CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A 23-year-old faces life in prison after being found guilty of killing a 41-year-old at a restaurant off South Boulevard, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The jury found Juan Deras Escalante guilty of first-degree murder and four counts of discharging a firearm into occupied property.
On April 29th, 2019, Escalante and Gerardo Lagunes entered the South Boulevard restaurant and asked Domingo Venecio-Tapia to buy them alcohol. Both of them were under 21 at this time.
Venecio-Tapia refused their request, and Escalante and Lagunes left the restaurant. They got into a car and stopped at the front of the restaurant.
Escalante fired five shots of a firearm into the restaurant, fatally killing Venecio-Tapia.
Escalante was sentenced to life without parole along with 100-168 months for the remaining four charges.
Lagunes already pled guilty regarding his connection to the crimes.
