What Is The Connection Between Roanoke Rapids, NC, And A Mysterious Death In Mississippi?

Two Police Officers Put On Suspended Unpaid Leave

Trail Cam Photo of Rasheem Carter on the day he went missing. Photo courtesy of Carter family.

ABC11 in Morrisville, NC, reported today that Roanoke Rapids, NC, Police Chief Bobby Martin and Captain Jamie Hardy had been placed on unpaid suspended leave “pending an investigation.”

Earlier today, The NC Beat posted the same information. The NC Beat also included the statement that “Anonymous sources tell The North Carolina Beat that #RoanokeRapids #NorthCarolina Police Chief Billy Martin (should have been Bobby) and Captain Jamie Hardy has been suspended without PAY for allegedly helping Clements (Stephen Clements) stay informed on the next move of authorities in #Mississippi.”

The article on The NC Beat that references the anonymous source has since been deleted.

ABC11 also stated that the two were put on leave after City Administration received allegations. Because it was a personnel matter, no further information was available.

Rasheem Carter, from Fayette, Mississippi, was working on a contract at Georgia-Pacific in Taylorsville, Mississippi, when he disappeared on October 2, 2022. Rasheem told his mother, Tiffany Carter, in his last conversations that white men were threatening him. He also related that his boss, Stephen Clements, had targeted him, and if something should happen to him, Clements would be the reason.

The skeletal remains of Carter were found in the woods approximately one mile south of Taylorsville after the landowner spotted a shirtless man on his Trail Camera. The landowner turned the photo over to the Taylorsville Police Department, who then forwarded it to Smith County Sheriff Joel Houston.

Carter’s remains were recovered on November 2, 2022. The Mississippi Medical Examiner could not determine the cause of death due to the decomposition of the remains; however, the MBI continued its investigation.

How were Martin and Hardy accessing the “next steps,” and why were they provided to Stephen Clements?

The MBI has appealed to the public for help investigating Rasheem Carter’s death.