Two Charlotte teenagers have admitted roles in the killing of 19-year-old Jaquad Malik Pearson in a NAPA Auto Parts parking lot on Brookshire Boulevard, and both are now headed to prison for years. Court records and local reporting show one teen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while the other accepted firearm-related charges tied to the drive-up attack.
According to Charlotte Alerts News, 18-year-old Josiah Smalls entered guilty pleas last Friday to second-degree murder and to conspiracy to discharge a weapon into a vehicle in operation. The outlet reports that a judge sentenced Smalls to a term of 125 to 162 months in prison.
The shooting
The fatal shooting unfolded in mid-January 2025, when Pearson was sitting in a red Dodge Charger around 8 p.m. in the NAPA Auto Parts lot along Brookshire Boulevard near Oakdale Road, according to WBTV. Multiple shots hit Pearson, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators later arrested 18-year-old Demetrius Kavon Adams and a juvenile on murder charges, local coverage shows. Charlotte Alerts News reports that Adams ultimately pleaded guilty to discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle and to a related conspiracy charge, and that he received a prison sentence of 64 to 89 months.
Victim and community
Long & Son Mortuary records show Pearson’s date of death as Jan. 14, 2025, and indicate that his family held a service for him in late January. Community notices and local reporting note that Pearson was 19 and had played youth football in Charlotte, and that his killing drew concern from neighbors as well as local youth leagues.
Guilty pleas and legal consequences
By pleading guilty to second-degree murder, Smalls avoided a trial and left his punishment to the sentencing judge under North Carolina law. Adams’s decision to plead to weapons-related counts brought a significantly shorter term. Both men will serve their time in state custody and remain subject to any additional conditions the court ordered at judgment.
How to help
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say the investigation is still active and are asking anyone with information to contact homicide detectives at 704-432-TIPS or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600, according to local reporting. Witnesses, or anyone who has video from the Brookshire Boulevard area around Jan. 14, 2025, are being urged to come forward.
