Superior Court Judge, Wake County (N.C.)
Hon. Keith O. Gregory
Bench Watch Brief · Profile in brief
Keith O. Gregory is a Wake County, N.C., Superior Court judge who presided over the Faith Hedgepeth murder trial in Durham County and sentenced Miguel Salguero-Olivares to life without parole on Oct. 23, 2026. Gov. Roy Cooper appointed him in 2018, and he won election that November. A former prosecutor and defense lawyer, he won re-election unopposed on Nov. 3, 2026, according to unofficial results.
Before the bench
Wake County District Court judge from 2010 to 2018. Before that, by his own account, he had 15 years of trial experience as a criminal defense lawyer and also served as an assistant public defender and an assistant district attorney (IndyWeek, 2018).
Highlights and issues
Election
Re-elected unopposed, 71,996 votes
District 10D (Wake County). Unofficial results, all 42 precincts reporting, as of Nov. 14, 2026. He was the only candidate who filed for the seat.
Notable ruling
Sentences Miguel Salguero-Olivares to life without parole in Faith Hedgepeth's killing
After a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, rape, sexual offense and burglary, Gregory imposed life without parole plus consecutive terms on the other three counts. Notice of appeal has been filed.
Notable ruling
Notable ruling
Denies Republican request to block UNC mobile IDs for voting
Notable ruling
Rejects Democratic Party bid to remove the We the People Party from the N.C. ballot
Election
Tracker · covers 2021–2026 · updated November 14, 2026
Judge Keith O. Gregory's record in serious criminal cases
Bench Watch logs decisions by Judge Keith O. Gregory of North Carolina's Superior Court in serious criminal cases, from court records and news reports. It isn't a complete record. It includes his Wake County murder and sex-crime sentences since 2021 and his rulings in the Salguero-Olivares murder case, which he presided over through the Oct. 23, 2026, verdict and sentence.
14 entries · select a column to sort
| Source | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026Election year | State v. Salguero-Olivares | Sentence: first-degree murder, rape, sexual offense and burglary (jury trial) | Life without parole, plus consecutive terms of 64 to 89 months and two of 240 to 348 months | Life without parole was the only sentence for first-degree murder once the state didn't seek death (G.S. 14-17); notice of appeal filed | SourceCase file | |
| 2026Election year | State v. Salguero-Olivares | Dismissal | Refused to dismiss the case over a lost blood swab | Defense asked to dismiss; prosecutors said there was no bad faith and called the loss negligence | SourceCase file | |
| 2026Election year | State v. Salguero-Olivares | Openness | Denied the prosecution's request to seal pretrial motions | Prosecution asked to seal; defense opposed | SourceCase file | |
| 2025 | State v. Salguero-Olivares | Ruling: trial date, missing evidence and witnesses | Set trial for Sept. 28, 2026; ordered prosecutors to get police to account for a missing blood sample; said two out-of-state witnesses should testify in person | Prosecutors: a September 2026 trial. Defense: May 2026, and depositions of the two witnesses | Source | |
| 2024 | State v. Taiseer Zarka | Sentence (voluntary manslaughter, jury) | 5 to 7 years, plus therapy, no contact and community service | Victim's parents asked for the maximum | Source | |
| 2023 | State v. Tyshon Gerod Solomon | Sentence: two counts of first-degree murder in a drive-by shooting (jury trial) | Consecutive terms of life without parole | No prejudicial error on appeal (2025) | Source | |
| 2023 | State v. Michael Gregory Plaza Jr. | Sentence: first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm (jury trial) | Life without parole, plus 21 to 35 months | No error on appeal (2024) | Source | |
| 2023 | State v. Horace Devon Teel | Sentence: voluntary manslaughter in a fatal shooting (jury verdict; sentence agreed in a plea) | 68 to 94 months | Agreed in a plea agreement after the verdict | Matched the agreed sentence; no error on appeal (2024) | Source |
| 2023 | A Wake County man (name withheld to protect a child) | Sentence: indecent liberties with a child and a statutory sex offense (jury trial) | 364 to 536 months | The Court of Appeals overturned the convictions; the N.C. Supreme Court reversed that ruling (2026) | Source | |
| 2022 | State v. Elijah Umelo and Roland Lacure | Sentence (first-degree murder) | Life without parole for both | Source | ||
| 2022 | State v. Devin Cordell Jones | Sentence: second-degree murder (guilty plea) | 18 years to 22 years 8 months | A negotiated plea | Source | |
| 2021 | State v. Freeman | Sentence: armed robbery and conspiracy in a robbery where a co-conspirator killed a man (guilty plea) | Presumptive range on the robbery counts; cut a separate trafficking sentence to 41 to 59 months for substantial assistance | Defense: a mitigated sentence for testifying at a murder trial; the state agreed he had cooperated | Presumptive range; declined to find mitigating factors; appeal dismissed (2022) | Source |
| 2021 | State v. Pedro Isaias Calderon | Sentence: three counts of indecent liberties with a child (jury trial) | Three consecutive terms of 16 to 29 months | Upheld by the N.C. Supreme Court (2025) after the Court of Appeals had ordered resentencing | Source | |
| 2021 | State v. Curtis Levon Jackson | Sentence: second-degree forcible rape and sex offense, first-degree kidnapping (jury trial) | Sentenced on the remaining convictions after arresting judgment on one assault count; length not stated in the opinion | No error on appeal (2024) | Source |
We flag election years because studies of judges in Pennsylvania, Washington and North Carolina found sentences grew harsher as contested elections approached. A flag isn't a finding about this judge; it lets you compare.
Cases we follow in this courtroom
Video · WRALCriminal trialSentencedState of North Carolina v. Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares
Durham Cnty. Super. Ct. · No. Pending
A Durham County jury found Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares guilty on Oct. 23, 2026, of first-degree murder, rape, sexual offense and burglary in the 2012 killing of UNC-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth, 19. He was sentenced to life without parole. He has filed notice of appeal, and on Nov. 3 his lawyers asked for a new trial.
Updated November 14, 2026 · 3 min read
Sources
- N.C. State Board of Elections: 2026 candidate listOther
- IndyWeek: 2018 candidate questionnaireOther · October 15, 2018
- N.C. State Board of Elections: Nov. 3, 2026, results feed (unofficial)Other · November 14, 2026
- Ballotpedia: Keith O. GregoryOther
- WRAL: Hedgepeth verdict and sentenceOther · October 23, 2026