EDENTON — Nearly 10 months after a shooting at the Food Lion on Virginia Road sent shockwaves through Edenton, the suspect has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to prison.
On February 23, 2026, Raymark Devon Bembury, 26, of Edenton, entered a guilty plea in Chowan County Superior Court to one count of Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill, Inflicting Serious Injury, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. Resident Superior Court Judge Eula E. Reid of Pasquotank County accepted the plea and handed down the sentence.
Bembury was sentenced to 83 to 113 months in prison for the assault conviction. A concurrent sentence of 14 to 26 months was imposed for the firearm possession charge. Bembury also admitted to violating probation on his earlier Felony Fleeing to Elude Arrest conviction, and that 6- to 17-month sentence was activated to run consecutively — meaning it will begin after he completes the primary prison term.
The shooting
The incident occurred on the evening of May 4, 2025, when Edenton Police Department received multiple 911 calls at approximately 6:53 p.m. reporting gunfire near the Food Lion at 300 C Virginia Road. Officers from EPD and deputies from the Chowan County Sheriff’s Office responded and secured the scene.
What some social media posts initially called an active-shooter situation turned out to be a confrontation between Bembury, a Food Lion employee, and Jaquori Wilson, a customer at the store. Wilson sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest and was taken to ECU Health Chowan Hospital by a friend before being airlifted to ECU Hospital in Greenville, where he received further treatment. He has since recovered.
Police estimated that between 60 and 75 people were inside the store and another 30 to 35 were outside at the time of the shooting.
“We want to emphasize that this was NOT an active shooter situation,” EPD said in an early press release. “The incident was an isolated encounter between individuals known to each other and does not reflect a broader or random threat to the community.”
Bembury was arrested and initially charged with multiple counts, including felonious assault, possession of a firearm by a felon, and discharge of a firearm within an enclosure to incite fear. His bond was set at $5 million. Investigators noted preliminary findings suggested the incident may have been gang-related. Bembury had previously been convicted of Felony Fleeing to Elude Arrest and was prohibited by law from possessing a firearm at the time of the shooting.
A community comes together
In the days that followed, the shooting left a deep mark on Edenton. Mayor Hackney High described the Food Lion as “our town square — we go there for groceries, but we also go to see our neighbors and friends. This incident shook us to our very core.”
About 200 community members, first responders, clergy, and civic leaders gathered at Edenton Baptist Church on May 8, 2025, for a healing meeting organized by Police Chief David LaFon. Pastor Koby Strawser opened the evening by setting the tone: “We’re not here to have fun. We are here to learn. We’re here to grieve, and we’re here to heal.”
Mental health professional Keith Hamm of Integrated Family Services drew on more than 16 years of crisis response experience to address the trauma many residents were feeling. He praised LaFon’s initiative. “In all my years doing debriefings across 33 counties, I’ve never had a police chief initiate something like this,” Hamm said. “That tells me something good about Edenton.”
