Roll of Honor
Veronica Skinner Darden
Incident
Correction Enterprises Manager Veronica Darden, Correctional Officer Justin Smith, and Correctional Officer Wendy Shannon were killed during an escape attempt from the Pasquotank Correctional Institute at approximately 3:00 pm.
On October 12th, 2017, several inmates ignited a fire inside the prison's Specialty Sewing Plant as a diversion. The inmates then attacked responding corrections officers with hammers and scissors obtained in the sewing plant. Prison personnel and responding fire department crews were able to bring the fire under control and prevent the escape.
Officer Shannon was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital where she passed away on October 30th, 2017.
Four inmates were charged with first-degree murder as a result of the incident. The Pasquotank district attorney said he would be seeking the death penalty against all four.
The first of the four inmates was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder on October 21, 2019. A week later he was sentenced to death. The 23-year-old had been serving a 24-year sentence since 2013 for attempted murder after he shot a North Carolina State Trooper in Durham four times, twice in the face, after he pulled him over for a seat belt violation. He was wanted in Vermont for violating his parole after he served 18 months of a two-year sentence for more than 100 burglaries including one in which he stabbed a woman several times. After he shot the trooper it was discovered he was making a bomb when his Durham apartment was searched. A map of the Raleigh-Durham area was found nearby with circles on it of all the police departments. He received a 40-year sentence in federal prison. The trooper recovered and returned to duty.
Correction Manager Darden had served with the North Carolina Division of Prisons for 10 years.
Thank you for your service and please know that your sacrifice will always be remembered by your law enforcement brethren.
Detective Cpl/3 Steven Rizzo Delaware State Police (Retired) October 12th, 2020
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-NC-14045C50- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Correction Enterprises Manager Darden gave the North Carolina Department of Public Safety 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of North Carolina. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Correction Enterprises Manager Darden.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Correction Enterprises Manager Veronica Skinner Darden is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NC, 385 of 664 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 58% of this state's fallen. That is 3.8 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At North Carolina Department of Public Safety - Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, 13 of 31 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 41.9% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Veronica Skinner Darden's cause is highlighted.
How Veronica Skinner Darden Compares
Offender Outcome
Guilty of first-degree murder
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Veronica Skinner Darden is highlighted in Oct.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Veronica Skinner Darden was killed by blunt object.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
30 officers from North Carolina Department of Public Safety - Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
