Former Newton Police Department Lieutenant Carlos Alverto Uribe pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Camden Childers, a case that turned what police initially described as a pursuit and confrontation into a criminal conviction against the officer who pulled the trigger.
According to the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office, Uribe entered the guilty plea on June 4, 2026, in Catawba County Superior Court. Sentencing was deferred until the September 8, 2026, session of court.
The shooting happened on June 26, 2025, after Childers, who was riding a motorcycle, led law enforcement on chases in other jurisdictions before Newton officers attempted to stop him. Prosecutors said Childers eventually rode into a cul-de-sac near Walmart in Conover, North Carolina, where he reached a point where he could no longer get away from officers.
The District Attorney’s Office said Uribe positioned his patrol car so that it made contact with the motorcycle, knocking Childers and the bike to the ground. Uribe’s body camera footage captured him telling Childers to get on the ground while Childers had his hands up in surrender.
Investigators with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation determined that Uribe kicked and shot Childers after Childers had surrendered and was no longer considered a threat. Prosecutors said the footage showed Uribe approaching Childers, kicking him in the stomach, and then a gunshot being heard.
After the shot, Childers could be heard repeatedly saying that he was sorry and that he had been shot, according to prosecutors. Uribe was heard saying, “You don’t go for somebody’s gun …,” but prosecutors said the video showed no evidence that Childers had a gun or attempted to reach for one.
Childers was taken to Catawba Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Prosecutors said autopsy findings showed he died from a single gunshot wound to the upper left chest.
Local reporting from WBTV said Uribe had previously been indicted on a second-degree murder charge after prosecutors alleged his use of deadly force was not justified. WCCB Charlotte also reported that investigators found no video evidence showing Childers had a gun or tried to get one.
After Uribe’s guilty plea, attorneys for Childers’ family provided a statement to Spectrum News, saying Camden’s death was a tragedy his mother did not want any other family to suffer. The family called the guilty plea “a major step on the long road to justice.”
This case stands out because the officer was not merely disciplined, sued, or accused in an internal investigation. Uribe pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after state investigators and prosecutors concluded that the person he shot had surrendered, had his hands up, and was no longer a threat.
For a police officer, the power to use force is supposed to come with restraint, judgment, and accountability. In this case, prosecutors said the body camera footage showed the opposite: a motorcyclist on the ground, hands raised, apologizing, and then fatally shot by the officer who was supposed to take him into custody.
