First of 'Kinston Six' to stand trial Monday for 2014 killing of 21-year-old mother of three
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on April 7, 2017 8:12 AM
Hill
One of six men accused of gunning down a young mother of three on Halloween night 2014 will stand trial for first-degree murder Monday.
Alquan Hill is one of six men whom law enforcement has called the "Kinston Six."
Hill is accused of being involved in the killing of Shanekqua Adriana Thompson, who was 21 when she was killed on Oct. 31, 2014.
Thompson died when the Chrysler Town and Country minivan she was riding in was ambushed by gunfire on Sixth Street and Humphrey Street, causing the van to veer off the road into a wooded area.
Bullets of several different calibers punched holes in the minivan's doors and windows.
The trail of spent shell casings leading to the van stretched down Humphrey Street, past Fifth Street and nearly all the way to Fourth Street.
Investigators at the time said between 20 and 30 shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Four people were inside the van at the time of the shooting, but only one person other than Thompson was struck by bullets.
Deonte Morrison, who was 20 at the time, was hit in the leg and arm.
Also charged in the killing are Rahmel Maurice Phillips, Cequon Aredale Phillips, Joshua M. Collins, Anthony Graham and Davine Marquis Carr.
District Attorney Matt Delbridge said Hill is the first of the six to stand trial and will stand trial alone.
Hill will not face the death-penalty.
The ambush was one of several acts of violence between the "Kinston Six" and a Goldsboro faction of youth that unfolded over the course of a few weeks in the area.
In one night, several restaurants were shot into -- including the Waffle House and the McDonald's on Wayne Memorial Drive -- as the "Kinston Six" and the faction of Goldsboro youths chased each other across the city.
Police at the time said multiple crimes might be solved after arresting all six members of the group.
Goldsboro Police Chief Mike West said this week to his knowledge -- now two-and-a-half years later -- that no additional crimes have been solved because of these arrests.
The trial, scheduled to take place in courtroom No. 3 of the Wayne County Courthouse, will be presided over by Superior Court Judge Jay Hockenbury.