WHITEVILLE, NC — A second defendant has been convicted and sentenced in connection with the fatal 2023 shooting of 53-year-old Michael Jason Scott in Whiteville, bringing closure to a murder investigation that spanned more than three years.
District Attorney Jon David’s office announced Monday that Nicholas J.C. Mitchell, 18, entered a guilty plea to Second-Degree Murder in Columbus County Superior Court. Following the plea, Mitchell was sentenced to serve between 144 and 185 months—a minimum of 12 years—in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
Mitchell’s conviction follows the earlier trial and sentencing of co-defendant Kenneth Bernard Wooten, who was convicted of second-degree murder earlier this month and sentenced by Chief Resident Superior Court Judge C. Ashley Gore to 30 years in prison.
The 2023 Fatal Shooting on Ward Street
The convictions stem from a violent drug robbery and shooting that occurred in Whiteville on June 24, 2023.
According to evidence presented by prosecutors and findings from a joint investigation conducted by the Whiteville Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Wooten orchestrated a plan to rob Scott under the pretense of purchasing narcotics at a residence located at 429 Ward Street.
Investigators determined that Wooten brought Mitchell—who was 17 years old at the time—along to assist in executing the robbery.
During the encounter inside the residence, Wooten ordered Mitchell to shoot Scott. When Mitchell refused to fire the weapon, Wooten grabbed Mitchell’s revolver and shot Scott five times.
Scott was transported via private vehicle to the emergency room at Columbus Regional Healthcare System in Whiteville, where he later died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigative Timeline and Legal Process
Following the June 2023 shooting, Whiteville Police detectives and SBI agents launched an extensive homicide investigation, quickly identifying Wooten and Mitchell as the key suspects.
Because Mitchell was 17 years old at the time of the offense, he was initially held in a juvenile detention facility while state prosecutors moved to transfer his case to adult court. Upon turning 18, Mitchell was formally indicted as an adult on murder charges.
With Mitchell’s sentencing on Monday, state prosecutors have officially resolved both homicide cases associated with Scott’s death.
District Attorney’s Statement
Reflecting on the final resolution of the cases, District Attorney Jon David emphasized the tragic loss of life and the severe legal consequences for both perpetrators.
“While no prison sentence can restore Michael Scott’s life, these convictions ensure that both defendants are held accountable for their actions,” David said in a statement following Monday’s court proceedings. “These defendants chose greed and violence over the value of human life. The consequences of those choices will now be measured not in dollars or drugs, but in decades behind bars.”
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