Defendant Overturns Courtroom Table After Guilty Verdict

EDGECOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — A convicted killer made an angry exit from an Edgecombe County courtroom Friday.

Seconds after the judge read a guilty verdict, Derrick Harper overturned a table and started yelling obscenities. He also fought with four officers trying to bring him under control.

Harper was convicted of shooting two men outside a Conetoe nightclub last year.

Four people in the courtroom audience were also arrested during the melee -- Harper's wife, two sisters and a friend will each spend 30 days in jail.