A 43-year-old Charlotte man has pleaded guilty to stabbing a neighbor to death during a robbery attempt over a cell phone, more than two years after the killing shook a Steele Creek apartment complex. Tadarian Neal admitted in 2026 to murdering 32-year-old Jonathan Dockery, who was found dead on June 13, 2024, at apartments on Farmhurst Drive in Charlotte.
According to Charlotte Alerts News, Neal was sentenced to 180 to 228 months in prison after pleading guilty to murdering Dockery. That sentencing range lines up with North Carolina's structured sentencing guidelines, under which a term of 180 to 228 months corresponds to the Class B2 felony range — the category that includes second-degree murder — for a defendant with a lower prior record level, according to a 2016 legal explainer from the UNC School of Government. Neal and co-defendant Asia Tapp, 42, were both charged with murder and robbery, but Tapp's charges remain pending as she awaits her own trial.
How the Robbery Turned Deadly
Court documents show the two suspects were accused of trying to rob Dockery of his cell phone around 12:30 p.m. on June 13, 2024, at the Farmhurst Drive apartments. Arrest warrants filed in the case indicated the pair attempted the robbery using an “unknown metal instrument with a sharpened point,” according to WCNC. Dockery was stabbed to death with the sharp object during the encounter.
Emergency personnel and Medic first responders located Dockery deceased from “unknown trauma” in the 800 block of Farmhurst Drive, with officers arriving at the scene around 2:10 p.m., roughly 90 minutes after the incident occurred, per WSOC-TV. In the days following the murder, community members created an online GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Dockery's cremation expenses, the station reported.
Swift Arrests, Then a Long Wait for Trial
CMPD's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team arrested Neal and Tapp the day after Dockery's murder, on June 14, 2024, transporting them to the Law Enforcement Center at 601 E. Trade Street in Uptown Charlotte for questioning by lead homicide detective Barnett, according to the City of Charlotte. Mecklenburg County prosecutors formally announced in August 2024 that they would not pursue capital punishment against either Neal or Tapp in connection with the fatal stabbing, per the same WCNC reporting.
That decision tracks with broader patterns in the county. District Attorney Spencer Merriweather's office pursued capital punishment in only one case between taking office in 2017 and August 2026, according to the Carolina Journal. Following her son's death, Dockery's mother, Dianne Freeman, publicly shared her grief, describing him as a quiet and helpful person who “always stayed to himself,” WCNC reported.
A Neighborhood Under Watch
Farmhurst Drive sits within CMPD's Steele Creek Division, an area where targeted enforcement programs like CORE 13 have contributed to a 37% reduction in violent crime, according to the City of Charlotte's crime statistics. Citywide, Charlotte recorded 82 homicides in 2024 — the year of Dockery's killing — followed by a 13% decline in homicides in 2025 alongside a 79% clearance rate, per the same city data.
Hoodline previously reported on another Farmhurst Drive homicide involving two teenage victims, underscoring the same Steele Creek stretch's repeated brushes with violence. Tapp's trial date and case status remain unresolved as the community continues processing the fallout from Dockery's death.
