Wake County DA explains voluntary manslaughter sentence in death of Raleigh restaurant manager

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The man responsible for the death of a downtown Raleigh restaurant manager in 2023 will spend less than five years in prison, court records show.

Read more Driver accused of hit-and-run, killing woman on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh found, arrested

Tyrell Moore pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Midwood Smokehouse general manager David Millette after he punched Millette, causing him to fall and hit his head.

Moore was sentenced on Thursday to a minimum of three years and two months and a maximum of four years and 10 months, with credit for 259 days spent in jail, according to records.

“There’s no question that type of sentence and the offense in this case does not make up for the tremendous loss the Millette family has suffered, but it is what the law and the facts in this case supported,” Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said.

According to officials, the district attorney and judge were limited in what they could sentence Moore to because he had no prior record outside of traffic offenses.

Moore was originally charged with second-degree murder, but Freeman was not confident a jury would have convicted him on that.

Read more What items you need to prepare for hurricane season in North Carolina

If Moore was tried, Freeman was concerned a jury would have convicted him of involuntary manslaughter, an even lesser offense.

“We did not feel that a second degree conviction was likely before a jury and had concerns in fact that a jury might make a decision that Mr. Moore was only guilty of involuntary manslaughter,” she said. “Involuntary manslaughter is a offense for which someone can receive a probationary sentence.”

Freeman said the plea deal was the state’s way of making sure some justice was served.

“We did believe active time was appropriate in his, case,” Freeman said. “We felt a jury might be inclined to return a verdict of involuntary manslaughter based on the facts, despite what we believed justice required. We negotiated a plea that at least guaranteed Mr. Moore would go to prison for some period of time,”

Read more State Health Plan provider network plan could lower NC costs for some members, raise them for others