Armed intrusion ends in homicide

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Summary: A 32-year-old man named Dilan Herbert was shot and killed during a robbery at his home on Best Street in Raeford, North Carolina, on April 28, 2026. Thomas Makiel Flood, 21, faces first-degree murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery charges. Ashlynn Jane Berner, 26, was later arrested as an accessory after the fact for helping him flee. Herbert leaves behind his fiancée and young daughters.

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Evenings usually bring the simple comforts of home—kids playing, dinners shared, doors left unlocked without much worry—in the peaceful neighborhoods of Raeford, North Carolina. That sense of safety shattered on April 28, 2026, when a planned robbery at a house on Best Street escalated into murder, leaving a 32-year-old man dead and his loved ones reeling.

Dilan Herbert never made it through that night. Deputies from the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office arrived just after 11 p.m. to find him unresponsive inside the home, a single gunshot wound to his chest. Paramedics pronounced him dead on the scene. What began as an armed intrusion quickly revealed layers of betrayal and violence: the attacker not only stole a money clip filled with cash and debit cards but also restrained a woman who was present, holding her against her will before firing the fatal shot.

Investigators moved fast. By the next morning, April 29, they had identified and arrested Thomas Makiel Flood, a 21-year-old Raeford resident. Flood now faces serious charges—first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and discharging a firearm inside a dwelling. He remains in the Hoke County Detention Center with no bond, partly because he was already out on pre-trial release for unrelated matters.

The case didn’t end there. Detectives later uncovered evidence that someone helped Flood slip away after the crime. On May 6, authorities charged 26-year-old Ashlynn Jane Berner with accessory after the fact to both murder and the armed robbery. She allegedly drove Flood from the scene, assisted in dumping the getaway vehicle, the gun, and the stolen items in woods along Sanders Road roughly four miles away, and even covered a hotel room for them in Fayetteville while accepting some of the cash. Berner is also being held in the Hoke County jail on a high bond.

For Herbert’s family, the loss cuts deep. He leaves behind a fiancée and young daughters who were caught in the horror of that evening. Friends and relatives have spoken out online, sharing memories and setting up support to help cover funeral costs and care for the girls. In a town where neighbors still wave to one another, this crime feels especially jarring—a stark reminder that violence can invade even the most ordinary places when trust is misplaced.

As the court process continues, Hoke County residents are watching closely. The sheriff’s office continues to piece together exactly what led Flood to target that home, hoping the full story brings some measure of closure to a grieving family.

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Suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Hoke County Sheriff’s Office Felony Press Release
GoFundMe for Dilan Herbert’s family