Man pleads guilty in roommate’s shooting death

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A man accused of killing his former roommate in 2009 pleaded guilty to charges in court.

Larry Gonzales was charged with murder in the death of Alton Corey Vann, 20. Vann was found lying on the side of River Road with a gunshot wound to the head in January of 2009. Gonzales was arrested in Texas in 2014.

In a New Hanover County courtroom Wednesday morning, Gonzales pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to between almost four to a little over five years in prison, plus time served.

Prosecutor Doug Carriker said Vann was shot in the back of the head with a flare gun modified to shoot shot gun shells.

He said New Hanover County deputies never gave up on the case even though it was based on circumstantial evidence which made it very difficult.

“There was never a direct eyewitness. There was never a definitive piece of physical evidence that the defendant could not refute,” said Carriker.

He said there were three key pieces of evidence in this case. He said Gonzales admitted on tape that he lied to police, there was video showing Gonzales near the scene, and witnesses said he had an injury on his hand consistent with a burn caused from shooting a shot gun shell from a flare gun.

Vann’s mother was in the courtroom during the sentencing but did not want to give a victim’s statement.