3 years after fatal Durham shooting at apartment complex, second man sentenced
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- Mujahid Muhammad pleaded guilty to 2022 Durham murder and related charges.
- Sentencing includes up to 22 years for murder, plus time for earlier offenses.
- Judge ordered probation, substance abuse assessment after prison release.
Three years after a Durham man was killed and another man seriously injured at an apartment complex, the second of two people charged with murder in the shooting has pleaded guilty.
Mujahid Muhammad, 26, pleaded guilty to murder and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury Thursday in the April 15, 2022, killing, according to court documents.
Muhammad also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and felony fleeing to elude. Those charges stemmed from an April 26, 2021, incident in which Muhammad dragged a Durham police officer 30 yards with his car as the officer was trying to investigate a car theft, court documents state. Muhammad then fled, ultimately crashing his car.
The murder case against Muhammad was plagued by delays and arguments between attorneys, The News & Observer previously reported. Muhammad’s codefendant, Jayon Smith-Sherman, pleaded guilty to murder and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury last month.
Raheem Clark, 21, was killed at the Cadence at RTP apartments in East Durham that day as he, Smith-Sherman and Muhammad attempted steal another man’s Dodge Charger at gunpoint, search warrants and court documents indicate. The intended victim survived, despite being shot, run over and dragged by a car reportedly driven by Muhammad.
Smith-Sherman and Muhammad were arrested Aug. 4, 2022, but their cases dragged on as Muhammad challenged evidence presented by police and argued the Durham County District Attorney’s Office was withholding evidence. Assistant District Attorney William Massengale verbally sparred with Allyn Sharp, Muhammad’s defense attorney, in court during a May 7 motion hearing, accusing her of lying and failing to communicate with his office.
Muhammad will spend a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 22 years and eight months in prison on the murder charge, with credit for the three years he has spent in jail awaiting trial, according to the sentencing document. Judge Shamieka Rhinehart also sentenced Muhammad to a total of a minimum of two years and two months and a maximum of four years and two months on the charges in his 2021 vehicle pursuit, to be served after the completion of his murder sentence.
Muhammad received a suspended sentence of a minimum of two years and five months and a maximum of four years and two months for the assault on the surviving victim, according to his sentencing document. In lieu of serving that time, he will be placed on supervised probation for three years upon his release from prison.
Muhammad must also receive a substance abuse assessment and comply with any recommended treatment, court documents show.
