RALEIGH, N.C. – Loved ones of fallen Wake County Deputy Ned Byrd are planning several events this weekend to honor his life on the one-year anniversary of his shooting death.
On Aug. 11, 2022, Byrd was on his way to the Wake County Training Facility with his K9, Sasha, when he saw a truck parked on the side of a rural area of Battle Bridge Road. He stopped to check it out. Two hours later, his body was found with four gunshot wounds, including three to the back of his head. K9 Sasha was found safely, inside Byrd’s SUV.
Two brothers, Alder Marin-Sotelo and Arturo Marin-Sotelo have been charged with murder in Byrd’s death. The pair have a status hearing scheduled for Sept. 7.
‘A tough year’
One of Byrd’s best friends, Jason Colbreth, says he will never forget the calls, texts and heartbreak from that night.
“It sucks, especially the whole conditions of it, you know,” Colbreth said. “Had he gotten sick and all that kind of stuff, that’s a different type of loss. But something like this, you know, the manner made it even more difficult because it was so senseless.”
Colbreth got to know Byrd first as his jiu-jitsu instructor, but their friendship became much more of a brotherhood after more than 10 years of training together.
“I mean, he was family. I wouldn't call him my best friend. He was family,” Colbreth explained. “There was, you know, we did my brother and I and many of his other friends. I mean, literally, Ned was treated like family.”
“It's been a tough year, you know?” Colbreth said. “I’m lucky I have a picture. So, I look at him every day and miss him every day. But, you know, it ain't easy.”
Other friends of Byrd describe him as someone who was caring, hardworking and memorable.
“He was the strongest human being I think I ever met, in this compact little frame, and he just went hard,” Conrad Faust, a friend of Deputy Byrd’s, said.
“I got to know Ned through a lot of workouts, through a lot of sparring sessions and anybody who knew him they recognized that he just had a huge heart, he’s a great friend, he had an iron will, and he was insanely strong.”
Upcoming events that honor Ned
Friday, Aug. 11, the Wake County Sheriff's Office honored him with a 2-mile run.
"The Byrd family and about 55 deputies, detention officers, and police officers from local departments came together and ran from the Wake County Law Enforcement Training Center to Deputy Byrd's memorial on Battle Bridge Road," according to a news release from the WCSO.
Other events are planned this weekend too.
Colbreth and others helped organize events on both Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 12 and 13, to honor him.
On Saturday, there will be a Roll for Ned event at PNC Arena, where law enforcement, first responders and the public can gather to learn self-defense classes. Organizers say funds from the event will be going to the families of fallen officers.
The 2023 Ned Byrd Memorial Triathlon will be on Sunday, Aug. 13, beginning at Iron District CrossFit at 9 a.m., with a roll event at 11 a.m., followed by a mountain bike ride at 2:30 p.m. The event encompasses three of Byrd’s favorite hobbies. All proceeds from the triathlon will be going to Spike’s K9 fund.
“All this attention around him, he [Byrd] would think is ridiculous, but I think he would enjoy it,” Colbreth said. “You know, who wouldn't… He is very, very highly thought of and remembered.”
“I think one of the reasons why something like this is able to take place for a guy like Ned was because he was so self-sacrificing, and he would do anything for anyone regardless of how inconvenienced he would be,” Faust said, Byrd’s friend.