DA's Office Secures Another Guilty Verdict in Murder Case, Keeping Pace to Surpass Last Year's Trial Record

The DA's Office is still on pace to exceed last year's trial count after securing a guilty verdict in a first-degree murder case today-- one of several guilty verdicts the office has delivered in the past month.

After a five-day trial, a jury found Quante Webb guilty of first-degree murder in connection with a 2021 shooting at Oak Court Mall that claimed the life of a father and wounded a 9-month-old baby.

During the trial, the State presented testimony from 13 witnesses, including the defendant's girlfriend, to reconstruct the events that occurred on the day of the shooting. Reports show that on November 20, 2021, the defendant believed that the victim, Jayson Hill, was responsible for shooting his brother, although that had not been determined by law enforcement. He arranged for someone to follow Hill through the mall and alert him when Hill exited. As the victim stepped outside, Webb ambushed him, shooting him in the back of the head and arm, with one of the bullets striking the baby. Webb's girlfriend, a co-defendant, testified against him during the trial. After about an hour of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict.

So far in 2024, the State has conducted over 45 trials—more than the total number of trials held in all of 2023. Approximately 92% of this year's trials have resulted in guilty verdicts.

"The number of jury trials alone may not be the ultimate measure of success, but it certainly reflects the hard work of our 120+ prosecutors who are dedicated to seeking justice for victims every day," said DA Mulroy. "I've made it clear to my prosecutors that I'm neutral when resolving cases through a guilty plea or a trial as long as the resolution is fair. The results of this trial and many others show that we are vigorously prosecuting violations of the law.”

The trial was handled by Chief Prosecutor Gavin Smith and ADA Alexia Crump.