shooting. However, the juvenile admitted to being present during the incident but stated that Queen and Mitchell were the ones who shot Bloodworth and conspired to place the blame on him due to his age.
