Manassas Journal Messenger | Manslaughter sentence given
A Woodbridge man who pleaded guilty in July to involuntary manslaughter was sentenced to time served and five years of probation Thursday in Prince William Circuit Court.
Shirley Lorenzo Carter, 32, pleaded guilty in July for the involuntary manslaughter of Andrew Tuck, 30, whose body was found in his car near Hampton’s Landing Marina near Leesylvania State Park in May 2005.
Carter was initially charged with murder, but the charge was amended in July due to “evidentiary problems,” prosecutors said.
On the morning of May 19, 2005, Tuck’s body was discovered in a 1995 Toyota Camry parked at the marina. He had been shot to death.
Carter, who has been incarcerated since his arrest in May 2005, is one of two men originally charged with Tuck’s murder.
Witnesses told police that James Wilson Jackson, Carter’s cousin, and Tuck argued over drugs the day before, authorities said at the time. Jackson was also charged with Tuck’s murder in May 2005.
Tuck — who had had several prior convictions for drug dealing — had argued with Jackson over about $1,000 worth of stolen “goods,” according to a police
report.
At least one gun was brandished during the argument, police said.
But there wasn’t enough evidence to show Jackson killed Tuck, Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul B. Ebert said in March, when Jackson’s charges were dropped.
About a week after the discovery of Tuck’s body, Carter was arrested and charged with murder.
After Jackson and Tuck argued, Jackson contacted Carter, according to a police report filed after Carter’s arrest.
After learning of the theft, Carter acquired a gun and said the person who robbed his cousin “was going to get his,” the police report says.
Cell phone records showed that Carter placed 22 calls to Tuck over a four-hour span, with the last call coming about the time Tuck was shot, according to the report.
Staff writer Jaclyn Pitts can be reached at (703) 369-5607.