NC House passes Jaleeyah’s Law targeting gang-related crime

A North Carolina House bill aimed at toughening the state’s response to gang-related crime advanced through the House Judiciary 2 Committee after lawmakers heard emotional testimony tied to the killing of 13-year-old Jaleeyah Tune in Goldsboro.

House Bill 1173, titled Jaleeyah’s Law, was filed April 30 by primary sponsors Reps. John Bell, R-Wayne; and Sarah Stevens, R-Surry. The bill has passed the House Judiciary 2 Committee and is headed to the House Rules Committee.

The legislation follows the death of Tune, a Goldsboro middle-school student who was shot and killed Dec. 21, 2025. The case involved an ambush-style shooting by teenagers with alleged gang ties while Tune was walking home with her sister. Goldsboro police charged three teenage boys with first-degree murder and felony conspiracy in connection with the shooting. Because the suspects are juveniles, their names have not been released.

Tune’s mother, Whitney, told lawmakers that her daughter’s death has left lasting damage on her family and community.

“She was only 13 years old. Our lives are forever changed,” she said, adding that the family hopes the legislation can help “save other lives with prevention and intervention.”

Bell told the committee the bill grew out of the family’s desire to respond to tragedy with action.

“This law is the result of a tragic incident that happened in our community where a beloved 13-year-old little girl was murdered four days before Christmas last year,” Bell said. “It shocked our community; it rocked our community, and the whole community in our area grieved.”

But rather than remain silent, Bell said Tune’s family wanted to “do something in a big way” to help prevent another family in North Carolina from experiencing the same loss.

House Bill 1173 would strengthen North Carolina’s criminal gang laws by creating tougher penalties and increasing law enforcement options to deter gang-related crime. Rather than focusing on a single penalty, the bill would affect several aspects of criminal law, including gang recruitment, firearm possession, sentencing enhancements, and the legal definition of criminal gang activity.

Bell said the proposal is designed to give prosecutors clearer tools.

“The North Carolina Criminal Gang Suppression Act, originally passed in 2008, requires near impossible evidence to prove criminal gang activity, leadership, and membership,” Bell said. “This bill puts realistic definitions in place while still putting the world on notice of what gang activity and gang crime in North Carolina is.”

The measure would increase punishment for recruiting others into criminal gang activity, with stiffer penalties when the person recruited is under 18. Online recruitment is addressed as well. Jaleeyah’s Law would make social media and other digital communications part of the recruitment statute, reflecting concerns that gang recruitment increasingly happens online.

The bill would also strengthen sentencing enhancements for felonies committed as part of criminal gang activity, meaning defendants could face more serious charges and longer sentences when prosecutors prove a gang connection.

Firearms are another major focus. Under the proposal, someone identified by a North Carolina court as a criminal gang member could be charged with a felony for possessing, owning, purchasing, or controlling a firearm. Gang members would face additional penalties for using, carrying, or possessing a firearm during certain violent or drug-related crimes.

The proposal drew concerns from civil-liberties advocates and some lawmakers, who warned that the bill could sweep too broadly.

Rep. Deb Butler, D-New Hanover, said she supports holding criminals accountable but is concerned about how broadly the bill defines gang involvement.

“What we don’t want to do is create a dragnet that is so broad that it targets people who are merely guilty by association,” Butler said. “Criminals need to be in jail. Let me be clear about that again. But we don’t want to give up our civil rights or our constitutional rights and put people in jail who are not guilty of a crime.”

A representative from the American Civil Liberties Union opposed the bill, arguing that lowering the threshold for identifying someone as a gang member raises First Amendment and due-process concerns.

“What happened to Jaleeyah is a horrible tragedy, but this law isn’t the solution,” the ACLU representative said. “Lowering the threshold for someone to be considered a gang member from three criteria to only two raises First Amendment and due-process concerns. While someone isn’t being convicted of being in the gang, they are very much being punished for it.”

The ACLU representative said some of the criteria used to identify gang affiliation can involve protected speech or conduct that may not prove criminal involvement.

“If we’re going to increase the punishment for people who are in gangs, we need to be sure,” the representative said. “Wearing a certain color and having a picture online flashing a gang sign does not necessarily mean that they are in fact a member of a gang.”

Stevens defended the bill’s intent, saying it is aimed at criminal activity rather than association alone.

“I believe the intention of the bill is clear; this must involve some kind of criminal activity,” Stevens said.

Jaleeyah’s Law would also provide new resources for prosecutors, appropriating funds to hire two additional resource prosecutors within the Conference of District Attorneys to focus on criminal gang activity cases, along with a district attorney investigator.

If passed, the bill would take effect Dec. 1, 2026, and apply to offenses committed on or after that date.

“NC House passes Jaleeyah’s Law targeting gang-related crime” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.