Murder charge dropped in August Rock Hill killing

A 20-year-old Rock Hill man accused by police of murder in an August killing has been released from jail after prosecutors dropped charges Wednesday.

Prosecutors dismissed murder and weapons charges against Robert Daquan Johnson in the shooting death of Latoya Cureton “with the right to restore,” saying in court documents filed at the Moss Justice Center that “further investigation is necessary.”

Cureton, 27, was found shot three times in the back in August. No arrest was made for more than two months, prompting Cureton’s family to march for justice and police to ask the public for information in the case.

Police alleged in murder warrants filed in late October that Johnson shot Cureton and left her in a Green Street backyard just a few blocks from downtown Rock Hill. Johnson turned himself in after he and his family found out he was being sought, a police report states.

Johnson said nothing in court after he was arrested in October other than he wanted to hire his own lawyer, but court documents show he never did.

Yet now, before Johnson had another hearing or hired a lawyer, the murder and other charges related to Cureton’s death were dropped. Johnson was freed from the York County jail Wednesday morning, almost two months after he was first held without bond.

Sixteenth Circuit Deputy Solicitor Willy Thompson said Wednesday that after reviewing the case, prosecutors decided to dismiss the charges. Thompson declined to go into details on what evidence prompted the dismissal, but he did confirm that Rock Hill Police detectives were told prosecutors wanted more work done on the case.

Rock Hill Police spokesman Mark Bollinger declined to comment on the dismissal or the status of the investigation.

Liz McKnight, Cureton’s aunt who had spoken in court about how the crime had impacted the family, said relatives were told of the decision and that they “will continue to seek justice for Latoya.”

Johnson previously was sentenced to five years as a youthful offender after pleading guilty to conspiracy and weapons charges in two other shooting incidents. He was released March 13 and was on parole – called “intensive supervision” for youthful offenders.

Police arrested Johnson on Sept. 7 on a gun charge in an unrelated case, then he was released on a $10,000 bond. Court documents show that charge remains pending.

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Murder charge dropped in August Rock Hill killing."