Rayquan Borum, who was accused of the deadly shooting of Justin Carr during the 2016 protest in Charlotte, North Carolina was found guilty of second-degree murder in court on Friday, reports WBTV.
Rayquan Borum, 24, was on trial for first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of late protestor Justin Carr, outside of the Omni Hotel in Charlotte. Carr, 26, was said to have been one of many local activists who were a part of a peaceful protest in support of the late Keith Lamont Scott on September 22, 2016.
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Scott was a Black Charlotte resident who was fatally wounded by officers after authorities said he failed to comply to drop his weapon outside of an apartment complex. Local residents rallied in support of justice for Scott’s death, which then led to the untimely death of Carr, at the hands of Borum. Prosecutors say Borum was aiming for police, but the bullet hit Carr in the head, reports the New York Times.
On Friday, March 8, in a unanimous decision by the jury, Borum was sentenced to serve two consecutive sentences: 276-344 months (23-28.6 years) on the second-degree murder charge and 14-26 months (2.17 years) on the firearm charge. He will get credit for the 896 days he was behind bars before the trial. Borum chose to remain silent when given the opportunity to speak any final words, before the judge’s verdict.
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Carr’s mother made a statement after the verdict was read.
“Just want to say the whole time, I felt like my son was lost in this, [and] the trial was made about the defendant,” his mother said, adding that her “son went down to for a purpose.” Vivian Carr also added that her late son, who was also expecting a child at the time of his death, never had an opportunity to meet his child, and her “grandson will never meet his father.”