VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A man convicted in a 2016 Virginia Beach murder case was sentenced to 56 years in prison on Thursday morning.
Jacquan Wilson was found guilty in March of first-degree murder, robbery, and use of a firearm stemming from the killing of 18-year-old Bryant Cueto outside of a Virginia Beach Applebee's in 2016.
The Cueto family walked outside of the courtroom, carrying photos of the victim, and said justice was served.
"I'm just really really glad to close this chapter," said Ginger Cueto, the victim's mother. "It's been painful for all of us, you know we would start to heal and move forward, and then coming back to court was like ripping that band-aid off and starting all over again."
Wilson got 50 years for the murder charges, seven of which were suspended, 20 years for the robbery charge, 10 of which were suspended, and three years for the firearm charge. The sentences will be served consecutively. Wilson is planning to appeal.
The trial originally came before a judge in 2019, and attorneys were in the final stages of starting their closing arguments when the judge called a mistrial.
According to court documents, the judge declared a mistrial after someone broke into several of the jurors' cars outside of the Virginia Beach courthouse, and prosecutors believed those burglaries could intimidate the jurors.
Virginia Beach police never named a person responsible and the case took several more years to move forward.
Wilson represented himself during his retrial.
During the new 3-day trial, an eyewitness told the jury that he had picked up the Cueto in his car and drove out to an Applebee's on General Booth Boulevard. There, Cueto unveiled a bag of Xanax that he planned to sell and made several phone calls.
According to the witness' testimony, a sale never went through. The witness identified Wilson as the person who opened up the backseat of his car, pulled out his gun, and threatened Cueto for the pills.
Prosecutors then brought forth several expert witnesses, testifying to evidence that points to Wilson as the perpetrator.
Virginia Beach detectives recounted their version of events of the May 2016 night, a medical examiner detailed Cueto's autopsy and how he died of a single gunshot wound, and a forensic analyst lifted 18 fingerprints from the crime scene that included several of Wilson's prints.
Wilson declined to cross-examine many of the expert witnesses.