Late last week it was reported that a member of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) stationed at Ft. Liberty (Bragg), North Carolina was under investigation after he shot and killed a 35-year-old Chechen man who was trespassing on his property. Since the original reports, some disturbing information about the deceased and the company he was allegedly contracting with has come out - and it's got special forces families nationwide spooked.
Here's a brief synopsis of what happened, courtesy of the Moore County Sheriff's Department:
On the evening of May 3, 2024, at approximately 8:15 PM, Moore County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a report of trespassing at a residence along Dowd Road in Carthage, North Carolina. The caller indicated that an individual was observed taking photographs on the property and had become aggressive towards another resident outside their home.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered the body of 35-year-old Ramzan Daraev from Chicago, Illinois, who appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds. Daraev was found approximately 250 yards from the roadway, along a powerline on the residential property. Identification was not found on Daraev; however, his identity was later confirmed through family members and an international identification located in his vehicle.
Daraev was reported to have been working as a subcontractor for Utilities One, a company based in New Jersey, at the time of his death. Investigators are still working to verify his official employment status. At the time of the incident, Daraev was not in possession of any utility equipment, utility clothing, or identification. The incident has been reported to the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
There are quite a few red flags in just that initial story.
First, most utilities send some kind of notice to residents that there will be workers/subcontractors out in the field who might access their property. This is an especially good idea in rural North Carolina, and an even better idea in an area so close to Fort Bragg/Liberty, where so many Special Forces soldiers live. Apparently there was no such notification in this case.
Second, generally utilities workers, even if subcontractors, wear some kind of identifying gear and/or reflective vests. Daraev was found 250 yards (more than the length of two football fields) from the roadway and along a power line, according to the MCSD. The Sandhills area of North Carolina (where Carthage is located) is extremely wooded and it's strange that Daraev wasn't at least be wearing a reflective vest, since that's hunting country. It's also interesting that MCSD doesn't say what Daraev was wearing when he was shot. Was he wearing camouflage?
Third, the 911 call came in at 8:15, about 10 minutes after the official sunset time for that date for Carthage. How many legitimate utilities workers are out working at that time of night when it's not an emergency? Further, how many legitimate utilities workers are out there working at that time of night without any equipment, utility clothing, or identification? And if he was legitimately there, why get "aggressive"?
On Thursday Fox News' Jennifer Griffin reported additional details that are pretty disturbing but which also help to paint a clear picture of what's going on.
Two Chechen men who spoke broken English were found near the soldier's home. The family alleges the suspected intruder, 35-year-old Ramzan Daraev of Chicago was taking photos of their children. When confronted near a power line in a wooded part of the property, an altercation ensued and Daraev was shot several times at close range. A second man, Dzhankutov Adsalan, was in a vehicle some distance from the incident and was questioned by authorities and then released. The Moore County Sheriff's office is leading the investigation.
The two Chechens had no personal identification. They did have two cell phones with Russian language contacts and camera equipment.
Since they spoke broken English it's not surprising that the cell phones had Russian language contacts, but there is no reasonable explanation for someone who's supposedly a fiberoptic utility installer taking photos of the soldier's family.
Also, sources in the community tell RedState that "apparently the Colonel had his own cameras up and this was the 3rd or 4th visit" by Daraev and Adsalan and that there have been "a lot of suspect things in the area, family members [of special forces soldiers] followed, et cetera." Footage from the Colonel's cameras could shed a lot of light on what happened not just on May 3rd but also what happened on those other occasions, and if family members of other area soldiers have been followed recently, it's understandable that the Colonel was on heightened alert.
On Friday, Griffin reported that Daraev and Adsalan were in the country illegally and that "the phones collected at the scene have been taken to an Army base for analysis." If I had to guess, I'd say that the base they were taken to is Fort Liberty.
Griffin also reported:
Utilities One [is] a foreign-registered New Jersey-based company founded in 2016 by a young CEO from Moldova, who founded the firm three years after moving to the U.S. and working as a dishwasher and selling ice in Alaska. The company was incorporated on December 20th, 2023.
The company's vice president of fulfillment and infrastructure is from Russia as well.
The CEO is Serghei Busmachiu, and there are a number of people from Eastern Europe on the executive team, including Alin (Alexandrin) Patron and Dumitru Boscanean. Patron is the registered agent for a number of Utilities One branch corporations.
Daraev was once an entrepreneur himself; according to the Ready Ratios database of Russian business entities, from February 2017 through November 2018 he was registered as a "sole entrepreneur" involved in the "Wholesale of timber, building materials and sanitary equipment" and also was involved in residential and commercial construction, including roofing.
