Lamar McNeil

LaMar McNeil, a 43-year-old Black man, was killed in Charlotte, North Carolina, during a robbery that began as a prearranged meeting. His death occurred on the evening of March 10, 2020, at an apartment complex in the city’s University City area.

That night, around 8:45 p.m., McNeil and an acquaintance arrived at the complex on Wit Way for a drug transaction with a man named Joshua McClain. After McClain entered the back seat of McNeil’s vehicle, a second man, Darian Huffman, approached the driver's side. Huffman opened the door and tried to steal a backpack from McNeil. A brief struggle ensued, during which Huffman fired a single shot that struck McNeil in the chest. McClain then grabbed the backpack, and both he and Huffman fled on foot. Though wounded, McNeil managed to get out of his car and make it to a nearby apartment, where residents called 911. Paramedics transported him to a hospital, but he died from his injuries.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department launched a homicide investigation. Within days, detectives identified two suspects. On March 12, 2020, they arrested 26-year-old Joshua McClain. The following day, police arrested 27-year-old Darian Huffman. Both men were charged with murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

During the investigation, detectives executed search warrants at McClain’s home and found key evidence. The stolen backpack was discovered in a wooded area just outside his residence. Inside McClain’s car, police found a Kel-Tec 9mm handgun. Ballistics testing confirmed it was the weapon used to shoot McNeil, and DNA analysis of the firearm revealed the presence of genetic material from both McClain and Huffman, solidly linking them to the crime.

The two co-defendants were prosecuted separately. In September 2021, Darian Huffman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced to serve between 13 years and nine months and 17 years and six months in prison. Joshua McClain’s case went to trial in April 2026. A Mecklenburg County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. In May 2026, a judge sentenced McClain to life in prison without the possibility of parole.