CHARLOTTE — Bricard Washington, 30, pled guilty to second‑degree murder as his trial was set to begin for the 2020 shooting death of 27‑year‑old Katie Eckard.
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Prosecutors originally called him to trial for first‑degree murder, but he entered a guilty plea in Mecklenburg County Superior Court before proceedings began.
Judge Matt J. Osman sentenced Washington to 233–292 months in prison.
According to investigators, Eckard and her friends had just withdrawn money from an ATM on W. Sugar Creek Road on July 21, 2020, when Washington and a juvenile co‑defendant approached their vehicle with firearms and demanded money.
After Eckard and another passenger said they had none, the juvenile fired a single shot into the backseat, striking Eckard. She later died at the hospital.
Police located the suspects shortly afterward in a white Lexus driven by co‑defendant Marquez Williamson.
Williamson has already been convicted, and the juvenile co‑defendant died before his case concluded.