NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The driver involved in a 2020 gang shooting pled guilty Tuesday and will serve between 13 and 16.6 years in prison.
Montaisha Sutton, 21, is serving time for second-degree murder, discharging a weapon into a vehicle in operation inflicting serious bodily injury, and possession of a stolen firearm.
Sutton pled guilty in New Hanover Superior Court this week for her role in the Mother’s Day shooting, which killed 23-year-old Daiquan Jacobs, three years ago.
Dequan Mullins, 21, was behind the shooting. He fired multiple shots from the backseat of Sutton’s Hyundia Sonata while she followed Jacobs’ car down Military Cutoff Road shortly after noon May 10, 2020. One round entered the rear of Jacobs’ Mercedes Benz and struck him in the back, killing him.
Jacobs eventually ran off the road and crashed into a tree on Oleander Drive at a speed in excess of 100 miles per hour. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A family of Good Samaritans witnessed the shooting and called 911 while following the Sonata. Their call led officers to Cardinal Drive and Timber Lane, where they performed a traffic stop.
Mullins ran from the vehicle, but officers quickly apprehended him and found the gun used to kill Jacobs nearby. Testing showed gunshot residue present on Mullins’ hand and Sutton’s clothing, as well as on front seat passenger Tyquan Mallette. Video surveillance from the area provided further evidence needed for the investigation.
Mullins is serving up to 22.6 years in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year. Mallette pled guilty to accessory after the fact to first-degree murder in March 2021 and is serving between 6.9 and 9.3 years in prison.
All three defendants are members of the Folk Nation 720 Gang Disciples.
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