A New Hanover County judge has ruled the State cannot seek the death penalty in the case of a Wilmington man charged with the first-degree murder of a 60-year-old man in 2012.
Cornell Dwayne Haugabook, 23, of Queen Street, has been charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the shooting death of Zhen Bo Liu on June 14, 2012, according to court records.
A March 3 court order states Haugabook’s mental health evaluation concluded he is mentally retarded, as defined by North Carolina law, therefore Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser ordered that the case cannot proceed as a capital murder trial.
State law dictates that the defendant has “the burden of production and persuasion to demonstrate mental retardation by clear and convincing evidence.”
“If the court determines the defendant to be mentally retarded, the court shall declare the case noncapital, and the State may not seek the death penalty against the defendant,” N.C. G.S. 15A-2005 states.
Doctors who evaluated Haughabook determined he had an IQ that was below 70.
Haugabook is one of six people charged in connection with the armed robbery and shooting of Liu—a Chinese restaurant delivery driver—on June 14, 2012. The day Liu was killed, Wilmington police responded to an EMS call in the 700 block of South 13th Street 10:23 p.m., when they found Liu inside a car, according to police records.
Detective Lee Odham, an investigator with the Wilmington Police Department, said Liu was fatally shot.
“We quickly learned that he was a Chinese food delivery driver and made contact with the business,” Odham said.
Detectives were able to get the number of the caller and contacted owner of that phone number, Odham said. The phone belonged to the mother of one of the suspects, who had used the phone at the time of the robbery and shooting.
Detectives also determined that “after the murder, [the suspects] went into the victim’s car and looked for stuff to steal,” Odham said. “They all went back and ate the Chinese food that they robbed from [the victim].”
Co-defendants
Haugabook’s co-defendant in the case—18-year-old Mustaffa Rasheed Friend—has been charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and discharging a weapon into occupied property inflicting serious bodily injury.
Nathaniel Lawrence, Manije Dameek Johnson-Martin, Rasheed Ramone Thompson and Marvin White were also arrested and charged with armed robbery and conspiracy charges in connection with the case.
All six suspects were indicted by a New Hanover County grand jury on charges stemming from the incident on April 6, 2012, according to indictments. The indictments state $79 dollars worth of Chinese food was stolen from the victim.
On July 3, 2013, Johnson-Martin, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon in the case and was sentenced to more than four years in prison. Charges of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm into occupied property inflicting serious bodily injury were dismissed as part of his plea agreement, according to court records.
Lawrence, 19, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon on April 7, 2014. He was sentenced to more than a year in prison with credit for time served. Lawrence entered the plea in a prayer for judgment, according to court records. The state agreed to dismiss charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon, injury to personal property and two misdemeanor charges as part of his plea agreement.
According to the District Attorney’s office, Haugabook’s trial has not been scheduled. Assistant District Attorney Dru Lewis is prosecuting the case. Chief Public Defender Jennifer Harjo is representing Haugabook.
Christina Haley is a crime and courts reporter at Port City Daily. Reach her at (910) 772-6337 or [email protected].
