ASHEVILLE - An Asheville man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a shooting at Pisgah View Apartments that occurred in 2020, the office of Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced in a Sept. 23 press release.
Tyran Dewayne Burton, 35, was convicted Sept. 21 in the death of Adrian Terrell Smith, 29 who was killed in an April 3, 2020 shooting at Pisgah View Apartments. That night, the Asheville Police Department was called to the area and found two people inside an apartment suffering from gunshot wounds. Smith died at the scene, and another victim was injured and taken to Mission Hospital.
Witnesses were inside the home when two armed people came in through the back door and started shooting. Surveillance footage showed people approaching
the building and entering the back of the apartment. They were later seen fleeing the area. Officers identified one of the suspects as Burton.
Burton pleaded guilty to second‑degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.
He was sentenced to 30 to 37 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge, followed by a consecutive sentence of nine to 12 years in prison on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
Attorney General Jackson previously secured convictions against two co-defendants in the case. Sherwayne Bascom pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Bascom was sentenced to 19-24 years in prison. Da’Jour McDay pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was sentenced to five to seven years in prison, followed by one to two years in prison.
The case was referred to the Department of Justice along with three other cases after District Attorney Todd Williams asked for help in 2023 due to a growing backlog of murder cases.
Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at kfohner@usatodayco.com or call her at 980-241-8671.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville man gets 39 years for 2020 apartment murder
