SUSPECT PLEADS GUILTY IN CONNECTION TO COLD CASE RAPE FROM 1992

On September 22, 2023 Antwan Kirkland, 50, pled guilty to multiple charges associated with the sexual assaults of two women in 1992 in Charlotte, NC. 

Nearly thirty years after the assaults, DNA evidence revealed Antwan was one of several men who raped the two female victims in a wooded area on Cheviot Rd.

On May 30, 1992, a 19-year-old and 20-year-old female victim were leaving the Charlotte area and accepted directions from two unknown males who got into their vehicle.

The victims were directed to Cheviot Road where they were robbed of their jewelry at gunpoint and sexually assaulted.

The victims were treated at Carolinas Medical Center and sexual assault kits were completed. The sexual assault kits were initially tested in 1992, and additional testing was completed on them in 2018 as a part of a federal grant police in Charlotte received.

Antwan was identified as a suspect via DNA and arrested in February 2019.

Antwan was charged with two counts of first degree rape, two counts of first degree kidnapping, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, and three counts of first degree sex offense.

In 2023 right before trial, Antwan pled guilty to one count of first degree kidnapping and two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon. Judge Trosch sentenced Antwan to 40 years in prison. 

Based on the sentencing laws in effect at the time these crimes were committed, Antwan will serve approximately 20 years in prison. No other suspects have been identified.