James Mitchell Prince, a 36-year-old police officer from Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina, was tragically killed on January 18, 2005. Officer Prince was conducting a routine traffic stop on N.C. 87 at approximately 1:00 am when he encountered a 19-year-old suspect wanted on a probation violation in a neighboring county. During the arrest attempt, a struggle ensued, and the suspect managed to gain control of Officer Prince's service weapon, shooting him three times.
Officer Prince was found shortly after by a Southport Police Department officer who had responded to the scene as backup.
The suspect, identified as Darrell Wayne Maness, fled the scene and later fired shots at officers from the Caswell Beach Police Department and Oak Island Police Department. He was eventually apprehended hiding under a mobile home after being flushed out with tear gas. Coincidentally, the county's grand jury was meeting on the day of Officer Prince's murder and indicted Maness on murder and ten other felonies within 13 hours of the incident. Maness was convicted of capital murder and subsequently sentenced to death.
Officer Prince had served as a part-time officer for the Boiling Spring Lakes Police Department, an 8-person department, and had previously served with the Yaupon Beach Police Department, Oak Island Police Department, and Shallotte Police Department for a total of six years. He is survived by his wife, two small children, and parents. The community mourned the loss of a dedicated officer and a devoted family man, known for his involvement in organizing father and son fishing trips and his love for cooking.
