The world changed for dozens of people April 22, 2011.
Shortly before 6:30 p.m., in the 900 block of East Shine Street, a man followed two prostitutes to an upstairs bedroom. Some minutes later, Alphonso Patton burst into the room brandishing a gun, along with his brother, Charles Carter.
The women ran out the back door of the apartment, and Thomas Earl Mewborn ran past the brothers as well, down the stairs and out the front door. Patton and Carter gave chase, and that’s where Patton shot Mewborn three times, killing him.
Patton pled guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree robbery with a dangerous weapon Tuesday in Lenoir County Superior Court. He was facing first-degree charges on both counts before the plea.
Patton’s attorney, James Antinore, asked for Judge Paul L. Jones to consider a sentence different than “every minute he can get, because Patton’s ‘a good person who made a mistake.’ ”
Antinore also said the homicide came from “the convergence of two or three bad decisions,” and that Patton practically admitted guilt for the crime after being arrested in Dudley.
Assistant District Attorney Imelda Pate asked for a tougher sentence.
“(Mewborn) had done nothing to deserve this, this day,” Pate said. “He was trying to get away from them. And Mr. Patton’s now left a family without a cherished member.”
A number of Mewborn’s family members spoke before sentencing, including his widow. Beverly Mewborn said she wishes she could have been there to comfort him when he died.
“Even though we were separated at the time, I still love him,” Beverly Mewborn said. “He’s my husband. He was the father to my children, he’s my best friend — he was a confidant.”
Jones explained to Patton that he should be grateful for the sentence he was about to receive.
“You are very fortunate, because under felony murder, you would normally get life in prison without parole, or the death penalty,” Jones said.
He later added, “If you have gotten anything less than life in prison, you have gotten mercy. In this case, the victim was not given mercy, was not given consideration, was not given mitigation. He got a death sentence that was undeserved.”
Patton will spend between 21 years and eight months to 27 years and six months in state prison. He received 15-18 years and nine months for the murder charge, and six years and eight months to eight years and nine months for the robbery charge.
Jones ordered the sentences run consecutively.
Patton, 23, was 21 years old at the time of the shooting. Mewborn died at the age of 49.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.
