After over six years since the incident that claimed the life of Kendal Crank, a Charlotte mother and nursing student, two men have entered guilty pleas. Crank, aged 27 at the time, was fatally caught in the crossfire of a shootout as she was headed to nursing school. According to WBTV, Tychicus Unique Dobie has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter among other charges, potentially facing up to 486 months behind bars. Marquis Smith also entered a guilty plea to being an accessory after the fact of voluntary manslaughter and for possession of a firearm by a felon, with a possible sentence of up to 106 months.
Recent court proceedings have brought some resolution to the lengthy legal battle surrounding this case. QC News reported that Dobie's sentence will be between 59 and 83 months in prison, while Smith's term will be from 45 to 73 months. Both men have already served 2,322 days, so they are now set to soon walk free. The third suspect, Adonis Smith, had a previous trial end in a mistrial and is currently out on bond, with his next court date yet to be established.
WCNC Charlotte has provided details on the plea deals through court document reviews. WCNC Charlotte's report confirms that Dobie's guilty plea includes charges for voluntary manslaughter, discharging a weapon into occupied property, and two counts of possession of a weapon by a prisoner. This last charge was filed against him in 2021.
The plea deals have reduced the initial first-degree murder charges for both defendants. The family of Kendal Crank continues to seek justice for her death. "What is this saying? We have got to figure out how innocent lives can be protected, and we feel like Kendal's wasn't," Crank's cousin Ari Simpson told the news media, expressing the family's continued frustration and disappointment in a statement obtained by WCNC Charlotte.
