16-Year-Old Breaks Down in Court and Shouts 'I Love You, Mama' After Being Charged as an Adult for Murder
A North Carolina teenager broke down in tears in court after being charged as an adult for murder.
According to local media outlet WCCB, 16-year-old Sean Simpson was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing of 16-year-old Zaquavious Dawkins in Gastonia, North Carolina, on Jan. 26.
Appearing at Gaston County Courthouse on Jan. 29, Simpson was overcome with emotion as the judge read his charges and appointed him a capital defender. Simpson will be tried as an adult and is being held without bail, per WCCB.
According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, an amendment to North Carolina's "Raise the Age" law came into effect on Dec. 1, 2024, and allows 16 and 17-year-olds to be tried as adults for felonies A through E, which includes murder.
Footage shared by WCCB showed Simpson crying and placing his head in his handcuffed hands. He then shouted, "I love you, Mama, I love you," as officers led him out of the courtroom.
WCCB reported that Dawkins was walking to a store on North Chester Street to buy items for his disabled mother when Simpson allegedly shot him.
"He gave me a kiss. He said, 'I'll be back.' I said, 'I love you too,' ' Dawkins' mother Tilise told local media outlet 7 News.
PEOPLE has contacted the Gaston Police Department for comment.
According to local media outlet the Gaston Gazette, a witness to the shooting told police that he and Simpson had fought the previous school year at Ashbrook High School.
A boy who had been walking with Dawkins from a Family Dollar store on Jan. 26 told detectives that a black Tesla drove past them and a boy in the back seat — who he identified as Simpson — shouted something out of the window.
Dawkins and his friend then began to run when the car returned again, but Simpson allegedly began shooting from the back of a vehicle, according to an affidavit submitted by officer J.R. Robinson, per the Gaston Gazette.
Dawkins was found covered in blood in a parking lot and had a gunshot wound to his right shoulder, per Robinson's affidavit. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
'He was sweet,' Dawkins' aunt Denise Wilson told WCCB last month. 'He was kind. He would do anything for anybody. I mean, all you have to do is just say, 'Tank, will you go do this? Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir.' "
'[You're] out here doing big boy things, and this is what's going to happen,' Wilson added to WCCB. 'You got to suffer the consequences.'
Ashbrook High School also paid tribute to Dawkins in a Facebook post on Jan. 27.
"Remembering Zaquavious 'Tank' Dawkins," they wrote alongside a photo of him. "The Green Wave family is heartbroken as we remember Zaquavious 'Tank' Dawkins, a truly special young man loved by so many."
"Tank was not only a scholar-athlete but also a kind and thoughtful soul who touched the lives of everyone around him," the statement continued. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time. Tank will forever be a part of the Green Wave."
They added, "Rest in peace, Tank. Your legacy will live on in our hearts."
Two days after Dawkins' death, Simpson was arrested at Gaston Adolescent Center, where he had been undergoing treatment, per the Gaston Gazette. According to the center's website, the center treats 'children and adolescents that have significant emotional and behavioral difficulties.'