As Griffin's reports mentioned, there is a Change.org petition supposedly created by Daraev's sister seeking "Justice for Ramzan Daraev." Some of the information here is duplicative, but I'm quoting the petition extensively to show the grammatical structure (emphasis mine):
Daraev Ramzan, 35, a native of Chechnya. Of chechen nationality. On May 3, 2024, while doing his work in the city of Carthage, North Carolina, on Dowd Rd., was killed in cold blood by the inhabitant of the city near the place, where Ramzan was photographing a report of he’s completed work.
Ramzan was not armed and did not show any aggression towards the killer. At the place, where report of the completed work were taken by Ramzan, the inhabitant confronted him on the curbside, armed with a firearm and found him working, when suddenly decided to take he's life. For an unknown reason, this man fired several shots and brutally took the life of Ramzan, who was 35 years old and had big plans for his future life. Ramzan left Russia, not realizing that the greatest injustice against him would be done in a free country, where, in theory, he should have received protection.
We are Ramzan's family, we ask you to support this petition so that the culprit in Ramzan's death receives the deserved punishment. The police, after a short interview with the killer, released the killer home, who, with a sense of fulfilled duty, continues to live and enjoy his life. We ask the United States community to support and promote this petition.
The killer of Ramzan made 4 shots towards Ramzan, shots that hit him in different parts of he’s body. One of the bullets hit the hand, two in his back and one, which we see as “the last one” was made in the face.
What was the purpose of firing 4 shots towards an unarmed person, who’s obviously running away, otherwise bullets wouldn’t hit Ramzan in the back.
There's been no release of information from the MCSD or any law enforcement source about where Daraev was shot or how many times. Daraev's "family" makes a big allegation about the way things went down and attempts to drive the narrative by saying he was "obviously running away" if he was shot in the back, but it's not that obvious. If the Colonel had been attacked when he confronted Daraev, prompting the Colonel to take out his weapon and shoot Daraev, then it's possible that he was shot in the back during that scuffle.
The company Daraev was allegedly contracting with, Utilities One, issued a statement Saturday claiming (among other things) that law enforcement hadn't even contacted them. Enjoy the subtle propaganda in this statement; they're hitting all the right PR notes about hating America and diversity:
It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of Ramzan Daraev, a subcontractor for Utilities One. Ramzan was performing pole surveys as part of an ongoing engineering design project for deploying fiber infrastructure in Carthage, NC on May 3rd. This unfortunate event has deeply affected us all.
Ramzan Daraev emigrated to the United States from Russia to escape the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. He sought safety and a new beginning in America, away from the threats posed by the war. Tragically, his life ended in this unforeseen and devastating manner.
Utilities One provides engineering and construction services nationwide. Our employees and subcontractors are assigned work on a diverse range of projects from telecom providers, funded by both private and public sectors, including government programs funds, without selecting specific locations such as particular streets or zip codes. Utilities One operates globally, employing and subcontracting individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, including but not limited to Americans, Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, Romanians, and Middle Eastern individuals.
At this time, neither the Moore County Sheriffs Office nor any other government officials have reached out to Utilities One for information regarding this incident.
To avoid interfering with the ongoing investigation, Utilities One will not disclose any further details publicly. We firmly believe that justice for Ramzan Daraev will be served through a comprehensive investigation and that the individual responsible for this heinous act will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We are committed to supporting Mr. Daraev's family during this incredibly difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and we will provide any necessary assistance.
The press release concluded with a photograph Utilities One claims is "the last one taken by Ramzan Daraev as part of his assignment, prior to being shot."
This is an interesting tactic on behalf of Utilities One. There are reports that Daraev was using a telephoto lens to take photos at the residence, and this is clearly not one of those photos because there is no way that Utilities One would have a photo from a camera that was in Daraev's possession when he died since the investigation is ongoing (unless the company had remote access to his phone, which would not be surprising). Not sure that this proves Daraev was there for a legitimate purpose either, because if they were casing the Colonel's house they would take pictures like this to share with others on their team. And if Utilities One is a front company for some kind of Russian hit squad, then this picture unfortunately (/sarcasm) is the last one Daraev got before the good guy ventilated him.
Moore County isn't a stranger to strange happenings. The county is also where two electrical power substations operated by Duke Energy were shot up in December 2022, leaving the overwhelming majority of the county without power for nearly a week. There have been no arrests or named suspects in that attack.