Wilmington teen sentenced in fatal beating

Leonard Cleon Pocknett III
Leonard Cleon Pocknett III(NHCSO | NHCSO)
Published: Jan. 29, 2019 at 12:27 PM EST
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WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - A Wilmington teenager, who along with his father fatally beat a man in 2017, has been sentenced to prison.

Leonard Cleon Pocknett III, 18, was found guilty of second-degree murder on Monday after four days of testimony. He was sentenced to between 13 and 17 years in prison.

Pocknett III was 16 when he and his father, Leonard Pocknett Jr., beat 58-year-old Gregory Gineman unconscious shortly before midnight on Myrtle Avenue on May 10, 2017.

Gineman, who suffered fractures to his face, spine and ribs, was taken off life support 16 days later.

The beating was so severe that two of Gineman’s teeth had to be removed from his lungs.

Leonard Pocknett Jr. (Source: District Attorney's Office)
Leonard Pocknett Jr. (Source: District Attorney's Office)

Pocknett Jr. was sentenced to up to 28 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in March 2018.

An eyewitness who was riding bicycles with Gineman before the assault said an SUV nearly hit Gineman and then followed the two men to Myrtle Avenue after Gineman yelled at the driver of the vehicle.

The SUV driver and passenger got out of the vehicle and the driver punched Gineman multiple times, an eyewitness said.

Pocknett Jr. also told law enforcement that he assaulted Gineman, who Pocknett claimed directed racial slurs at him and attempted to hit him with his bicycle.

In an interview with detectives, Pocknett III said his father picked him up prior to the altercation and that the Pocknetts followed Gineman to Myrtle Avenue in the SUV. Pocknett III admitted he and his dad hit Gineman even after the victim tried to apologize for yelling at Pocknett Jr.

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