Man sentenced to life in prison for murder in Huntersville following attempted robbery

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A man was sentenced to life in prison following a conviction Thursday in connection with the 2018 murder at a Huntersville apartment.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Kelton Silver was sentenced to life in prison the murder of 28-year-old Zonta Dunlap.

The Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Homicide Unit has charged Silver, 29, with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The jury found him guilty of the killing of the Concord man, which began on September 23rd.

Two 18-year-olds charged with murder in July in southwest Charlotte: CMPD

Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Grant sentenced Silver to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the first-degree murder charge and 18 to 31 months in prison on the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge. This sentence runs concurrently with the life sentence

Court documents show Silver and his co-defendant Ivan Petty met with Dunlap's cousin on the morning of Dec. 26, 2018, in the garage of the cousin's Huntersville residence on Bryton Pass Lane. After attempting to rob the cousin, Petty fought Petty to escape and during the struggle, Petty fired two shots, one of which struck the victim's cousin.

After the cousin was shot, he allegedly ran through the house, pursued by the defendant and Petty. At that point, Dunlap and his twin brother looked down the stairs to see what was happening. Both Silver and Petty fired shots up the stairs, striking Dunlap. According to the law, Dunlap died after being shot multiple times.

Documents indicate that Petty was certainly wearing an electronic monitor at the time of the murder, and his monitor indicated that he was at the crime scene at the time of the murder. Home surveillance video from outside the front door also showed Silver and Petty at the scene.

Before the trial began, Petty pleaded guilty to charges including second-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and assault with a deadly weapon. Grant sentenced him to 360-444 months in prison.

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