CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A man previously sentenced to life in prison will be paroled in February, the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision & Parole Commission reports.
At age 15, Shelton Crockett was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in connection with the kidnapping, rape and death of Tracy Lynne Brockway.
According to court documents, in May 1992, Brockway drove to a high-crime area and stopped at a corner to ask Crockett and two others, Fernando Mason and Alphonso Benson, if she could buy $20 of cocaine. The three men did not have drugs to sell but told her to pull over.
Benson then reportedly pointed a gun at the woman, and the three men got into her car before driving around Charlotte. Authorities say Benson again threatened the woman with the gun, forcing her to have non-consensual sex with Crockett.
The victim was later dragged out of the car and beaten by Benson and Crockett, according to court documents. Benson then shot the woman twice. She died from her injuries soon after.
At the time of the murder, Crockett was 15 years old and Mason was 21 years old. Both took plea deals. In October 1992, the two were sentenced to life in prison, Crockett for second-degree murder and Mason for second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping.
It is unclear how old Benson was at the time of the crime; however, he was 14 years old when he was sentenced. According to the Greensboro News & Record, Benson was sentenced to two life sentences for this murder and fatally striking a pedestrian a month earlier “just to show he (Benson) had the nerve” after a passenger in the car taunted him.
Crockett is set to be paroled on February 3, 2025, after his case was reviewed by the Parole Commission. He is currently being housed at the Gaston Correctional Center, according to prison records.
Crockett is one of several people sentenced to life before October 1994 who now have a chance to request parole due to changes in sentencing guidelines.
