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Youngest brother charged with accessory after murder of Wake County deputy

A third brother was charged Wednesday in connection with the August murder of Wake County Deputy Ned Byrd.

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By
Chelsea Donovan
, WRAL reporter

A third brother was charged Wednesday in connection with the August murder of Wake County Deputy Ned Byrd.

Rolando Marin-Sotelo, 19, of Winston-Salem, was charged with accessory after the fact to murder. He was arrested at the Durham County detention center, where he had been held on a federal retainer since a traffic stop last year. He pleaded guilty to those federal charges on May 1.

Wake County took him into custody after the arrest and added a $1 million bond. Rolando Marin-Sotelo is scheduled to appear in court Thursday. His older brothers, Arturo Marin-Sotelo, 29, and Alder Marin, 25, are already charged with Byrd's murder.

According to warrants dated May 31, Rolando Marin's charges stem from helping his brother, Alder Marin, evade arrest by reselling a 2005 Chevy Colorado truck connected to the crime scene.

Byrd was on his way to K-9 training late in the evening of Aug. 11 when he noticed the suspicious, light-colored truck. Byrd pulled over to investigate, leaving his K-9 in the car. The deputy was found dead around 1:06 a.m. on Aug. 12 with multiple wounds to the back of his head. Authorities found Byrd outside his parked patrol vehicle on the side of Battle Bridge Road in southeastern Wake County.

Rolando Marin-Sotelo, 19, of Winston-Salem, was charged with accessory after the fact to murder. He was arrested at the Durham County detention center, where he was being held on a federal retainer since a traffic stop last year.

Surveillance video captured on Byrd's dashcam picked up the sound of six gunshots and shows the truck leaving the scene.

Rolando Marin-Sotelo was linked to the case when investigators checked the older brothers' phones.

The youngest brother was taken into custody shortly after Byrd's death after a traffic stop where he was in possession of marijuana, cash and a gun. He told investigators that his brother Arturo paid him $300 to sell a Chevy Colorado – the same make and model of truck believed to be seen on Byrd's dash cam – to someone known as Beto on Aug. 16. Authorities seized the truck as evidence.

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