QCity Metro29%
Mecklenburg D.A. wins 75 murder convictions in six months 2%
By Glenn H. Burkins23%
7/22/2026, 10:15:50 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 11 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Post Hoc (False Cause), and Unattributed Quote, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 5.5% saturation with 62 hits. Analysis detected 375 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,135 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 8.3% and a BS Rank of 2% (21,647 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 98.90% of the article peer group.
The Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office convicted 75 defendants on murder charges in the first six months of 2026, according to a mid-year report released this week.
All but six entered guilty pleas, and of those who opted for trial, five were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
All were prosecuted by the D.A.’s homicide team, and none was acquitted.
In a statement, the D.A.’s office noted two factors: a 2025 restructuring and the hiring of an additional prosecutor under North Carolina House Bill 307, also known as Iryna's Law, named for Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) light rail train on August 22, 2025.
The homicide team also investigated two officer-involved shootings in the first half of 2026.
In its statement, the D.A.’s Office listed 26 of the 75 convictions, including:
Hubert Wilkinson , 34, was tried for first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and attempted first-degree murder in the 2020 shooting that killed 44-year-old Lawrence Crank and injured another man.
A jury found Wilkinson guilty as charged.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder charge and a consecutive sentence of 180-228 months in prison for the attempted first-degree murder charge.
Judgment was arrested for the remaining charge.
Ayyad Sukkar , 26, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, common law robbery, and financial card theft in the 2024 death of 36-year-old Corey Robinson.
Sukkar was sentenced to 238-298 months in prison.
Desmond Dunlap , 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2024 death of 79-year-old Fred Dunlap.
He was sentenced to 240-300 months in prison.
Da’marion Godfrey , 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon in the 2024 murder of 17-year-old Melakah Corbette.
He was sentenced to 125-162 months in prison.
Kenya Venable , 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2024 murder of 21-year-old Natajah Johnson.
Venable was sentenced to 157-201 months in prison.
Antonio Rollins , 33, was tried for first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the 2020 shooting death of 25-year-old Demarcus Mack.
A jury found him guilty as charged.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Laquan Hoe , 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2024 murder of 30-year-old Aundrey Brown.
He was sentenced to 190-240 months in prison.
Sir-Anthony Hepburn , 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon in the 2022 murder of 19-year-old Yimere Joyner.
Hepburn was sentenced to 157-201 months in prison.
Keshawn Boyd , 28, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 2025 death of 15-year-old Matthias Crockett.
He was sentenced to 48-70 months in prison.
J osiah Small , 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit discharging a weapon into a vehicle in operation for the 2025 murder of 19-year-old Jaquan Pearson.
He was sentenced to 125-162 months in prison.
Derek Johnson Jr. , 22, was tried for first-degree murder for the 2020 shooting death of 28-year-old Marcus Withers.
After the jurors informed the court that they had been unable to reach a verdict, Johnson decided to pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
He was sentenced to 157-201 months in prison.
Jabari Walker , 14, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2025 murder of 20-year-old Emily Alvarez.
He was sentenced to 192-243 months in prison.
Maiseo Caldwell , 21, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary in the 2024 murder of 36-year-old Cordarrell Houston.
He was sentenced to 125-162 months in prison.
Quavon Strother , 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary in the 2024 murder of 36-year-old Cordarrell Houston.
He was sentenced to 125-162 months in prison.
Dean Tate , 50, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2024 murder of 53-year-old Robert Long Jr.
Tate was sentenced to 360-444 months in prison.
Sharrieff Gray , 54, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2024 murder of 53-year-old Ronnie Ruth.
Gray was sentenced to 240-300 months in prison.
Jeremiah Childers , 18, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon for the 2024 murder of 18-year-old Zakary Rieken.
Childers was sentenced to 125-162 months in prison.
Sanjie Johnson , 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon for the 2024 murder of 18-year-old Zakary Rieken.
Johnson was sentenced to 157-201 months in prison.
William Bordsen , 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2025 murder of 65-year-old Robert Murphy.
Bordsen was sentenced to 180-228 months in prison.
Ebonee Rahman , 45, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2024 murder of 42-year-old Lashunda McClendon.
Rahman was sentenced to 292-363 months in prison.
Jamotis Watkins , 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury for the 2024 murder of 22-year-old Derrick Baker.
Watkins was sentenced to 192-243 months in prison.
Rebecca Oxendine , 43, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the 2025 murder of 61-year-old Loren Dudley.
She was sentenced to 165-210 months in prison.
Steven Staples , 37, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.
The charges stemmed from the 2019 shooting death of 40-year-old Anthony Leakes and the 2020 murders of 35-year-old Siojvon Joseph and Asa Shannon who was also 35 years old.
Staples was sentenced to 264-329 months in prison.
The sentence will run concurrently with a life sentence Staples is serving for a previous murder conviction.
Emmanuel Collins , 28, was tried for first-degree murder for the 2020 shooting death of 52-year-old Jessie Hurley.
The jury found him guilty as charged.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dimas Ramirez pleaded guilty as charged when he was called for trial for the 2024 vehicular death of his uncle, 39-year-old Abigail Romero.
Ramirez, 24, pleaded guilty to felony death by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, no operator’s license, operating a vehicle with no insurance, and reckless driving to endanger.
He was sentenced to 64-89 months in prison.
Editor’s note: QCity Metro withheld the name of one defendant listed by the D.A.’s office.
The 38-year-old woman was charged in relation to a 2024 homicide and pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to robbery with a dangerous weapon and identity theft.
She was sentenced to 15-27 months in prison
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