Nearly one year after a college baseball player was shot and killed while trying to buy an iPhone in west Charlotte, two teens charged in his death appeared in court on Thursday.
According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, 21-year-old Zachary Finch was shot and killed the afternoon of June 18 in the 2300 block of Farmer Street. Finch was reportedly in the area to buy an upgraded iPhone and used an app where he thought he was meeting a legitimate seller. But something went wrong, and police believe there was a robbery and Finch was shot, police say.
Demonte McCain, 17, and Jahzion Wilson, 15, were both charged with murder. Wilson and another 15-year-old were arrested in July and McCain was arrested in October.
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Wilson entered a not guilty plea in court on Thursday. McCain is expected to appear back in court in two weeks. McCain’s attorney says he has new evidence he needs to review.
Tara Finch, Zachary’s mother, was upset following the court hearing and was hoping the teens would plead guilty instead of asking for more time.
More: Zach Finch’s mom says she’s upset that the defendants accused of killing her son is asking for more time; she was hoping the teens would plead guilty today @WBTV_News pic.twitter.com/H6lkDowVjS
— Coleen Harry WBTV (@ColeenHarryWBTV) June 14, 2018
“I’m furious,” Zachary’s mother said in a one-on-one interview with WBTV in Oct. 2017. “I want to know who raised these men to be so violent and hateful.”
“You wonder when it will stop. I do not know if there are more or not. God, I would hope not,” Finch’s mother said. “Zachary loved life and these three hateful individuals they didn’t know him and they didn’t give him a chance. I think kids need to think about who they are impacting. It is not one life taken because Zachary was loved by so many people, it is hundreds of lives.”
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Finch was a senior at the University of the Cumberlands (UC) in Williamsburg, Ky., and a member of the Patriots baseball team, the University says.
To honor Finch’s love for baseball, and his position on the University of Cumberlands’ baseball team, many who attended Finch’s funeral wore University of Cumberlands’ baseball t-shirts.
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Through tears, Tara Finch, also thanked CMPD for “staying on this case for this long.”
“I am so sorry I could not have protected him from this violence,” said Finch. “We love him and we miss him, but I am so proud of the man that he was.”
After Finch’s killing, police opened 14 “exchange zones” at QuikTrip convenience stores where people can more safely conduct online transactions.
Wilson is being tried as an adult.
The name of the second 15-year-old has not been released.
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