Guilty plea reached in south Charlotte drug deal gone wrong

CHARLOTTE — A man pleaded guilty in court Thursday to two charges more than two years after a deadly shooting in south Charlotte.

On Jan. 29, 2021, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers were called to the parking lot of an apartment complex off Riverbirch Drive near Sharon Road West. They said they found Divante Brown with “apparent trauma.”

Prosecutors said it was a drug deal gone wrong. Brown, who was shot in the back of the head, died at the scene.

Detectives arrested James Tyler Singleton, 29, and charged him with murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.

On Thursday, Singleton pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and to the gun charge.

Singleton was sentenced to 13 to 17.5 years in prison. He’s also required to take substance abuse courses.

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