A New Hanover County jury convicted a Wilmington man of attempted murder in a 2021 Thanksgiving Day shooting.
Uriah Butcher was found guilty on Sept. 8 of attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and four counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle in operation, the district attorney’s office said.
Butcher was sentenced to 23-30 years in prison.
According to the district attorney’s office news release, this is how the events of Nov. 25, 2021, unfolded:
Butcher had a firearm and was in the passenger seat of a vehicle that chased a vehicle carrying Quashawn Pearsall and his family down Market Street in Wilmington. Butcher fired
at the vehicle. Six cartridge casings were recovered by crime scene investigators from the Market Street roadway and the vehicle driven by Pearsall’s family sustained damage from multiple gunshots.
A pregnant woman drove the Pearsall family’s vehicle, which included a backseat passenger who suffered a gunshot wound to the back and had a bullet fragment lodged in his temple from the shooting, the news release said.
Pearsall was killed the following day at the Bennett Village Apartments in southern New Hanover County, and Butcher was caught on video fleeing the scene, according to the district attorney’s office.
Butcher and Ahmad Tate were charged with Pearsall’s murder, while Butcher and Ahdon Tate were charged with the Nov. 25, 2021, shooting, per the district attorney’s office.
Butcher was tried in 2024 for the death and the Thanksgiving Day shooting. A jury found him guilty of breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering and not guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder with Ahmad Tate, the district attorney’s office said.
However, the office added, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and four counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle in operation. Since the jury found Butcher not guilty of conspiracy with Ahmad Tate, the murder charge against him was dismissed.
Ahmad Tate pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter on June 23, 2025, for the killing of Pearsall and was sentenced to 5-7 years.
Ahdon Tate’s charges for the Thanksgiving Day shooting are still pending. His cases remain in Superior Court and are awaiting a new trial date, the district attorney’s office said.
Bob Liepa is the city of Wilmington and public safety reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at RLiepa@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington man sentenced for 2021 holiday shooting
