CHARLOTTE ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) – A man recently charged with the kidnapping and murder of a Charlotte woman in January has now been linked to two other murders in Kannapolis and Texas.
According to newly released court documents, around 6 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, officers responded to a home in the 700 block of Turquoise Drive for an assault with a deadly weapon.
Records state the 911 caller said a woman had been shot inside the home and he believed she was dead. As officers got to the home, they found Diana Perez-Barrera, 26, who they said had been shot at close range. She was pronounced deceased just after 6 a.m. that morning.
Documents reveal a man who lived at the home had pulled into the driveway around 4 a.m. and after getting out of his vehicle was forced at gunpoint into the residence. Once inside, the suspect, later identified as Quanticus Rucker, 33, reportedly shot Perez-Barrera at close range.
The man told police that Rucker had forced him around the home, searching for money, and took about $2,000 from a backpack. He reportedly demanded more cash, and the man informed authorities he told Rucker he could get more from work, and asked to “please not kill him.”
The man said he managed an arcade gaming center. He was then forced at gunpoint from his home and ordered to get into the trunk of his own 2010 Dodge Challenger, records state.
Court documents said the man was taken to the arcade gaming center by the suspect, and forced to “contact employees to gather money inside” before they arrived.
Once the man entered the arcade, he warned security inside of Rucker and the robbery. Several security guards then confronted Rucker in the parking lot, exchanging gunfire, records state.
Rucker reportedly sped away in the victim’s Dodge Challenger at that time.
The crime scenes were processed and a single .45 caliber discharged cartridge casing had been found near Perez-Barrera’s body, authorities said.
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The next day, on Jan. 20, 2024, Rucker was arrested by Kannapolis Police on a parole violation. Authorities had been conducting a murder investigation at an arcade gaming center. Kannapolis Police said an associate of Rucker had been charged with murdering the security guard of the business during an attempted robbery. Rucker was also listed as a suspect in the case.
A search warrant was granted for the hotel room Rucker had stayed in. A .45 caliber handgun was located inside the hotel room at that time. Kannapolis Police seized the handgun as part of their investigation.
The .45 caliber handgun was then test-fired by the Kannapolis Police Department, court documents said. The casing was compared to other casings in the NIBIN system.
From there, the casing was matched to the shell casing collected at the home of Perez-Barrera’s murder in Charlotte, as well as a murder in Dallas Texas, from Sept. 2023, authorities said.
The casings also linked Rucker to the murder in Kannapolis at the arcade gaming center.
Following contact from CMPD detectives, the Dallas, Texas investigation placed Rucker in possession of the .45 caliber firearm in Sept. 2023. He was arrested with the gun 26 hours after the Charlotte murder by CMPD’s VCAT, CGST, and Kannapolis Police, documents state.
According to CMPD, Rucker was held by the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections before being transferred to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Aug. 29. His charges out of Charlotte are as follows:
- First-degree murder
- Armed robbery
- First-degree kidnapping
- First-degree burglary
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
Court documents revealed the Rucker’s lengthy criminal history:
- Charged on Jan. 9, 2009, with conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Was convicted on July 20, 2009, in Cabarrus County. Made a guilty plea. Sentenced to 19-32 months.
- Charged on Sept. 3, 2025, with conspiracy to commit armed robbery. He was convicted on Aug. 1, 2016, in Cabarrus County. Had a trial by a judge. Received 26-44 months sentence.
- Charged on July 9, 2017, with robbery with a dangerous weapon. He was convicted on Jan. 17, 2019. Had a trial by a judge. Received 58-82 months sentence.
The investigation into these homicide cases remains active and ongoing.
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