Charges dropped against man who killed her son, NC mom calls for justice and transparency

SANFORD, N.C. (WTVD) -- Shonda Moncrease is demanding justice for her son, Tyrese Wicker, 20, who was shot and killed in Sanford in February 2024.

According to warrants obtained by ABC11 Eyewitness News, authorities said the man charged with killing Wicker told law enforcement that he shot someone in "self-defense" in the area of Primrose Lane, where officers found Wicker dead with apparent gunshot wounds.

After more than a year since the shooting, prosecutors dropped the charges on Wednesday, citing "the defendant was acting in self-defense when the shooting occurred."

"Please do not let my son's death get dismissed," Moncrease said.

District Attorney Suzanne Matthews told ABC11 News her office conducted a thorough review and although the case has been dismissed, new charges could be initiated if there were sufficient evidence. She declined to comment on any questions related to the autopsy, which Moncrease said she's still waiting for to understand the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Moncrease read a victim impact statement that she wrote and did not have the opportunity to read in court.

"Today, the court is considering dismissing the case against the man accused of ending my son's life," Moncrease said. "While I understand the complexity of the law, I cannot understand the silence, the delay and the withholding of criminal information like the autopsy report that would tell me a grieving mother, how my child was taken from this world."

ABC11 Eyewitness News has also reached out to the attorney for the man charged in connection with the shooting.

"I am asking and seeking for justice for my son, Tyrese Marquel Wicker," Moncrease said. "I am pleading for it, not just for my son, but for every grieving mother, for every child taken too soon and for every life still hanging in the balance."