Man charged with murder in 2020 Wilmington shooting pleads guilty

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Jaquan Jackson, the man charged with killing Carly Rae Baron in Wilmington in 2020, has been sentenced to at least 256 months in prison after pleading guilty in a New Hanover County courtroom Monday afternoon.

Jackson was indicted on a first-degree murder charge following Baron’s death on Halloween night in 2020. He was also charged with discharging a firearm within an enclosure.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 240-300 months in prison. He also was sentenced to an additional 16-29 for pleading guilty to discharging a firearm with an enclosure.

Jackson will get credit for time served.

Police say Jackson got into an argument with a group of people following a car accident on Wrightsville Ave. when he fired a gun. Officers heard the gunshots and arrived at the scene to find a fatally-injured Baron and a car speeding away. Officers chased the car and then arrested Jackson.

The prosecutor told the courtroom Monday that witnesses would have testified that Carly and some friends were on their way to a Halloween party and that Carly stayed back at the car with some friends when they witnessed a car accident between a car Jackson was driving and another car.

The prosecutor also said that police body cam video shows Jackson telling officers he didn’t mean to hit Baron.

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