Wake trial for execution-style killing of NC rapper and 2nd man ends in mistrial

A judge declared a mistrial Thursday afternoon for the first of three defendants to be tried for an execution-style, broad-daylight shooting in Raleigh that left two men dead.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Lock declared the mistrial after jurors deadlocked on whether to convict Jonathan Isaiah Manning, 24, of two counts of murder in the Sept. 4, 2019, killings of Vincente Arocho, 28, and Jaquan Dumas, 31.

At 2 p.m. Thursday the judge checked in with jurors, who had deliberated for more than 11 hours over three days, after they had indicated at noon they were divided.

“What is the numerical division of the jury at this time?” Lock asked.

“Six to six,” the jury foreperson said.

Lock declared the mistrial after the foreperson indicated she didn’t think any more time would help.

The ruling was the latest challenge in the trial that started on Oct. 24, only to pause for a week after Lock got COVID-19 and then for another day after jurors became sick or experienced medical issues.

Potential next steps include Manning deciding to take a plea deal, which Lock outlined in court, or a future retrial, which the prosecutor said he plans to pursuit if a deal isn’t reached.

If Manning is convicted of murder, he would face an automatic sentence of life in prison.

However, under the proposed plea deal, he could be out of prison by the time he is 40.

Sept. 4, 2019

Arocho and Dumas were gunned down execution style on a dead-end street, just feet away from dozens of small children playing at a preschool in southeast Raleigh,

Around 1:18 p.m. on Sept. 4, 2019 gunshots shocked neighbors on the quiet 2700 block of Community Drive that includes Kreepers-N-Krawlers preschool.

“Mr. Arocho was the first to fall to the gunfire,” said Wake County Assistant District Attorney Shaun Taylor.

Arocho was shot several times, Taylor said during his closing arguments while showing surveillance video that shows a white Hyundai XG350 drive down the street and open fire with repetitive gunshots. There’s a pause in the shooting, as the driver of the white car readjusted and the shooting resumed.

“That’s when Jaquan Dumas was executed the exact same way,” Taylor said.

Tyshon Gerod Solomon, 25, and Jesse Dontez Frazier, 25, also face two murder charges. Their trials are still pending.

Rapper known as Box Carlito

Arocho was part of North Carolina’s hip-hop scene. Known as Box Carlito, he was playing gigs in North Carolina and along East Coast in the months before his death, as his music and videos gained traction on YouTube and other platforms.

“He was very generous,” said his mother, Jeanette Arocho.

Vincente Arocho was killed about a month before his now 3-year-old son was born, she said..

Dumas, a father of a now 7-year-old, attended Wake County public schools, his obituary states.

“He was a free spirit and loved his family dearly, and always kept a smile on his face,” his obituary said. “He was taken from this earth too soon but he lived life to the fullest.”

Manning denies involvement

Manning, who testified in the trial, denied he was involved. He contends he was near the location of the shooting, but didn’t give specifics or the names of witnesses who could place him there, Taylor argued.

Manning’s attorney John McWilliams argued the evidence wasn’t strong enough to prove Manning was in the white car at the time of the killing.

“With this evidence you just can’t [convict],” McWilliams told the jury.

At the time, Manning was a drug dealer, using and selling marijuana and the painkiller Percocet, his attorney said.

“That doesn’t mean he was part of this terrible double murder,” McWilliams said.

The 2019 investigation

It was on the 2700 Block of Community Drive that detectives began their investigation, gathering evidence that includes cell phone data that tied Manning and Solomon to the shooting scene.

From there investigators gathered surveillance video and stitched together a timeline using the videos and Solomon’s and Manning’s cell phone location information.

Surveillance footage shows the three men arriving at a Poole Road Taco Bell in the white Hyundai at 12:08 p.m. on the day of the killing.

The footage and cell phone records show Solomon calling Arocho around 12:15 p.m. and Manning was nearby as they spoke.

Solomon called Arocho two more times at 1:02 p.m. and 1:04 p.m., calls that Taylor argued put the two men in place to be executed.

Arocho arrived at the street and turned around in the cul-de-sac around 1:16 p.m. The shooting started about two minutes later.

Police found Arocho dead, slumped over in the driver’s seat. Dumas was found face down in the grass by the open passenger door. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

The evidence didn’t give a motive for the shooting, which isn’t required for a murder conviction.

Manning was arrested two days after the killing in an apartment complex where the car was also found.

Four days and two days before the murder, Manning appeared to acquire guns from his contacts, according to court statements.

Plea deal

After the jurors left the room, Lock asked Manning, who has been in jail pending the trial, about his interest in the plea deal.

“There is no way to predict what might happen,” Lock said.

The next jury could convict him of murder, Lock said, or they could let him go.

Then Lock outlined the plea deal offer: Manning could enter an Alford plea, in which the defendant doesn’t admit guilt, to two counts of second-degree murder and face a consolidated mitigated sentence of 13 to 17 years in prison.

With Manning’s current convictions, he would typically face up to 23 years in prison for a second-degree murder conviction.

“It’s a serious situation you are in, and I understand that. I just want to make sure you fully understand the decision you need to make and what your options are,” Lock said.

Manning declined the plea offer in court.

Prosecutors have indicated that the plea offer will remain open a few days but not indefinitely, Lock said.