A South Carolina couple accused of breaking into and squatting a $16-million-dollar mansion belonging to a NASCAR driver have an interesting excuse: they are members of the “Moorish Nation” that claims its members are the rightful owners of all property.
Darius Trrone Hall, 29, and Nataijah Shaieena Fields, 37, were arrested earlier this month after allegedly breaking into the North Carolina home of NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., WB-TV reported. The Mooresville home boasts five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and almost 10,000 square feet, and is currently on the market for $15,995,000.
Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten told the outlet that after their Aug. 19 arrest, Fields and Hall explained that they were members of the Moorish Nation and admitted to breaking into the house just off Highway 152.
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Rowan County Sheriff Major John C. Sifford told The Daily Beast on Monday that Hall and Fields allegedly “advised deputies that they had wired $16 million dollars to the Mayor of Mooresville for the residence.”
“The residence is in Rowan County and is not in the Mooresville City limits, nor does the Mayor of Mooresville have any connection with the property for sale,” Sifford said. “The Mayor did not receive any funds for the property.”
Sifford added that inside a car associated with the pair, deputies found a “number of items of sovereign citizen paraphernalia, along with a homemade license tag which displayed images and phrases associated with a Moorish sovereign citizen group.” (The Mooresville Mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Fields has been charged with breaking and entering, contributing to the delinquency of minors, and second-degree trespassing. Hall faces similar charges and another count for allegedly carrying a concealed weapon. Both have been released on a secure bond.
“My home was broken into and illegally occupied,” Stenhouse Jr. said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “I thank the Rowan County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Department for their prompt arrest of the suspects. I will have no further comment pending the outcome of any court proceedings against these individuals. Any claims by these individuals to a right in my property are without any basis in law or fact.”
NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Buda MendesThe Rowan County Sheriff did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment. Fields, however, insisted to The Daily Beast on Saturday via Facebook that the reports of her arrest “is falsified information and deformation of character that will legally and lawful [sic] addressed.”
“Once legal/lawful vindication is achieved I will make sure that news station either redacts or correct this story,” she added via Facebook message.
The 37-year-old’s Facebook contains photographs of paperwork that shows her affiliation with the Morocco Empire State and the Moorish National Republic. Another Facebook account that appears to belong to Hall shows similar Moorish National Republic paperwork. Hall could not be reached for comment and it is not immediately known whether he has retained an attorney.
The Moorish National Republic is among one of several independent organizations in the Moorish sovereign citizen movement in which individuals believe they hold sovereignty over the federal and state governments. That sovereignty, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, means members believe they are immune from the legal system and therefore don’t have to pay taxes or go through the process of owning property. The Moorish National Republic, which bills itself as its own distinct government, did not return a request for comment.
This is not the first time that the North Carolina area has had to deal with members of the Moorish Nation. In 2019, a Davidson couple was arrested after squatting in a five-bedroom estate owned by family members of the mayor. WB-TV reported that the couple—30-year-old Turmaine Thorne and 35-year-old Taqiyah Barber—reportedly arrived with a U-Haul loaded with their belongings and later told police they had a right to the property because of their religious beliefs.
