A teenager accused of killing a younger teen pleaded not guilty in Cleveland County court Wednesday.
Prosecutors say that Dylan Brian Penson was the trigger man when he took the life of 16-year-old Nathan Kyle Hester on June 15, 2020.
Following Penson s not guilty plea, his attorney, Gus Anthony, asked to have his client’s $1 million bond reduced.
Though Penson has two co-defendants in the case, Cleveland County Assistant District Attorney Sally Kirby-Turner called Penson the aggressor and turned to Hester’s family during the hearing.
Hester’s mother, uncle and sister implored the judge not to lower the bond.
“He pulled the trigger. It needs to stay or be higher,” Hester’s mother, Virginia Hester, said of the bond amount.
The Star would like to take a moment to remember some of the lives lost this year.
Obviously every life lost in Cleveland County can t be included in one article, but here is a look at some people we ve said goodbye to
Tyler Herndon
Mount Holly Police Chief Don Roper believed he was a better man for having known and worked with Herndon, and that both the police department and the entire city of Mount Holly were better places because of Herndon’s influence. We realize any one of us could be called home at any time, Roper said of the dangers of law enforcement at Herndon’s service. But Tyler always looked like he just stepped out of a police recruiting poster.