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘It haunts you': Hackers, hijackers lock up Facebook pages
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — If scammers take over your social media account, you're encouraged to with the Michigan attorney general's office. The A.G.'s Office of Corporate Oversight has had some success helping victims of the increasingly pervasive scam regain control of their pages. 'Happy news!' texted one victim who'd contacted Target 8 investigators for help. 'I got my accounts back today. Attorney General's office made it happen.' Account takeovers are hardly a new phenomenon, but the problem has grown significantly. Attorney General Dana Nessel's office told Target 8 it received 50 such complaints in 2022, 185 in 2023, 485 in 2024, and 127 in the first few months of 2025. In March 2024, attorneys general nationwide penned a letter to Meta requesting the company take 'immediate action to address the… dramatic and persistent spike in complaints … concerning account takeovers…. We refuse to operate as the customer service representatives of your company,' the AGs declared. Kelly Roper, a Grand Rapids business owner whose Facebook page was hijacked, is hoping Dana Nessel's office will come through for her. She filed a complaint with the attorney general's office at Target 8's suggestion. 'I didn't know that I could do that,' said Roper in a recent interview with Target 8. 'I reported the fraud to Facebook. Every time you do something, it's a dead-end. You cannot get to anybody. You cannot talk to anybody. It is so frustrating.' It's been ten months since a criminal took over Roper's personal Facebook page, and she's still unable to access it. Her personal FB account is tied to her business page, which makes it difficult to market her business. Roper owns Show Salon in downtown Grand Rapids. Fake posts selling cars and crypto 'Around August of 2024, I had a friend reach out to me and say, 'I didn't know that you were selling a car on Facebook,' recalled Roper. 'I said, 'I'm not selling a car. I don't know what this is.'' It was the scam that's targeting individuals, businesses, and celebrities everywhere. In Roper's case, it started with the fake car-selling post. 'I actually reached out to Facebook and told them, 'I've been hacked. This is not me,'' explained Roper, noting that friends and family reported it too. No response from Meta, the company that owns Facebook, said Roper. Then, her Facebook page was disabled, so she started up a new one. That was in January of 2025. 'Around February or March, I get this call from a friend that said, 'I don't know if you know this, but somebody's posting that you are selling crypto,'' Roper told Target 8 in an interview at her salon on Monroe Center NW. The new post included a picture of a certificate with CyrptoCurrency Certification Consortium across the top. Roper's name was on it. 'Congratulations to me,' read the fraudulent post. 'So, this just came in today after months and months of endless study and training. I'm happy to announce that I've been certified as an Expert Crypto Trader after undergoing the rigorous training which lasted for over 24 months.' Fortunately, Roper's Facebook friends were not fooled. 'Everyone who knows me knows that I'm not going to sell crypto,' said Roper. 'I would never get involved in something like that. But it started posting all over Facebook, and, I mean, everywhere. It looked so official with my name on it. So, I was pretty obviously upset. I own a business. I didn't want people thinking that I did this, because I didn't. It was not me.' Another post featured a picture of a smiling middle-aged couple holding Roper's fake crypto certificate and praising her services. 'Kelly (Roper) is God sent (sic). Our debit are (sic) paid fully. $180k,' read the fraudulent post. Roper said she followed the steps in the 'Recover your hacked account' section of Facebook's online help center to no avail. When she tried to set up another Facebook page, she said Meta rejected it. 'It said, 'We reviewed your account and found it still does not follow our community standards on account integrity,'' recalled Roper. 'Not sure what that means because this is a brand-new account. I have not posted anything on it other than a picture of me.' At one point, Roper scanned her face. No luck there either. '(The) Facebook page said, 'scan your picture.' explained Roper. 'So, I scan it, and I still get rejected. (They say) that I'm not me.' The salon has found a work-around though; employees post on Instagram, and it shows up on the salon's Facebook page. 'It haunts you' Still, Roper feels personally violated. 'It haunts you,' said the salon owner. 'There are pictures of my kids, my dogs, my family. You know, this is a big deal.' BlackCloak Digital Executive Protection, a Florida-based cybersecurity firm, told Target 8 that Roper's experience is far from unique. 'It is very difficult,' said Ingrid Gliottone, Chief Experience Officer at BlackCloak, in a Zoom with Target 8. 'We're seeing it across the board trying to get a hold of an individual at any of these platforms to be able to retain access. I would say it's probably about a 50/50 shot that if you have your account compromised… you will be able to regain the account, unfortunately. It's just a flip of the coin what the system will accept or not.' Gliottone blamed Meta's lack of responsiveness on workforce reductions. 'Prior to COVID, these larger platforms like Meta, for example, had a lot more individual staff to be able to review those requests for when you thought your account was being impersonated, or your account was compromised and locked out,' explained Gliottone. 