Charlotte teen to be sentenced Thursday in random killing of man heading to church

A Charlotte teenager, who has pleaded guilty to taking part in a night-long crime spree that led to the 2014 shooting death of Glenn Gullette, is expected to be sentenced Thursday to at least 15 years in prison.

Naquan Curry was one of three teens who crisscrossed the city on March 30, 2014, to rob and steal cars. Eventually, their paths intersected with Gullette’s. The 44-year-old former boxer was shot and killed in his driveway as he prepared to drive to church.

Curry, Randy Lloyd and Amari Covington, all 17, faced life in prison without parole if convicted of the first-degree murder charge.

In May, Curry pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and agreed to testify against the other two. Under that agreement, Curry will serve 180 to 252 months.

Two months later, Lloyd and Covington also pleaded guilty. According to prosecutors, Lloyd was the trigger man and will serve at least 32 years while Covington will serve 25.

Curry’s sentencing is among more than 30 cases scheduled for review Thursday during what is known around the courthouse as “Homicide Day.” One day a month, prosecutors and defense attorneys gather in a fifth-floor courtroom for pleas, bond hearings and routine check-ins for the county’s active homicide cases.

The docket is fluid, with several cases – including the charges against three men accused of the July torture and murder of David Doyle – expected to be moved to a later month.

The scheduled cases represent a violent swath across the county’s age and gender lines:

▪ The oldest defendant on the docket is 72-year-old Joe Willie Maddox, accused of killing 51-year-old Diane Burns in April 2014.The youngest: Curry was 15 and Lloyd and Covington a year older when Gullette died. Myers Park High student Deanna Watson was also 16 when police say she fatally stabbed her mother’s boyfriend in July.

▪ About half the cases involve defendants 25 or under.

▪ Two defendants, Robert Leahy and James Lesage, are accused of separate fatal collisions with mopeds while they were driving under the influence. Leahy, 47, is charged with the December 2014 death of Valerie Shaak. In March, police say Lesage, 52, rear-ended the moped of Angel Zarate Cruz, pushing it into northbound South Boulevard where Cruz was killed. Police say Lesage fled.

▪ Thabiti Pierre-Louise is scheduled for a plea hearing in connection with the May 2014 alcohol-related crash that killed a 4-month-old passenger. Michael Perrella, 50, also is in for a plea hearing. Police say he had been drinking in April 2014 when his car slammed into the back of another vehicle on South Tryon Street, killing the driver.

▪ Along with the Deanna Watson case, several of the killings involved domestic disputes. James Golphin, 35, is accused of fatally shooting his father after an argument at their home. Shirley Martin is accused of the shooting death of her boyfriend. And police say Angelo Smith, 30, killed his girlfriend Bianca Tanner shortly after she moved to Charlotte in July 2014 to become a second-grade teacher. He’s scheduled for a routine courtroom appearance Thursday.

▪ Women or girls were killed in eight of the cases; four involved women charged with murder.

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Charlotte teen to be sentenced Thursday in random killing of man heading to church."