State can't withdraw plea deal in in Apex teen's death

Raleigh, N.C. — A Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied a motion by prosecutors to withdraw a plea deal against one of four people arrested in the death of Apex teenager Matthew Silliman nearly two years ago.

Wake County Assistant District Attorney Jason Waller asked the court to revoke the arrangement prosecutors had with Aadil Shahid Khan in exchange for his testimony in the recent trial of one of his co-defendants, Ryan Patrick Hare.

The state never called Khan, 19, to testify, saying in a motion that he was uncooperative, inconsistent in his statements and unable to remember details of the crime that he had told investigators early on in the case.

But Judge Paul Ridgeway wrote in his ruling that the state “failed to establish by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant’s conduct amounted to a material breach (of) the term(s) of his plea agreement.”

During a hearing last week, Khan’s attorney argued Khan simply couldn’t remember details about Nov. 30, 2008, when prosecutors say Khan and three others were involved in a plot to kill 18-year-old Silliman.

Doug Kingsbery said his client tried to cooperate fully with investigators but that he couldn’t remember some details of his original interviews because he had little or no time to review previous interviews he did with them.

Khan and another co-defendant, Allegra Rose Dahlquist, 19, each pleaded guilty in August to charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted first-degree murder in exchange for their testimony in Hare’s trial.

Waller had no comment on the ruling Tuesday morning but said sentencing for both Khan and Dahlquist is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 1.

Another defendant, Drew Logan Shaw, 18, also testified in the trial. He was also offered a plea deal but rejected it.

Hare, 19, was found guilty last month of first-degree murder and is serving a life sentence in prison.