A pastor reached a $4.4 million settlement last week with the city of Winterville, North Carolina, over a wrongful arrest lawsuit, according to The National Registry of Exonerations.

Darron Carmon, the pastor at Greater Village Gate Church in Woodville, North Carolina, and Rebuild Christian Center Church in Winterville, contended he was wrongfully convicted of a robbery with a dangerous weapon charge in 1994, according to a declaración from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.  Carmon was 19 at the time of the conviction and served eight years in state prison.

In 2022, his conviction was overturned by the Pitt County Superior Court, the statement said.

Then in March 2023, Carmon filed a civil demanda judicial against Winterville and several of its police officers. He sought compensation for his wrongful conviction and argued the officers withheld crucial evidence in the case against him.

Last month, Governor Cooper issued a pardon of innocence for the pastor.

Now, the city has reached a $4.4 settlement with Carmon. However, as a part of the settlement, Winterville and the officers refuse to admit any wrongdoing, according to a declaración from the city.

“While the Town believes strongly that there was no wrongdoing by the Town or its Officers, the Town is pleased to have this matter resolved, and is ready to move forward,” the statement read.

Carmon said the settlement speaks for itself.

“The Pitt County Courts has spoken. I think Governor Cooper with a pardon of innocence has spoken. I think the settlement itself has spoken also,” Carmon said in an interview with WITN. “And so now we have 4.4 million more reasons why it is Winterville was actually wrong.”

Carmon told WITN that he’s frustrated by the lack of acknowledgment from the town “because you cannot fix what you do not face. And so that means to me it’s subject to happen to somebody else.”

He said that the settlement is the end of a 30-year fight. He noted, “I’m grateful to God that I have made it to this place.”

El Informe Roys (TRR) reached out to Carmon and Rebuild Christian Church for further comment but did not hear back prior to publication.

New Fingerprint Evidence Unearthed

Carmon’s conviction stemmed from the robbery of a convenience store in 1993, according to the demanda judicial.

A store clerk alerted police that the shop had been robbed by a man via gunpoint. When police officers Donnie Greene and Emmanuel Armaos arrived, the clerk described the suspect as a “6’ black male with an afro haircut,” according to the lawsuit.

The suit claims that the officers manipulated this statement to match Carmon’s appearance. At that time, Carmon was 5’6” with a short, cropped haircut.

The officers also took fingerprints at the scene but refused to disclose them to Carmon’s attorney or the district attorney, the lawsuit said.

The fingerprints instead sat in an evidence locker for 28 years until Carmon’s post-conviction counsel discovered them. Carmon then gave his fingerprints, and they were compared to the crime scene evidence. They did not match, the suit said.

In 2022, a judge overturned Carmon’s conviction finding that if the fingerprint evidence had been available, it was likely that the pastor wouldn’t have been convicted, according to the suit.

Sin embargo, en un declaración from the town, Winterville argued the store clerk identified a photo of Carmon as the suspect. The town also said Carmon’s parents provided the only evidence about different heights, not the officers involved.

Regarding the fingerprints, Winterville asserts, “To this day, it is unknown why or where the prints were taken, whether the palm print was recognized in 1993 as potentially useful for comparison, or who had knowledge that the palm print was in the file.”

Winterville pointed out that, “Even using today’s technology and searchable databases, no alternative suspect has ever been identified.”

Carmon’s Whole Life Impacted by His Prison Time

After a one-day trial in 1994, Carmon was found guilty of robbery with a firearm, according to the lawsuit.

He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. While in prison, Carmon attempted suicide “due to not being able to mentally cope with the weight of false incarceration,” he said in a Facebook post on his church’s página. 

“For those of you that believe in miracles, God brought me back from the dead,” he continued.

Carmon was released from prison in 2001 for good behavior, according to the lawsuit.

El dijo WITN that his time his prison still impacts him.

“I don’t think that anyone can spend eight years in prison and not be impacted by it,” he said. “And so it has impacted my life. I’m just able to use it for some good. And that’s where me serving the community and just doing a bunch of things for other people comes in at. Ya know it’s the way I deal with my own pain is by helping other people heal from theirs.”

Carmon told WNIT he ultimately settled the lawsuit with Winterville because that’s what the insurance companies vied for.

Carmon Continues to Serve His Community

Now, Carmon continues to pastor both churches and is involved in his community.  He also leads a youth mentoring nonprofit and organization called People Against Racism, according to his Facebook page.

On Saturday, Carmon al corriente a thank you to all of the people who have supported him throughout this process.

He said many helped protest with him in front of Governor Cooper’s mansion to receive his pardon.

“Many traveled to Raleigh and protested in front of the Governor’s Mansion on numerous occasions,” he wrote. “I would often call a protest just days in advance and supporters would show up ready. On some of these days, it was cold and or even raining but no one complained because they CARED.”

On social media, many are celebrating the recognition of Carmon’s innocence.

“4.4 million more reasons why the town of Winterville were dead wrong,” Wanda Harrell al corriente on Carmon’s page. “That’s right Pastor you said they were wrong, the courts proved they were wrong and your FLOCK stood and is still standing 10 toes behind you.”

Teric Gollet, comentado on one of Carmon’s posts, expressing that “(I) will never stop supporting you! It’s the least I can do, to show my love and appreciation for all that you have done for me and my family!

Carmon’s lawyer, Tin Fulton, lauded the pastor’s commitment to helping others.

“Pastor Carmon is basically the best human on the planet,” Fulton said. “He has personally adopted five children who needed a family and has served as a father figure to many others. He has helped countless people in the deepest ways.”

Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.