'What ultimately ended up happening, we saw a lot of those individuals be removed from those positions due to economic conditions.' Fewer humans, more automation In 2022, Mark Zuckerberg, founder, chairman and CEO of Meta, announced the company was cutting 11,000 jobs. 'That's why individuals… are having more difficulty trying to retain access to accounts,' explained Gliottone, 'because they're going up against automated systems and workflows, right? They'll go in and they'll submit, and they don't have… the documentation needed, so the system will automatically spit it back out and deny it.' Gliottone said some BlackCloak clients never regained access to their accounts. But she urges you to keep trying; report the fraud to Meta repeatedly and have friends and family do the same. '(It took one client) almost nine months before they were able to regain (control). They just kept trying.' Gliottone said weak passwords are most often to blame when bad actors gain access to accounts. Passwords and dual-factor authentication She urges you to create complex, unique, passwords, get comfortable using password managers, don't use variations of the same password and always enable dual-factor authentication. Prevention is the best protection. 'Some of the ways we have our clients achieve this in a relatively easy fashion is to think of short phrases or sentences because those are easier to remember,' explained Gliottone, referring to password generation. 'For instance, 'I love to fly.' You start off with capital 'I' and then, 'love' and then instead of 'to', you can use the number '2', and then 'fly' and you end with a period or an exclamation point. Strong passwords, that's the number one most important thing. Then dual-factor authentication is the next piece.' Facebook's online help center has pages on how to or someone pretending to be you or someone else on messenger. Target 8 sent emails to Meta and Facebook requesting comment. We received no response. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
News24
3 hours ago
- News24
Residents fuming over illegal tavern they claim is ‘owned and protected' by cops
1st Class Cape Town/Facebook Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once.
Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Police warn illicit drugs are labeled with emojis on social media. Here's a breakdown of those drug emojis
Law enforcement officials warn that social media sites are increasingly being used as storefronts for illicit drug sales, and emojis — those cute tiny symbols and characters — are being used as codes names for drugs that are available for purchase. An investigation into a case in Lompoc prompted authorities to break down the meaning of the emojis to help the public decode the illicit transactions. The drug case involved several students from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, in the northeastern Santa Barbara County, who fell ill after ingesting edible cannabis products in February, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, which issued a warning about online drug sales this week. The sheriff's office did not specify how many students were involved in the incident or what kind of cannabis products the students ate. Detectives from the sheriff's Cannabis Compliance Team and the school's resource deputy launched an investigation into the incident and determined that a 15-year-old student was provided edible cannabis products by an adult, Flor Yudith Zamora, 21, of Lompoc. The 15-year-old brought the cannabis products to the high school where the teen shared it with other students. Upon further investigation, detectives found that Zamora was using an Instagram account called ' to sell cannabis products, psilocybin (also known as 'shrooms'), nicotine products, codeine (an opiate) and alcohol to underaged children, according to authorities. In payments transactions and messages about the products, detectives found that emojis were used to identify the drugs that were being sold. The emojis were used in the discussions about payments sent to Zamora using Zelle and Cash App, services that allow peer-to-peer payments. In 2021, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had investigated more than 80 cases involving drug trafficking on internet apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube. Available drugs were advertised on these apps in stories that disappeared within 24 hours and in posts that were removed after a certain amount of time, according to the federal agency. In a published report, the agency found that once contact was made by commenting on a post or directly messaging the social media account, the conversation was then moved to encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram. Once a deal was made, drug sellers requested payment using peer-to-peer transaction services such as Venmo, Zelle, Cash App and Remitly. Officials from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office are asking parents to review their children's social media accounts for suspicious activity or unfamiliar contacts. 'Talk to them about the dangers of illegal drug activity and the risks of engaging with unknown individuals online,' the sheriff's office said in a statement. Anyone with information that could be helpful in this case is encouraged to contact the sheriff's Cannabis Compliance Team at (805) 681-4150 or by email at cannabistips@ Anonymous tips can be made by calling the office's tip line at (805) 681-4171 or online at
