Girlfriend of Man Who Allegedly Shot, Killed 5-Year-Old N.C. Boy on Bike Is Also Charged
GoFundMe Cannon Hinnant
Authorities in North Carolina have filed criminal charges against a second individual for her alleged involvement in the August murder of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant.
Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit, 21, was arrested on Tuesday, reports the Wilson Times, WLOS, and WTVD.
Pettit is charged with felony accessory after the fact, according to local reports.
Wilson Police have yet to clarify just how Pettit allegedly served as an accessory to the crime.
Pettit is being held on $250,000 secured bond, and it was unclear if she has an attorney who could speak on her behalf.
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During her first appearance in court Wednesday, prosecutors alleged that Pettit knew her boyfriend, 25-year-old Darrius Sessoms, had shot Cannon Hinnant when she helped Sessoms flee town.
She is also alleged to have provided transportation for him when he was fleeing.
Pettit did not enter a plea on Wednesday.
After the shooting, Sessoms allegedly left the area in a 2019 Toyota Corolla. Police found him later inside a home in Goldsboro and charged him with first-degree murder.
According to police, at the time of the shooting, Cannon was outside on his bike with his sisters, who are 8 and 7. At that point, Sessoms allegedly exited his residence and walked up to Cannon, pointing a gun at the boy's head and pulling the trigger.
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Sessoms, a neighbor told police, had eaten dinner with Cannon's father the night before the shooting.
One neighbor claims that Sessoms ran back to his home after the fatal shooting, and believed the suspect had been playing with the children.
Police have not disclosed a possible motive for the killing.
A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $800,000 for the little boy's family.
The Wilson Police Department is encouraging anyone with information regarding this case to contact the Wilson Police Department at 252-399-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 252-243-2255.
Sessoms, who is being held without bond, has not entered a plea before a judge, and has no lawyer of record who could comment on his behalf.
