Ex-DA recalls NC murder of Michael Jordan’s father 31 years ago
LUMBERTON, N.C. (WBTW) — It was 31 years ago on Tuesday when NBA legend Michael Jordan’s father James was murdered.
News13’s Annette Peagler sat down with Johnson Britt, the young Robeson County district attorney responsible for prosecuting the case that led to murder convictions against Larry Demery and Daniel Green.
James, who was wearing one of his son’s championship rings at the time of his death, was shot and killed in his car off the side of Interstate 95 in Lumberton. He was 57.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime case,” Britt said. “For me, it’s the biggest case I’ve ever tried. It’s the longest case I ever tried.”
Demery took a plea deal and admitted to his involvement but claimed that Green pulled the trigger. Green has denied for decades having anything to do with the crime.
News 13 received a statement from Daniel Green’s attorney, Lauren Miller, who works for the North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services.
“Daniel has consistently maintained that he is innocent of the murder of James Jordan and he will continue to fight to have his day in court so he can present evidence that the jury in his case did not get to hear,” Miller said.
Britt was in his 30s when the case came his way in the summer of 1993.
“The (North Carolina) State Bureau of Investigation had contacted me,” he said. “They were going to have some hearings in the case, and (I) actually came in and sat on those as a spectator. I knew that, from [what] I’ve heard, it wasn’t going to be tried before my predecessor left office.”
When it came to the evidence, Britt said the case was straightforward.
“The car was found in Cumberland County outside of Fayetteville,” he said. “The body was found in South Carolina near Bennettsville. And the phone records really ended up pinpointing where they were.”
James Jordan was attending a funeral and driving back to Charlotte from Wilmington on July 23, 1993. He made a stop and parked his car off I-95 when Demery and Green murdered and robbed him.
He was shot in the right side, clipping his aorta and hitting a rib. There was no exit wound. Jordan’s red Lexus became a centerpiece of the investigation.
“After they dumped the body, they went on a joyride, for days,” Britt said. “Then, when the information from the phone started coming in, that’s how they investigated Daniel Green and Larry Demery, their whereabouts.”
James’ badly decomposed body was spotted on Aug. 3 by a fisherman in the area of Gum Swamp in Marlboro County. Authorities were able to identify him through dental records and fingerprints.
Both Demery and Green were involved in a string of robberies leading up to James’ death — and it was their hubris that ended up breaking the case open.
“Mr. Jordan might be calling Los Angeles,” Britt said. “He might be calling Cleveland, Chicago, Charlotte — and all of a sudden it became Pembroke, Lumberton, Rowland, Laurinburg.”
Another damning piece of evidence emerged during the trial. Green appeared in a rap video wearing James’ belongings.
“You got to look at who got the spoils from the robbery, and that was Daniel Green,” Britt said. “He got Mr. Jordan’s championship ring. He got Mr. Jordan’s NBA All-Star ring. He got the watch that Michael had commissioned to be made. “On top of that, he’s wearing a Chicago White Sox hat, and that’s who Michael ended up playing baseball for.”
Both men were brought to justice, but only Green went to trial because of Demery’s plea deal. Britt was trying to get the death penalty for Green.
“I think what weighed on some of the jurors’ minds was which one was actually a shooter,” Britt said. “They didn’t want to send someone to death for a crime they weren’t certain that he was a shooter. He’s clearly a participant however you look at it.”
Green and his attorney at the time, Chris Mumma, filed a postconviction motion for a new trial, but a judge denied that motion in December 2019. An appeal sought to vacate the order, but that was tossed out in October.
Both men will eventually be up for parole.
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