Wake County sentencing for Raleigh manslaughter case delayed after defendant falls ill

A Wake County courtroom went silent Monday when Tyrell Moore began gagging and vomiting during his sentencing hearing, forcing Judge Brian Wilks to pause the case and send Moore for medical evaluation. The hearing had drawn a full audience of family members and friends who had come expecting the final step in a case that has shadowed a Raleigh family for nearly three years.

The case began around 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2023, on the 500 block of Glenwood Avenue near Midwood Smokehouse in Glenwood South. Raleigh police said David Millette Jr., 27, had been out for drinks with his sister, Katey, when a confrontation broke out after they bumped into a group of people talking with some young women on the street. Assistant district attorney Patrick Latour said Katey Millette stepped between the men before Moore punched David Millette in the face. Millette fell, struck his head on the sidewalk and died six days later at the hospital.

Millette was the general manager, later described as managing partner, at Midwood Smokehouse in Raleigh. His death left behind a son who was born seven months later, a detail that has kept the case painfully present for his family as the criminal process stretched on. Moore’s plea deal, entered in March 2026, called for three to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Police arrested Tyrell Jarue Moore on Sept. 2, 2023, at 1:39 a.m. with help from the Fuquay-Varina Police Department. He initially faced charges of murder, fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle and simple possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance. The case later moved to a manslaughter plea, but Monday’s sentencing was delayed when Moore became ill. His attorney told the court that Moore is diabetic, which may have contributed to the episode. The hearing was expected to resume Tuesday morning if Moore is able to attend.

The delayed sentencing keeps attention on Glenwood South, a nightlife district with more than two dozen bars and restaurants that has drawn repeated public-safety concerns. Raleigh police stepped up patrols in the area after Millette’s death, and business owners were later told that 61 illegal firearms were seized in the district in the final months of 2023. For Millette’s family, the case remains tied to one violent encounter on Glenwood Avenue and the longer question of how safe the district has become since.