UPDATE:CMPD reported shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday that the boy had been reunited with his guardians. Additional details were not released.
The original story is below.
In an unusual twist on the typical missing persons cases, a boy has been found, and it’s his parents who are missing, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
A plea for help locating the boy’s guardians was shared early Sunday by CMPD.
“The child was located around 7 p.m., on Feb. 21 … near Mt Holly-Huntersville Rd and Rozelles Ferry Rd,” CMPD said in the Feb. 22 news release.
“The male child found appears to between 9 and 12 years old. He was found wearing black Nike shoes, black socks, blue under amour sweatpants and a red jacket over a blue hoodie.”
He identified himself as Bryson Usher Daniel, possibly born May 3, “but the year is unknown,” CMPD said.
The boy is in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services until his guardians can be found, officials said.
“Anyone with information on the parents or guardians of this child please call 9-1-1 immediately,” police said.
The location where the boy was found is in northeast Charlotte, near the intersection of Mt. Holly Huntersville Road and Interstate 485.
This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 9:35 AM.
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
A robbery suspect fired at officers during a pursuit in Charlotte on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, before crashing and trying to run away, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.
Getty Images/Stock
Getty Images/iStockphoto
A robbery suspect fired at officers during a pursuit in Charlotte on Friday before crashing and trying to run away, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said.
Officers responding to a robbery call around 3:20 a.m. in the 500 block of Summit Avenue tried to stop the suspect as he drove from the scene, according to a CMPD news release. The driver kept going, police said.
During the pursuit, “officers reported hearing gunfire coming from the suspect vehicle in their direction,” according to the police news release.
The driver crashed in the 3600 block of Morris Field Drive in west Charlotte. Police and one of their dogs caught up with the driver when he ran.
Driver faces multiple charges
Police charged the 23-year-old driver, Christopher Jaiquan Chisholm, with attempted first-degree murder, felony fee/elude arrest, robbery with a dangerous weapon, vehicle larceny, firearm by a felon and six counts of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer.
Chisholm was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon in 2022 and sentenced to up to six years in prison, court records show. He’d been in jail awaiting trial on the offense since 2018, according to court documents.
Chisholm is scheduled to appear in court at 10 a.m. Monday, court records show.
No officers were injured, and no cars were hit by the gunfire, police said. No officers fired their guns.
Police asked anyone with information about the incident to call CMPD at 704-432-8477 or the Charlotte Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 704-334-1600.
This story was originally published February 7, 2026 at 7:54 AM.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
A 23-year-old armed robbery suspect was also accused of leading Charlotte-Mecklenburg officers on a vehicle chase and firing a gun at them, a news release Friday said.
Christopher Jaiquan Chisholm, of Charlotte, was charged with attempted first-degree murder, six counts of assaulting an officer with a firearm, felony flee to elude arrest, robbery with a dangerous weapon and larceny from a vehicle.
Chisholm was also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, according to court records.
Police responded to an armed robbery call at 3:20 a.m. Friday in the 500 block of Summit Avenue. An arrest warrant accused Chisholm of stealing an iPhone and 2010 BMW from another man.
Officers attempted to stop Chisholm in a vehicle, but he fled, police said. During the vehicle chase, officers heard gunfire coming from Chisholm’s vehicle in their direction.
Chisholm crashed the vehicle in the 3600 block of Morris Field Drive in west Charlotte and ran away before being caught by police, the news release said.
No one was injured, and no officers fired their weapons, the news release said.
Information about Chisholm’s bond was not immediately available Friday evening.
Jeff A. Chamer is a breaking news reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He’s lived a few places, but mainly in Michigan where he grew up. Before joining the Observer, Jeff covered K-12 and higher education at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in Massachusetts.
Workers test the lights on a crown backstage at Charlotte’s New Year’s celebration in this file photo. During the city’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations in uptown, police made fewer arrests than in 2024.
David T. Foster III
Observer file photo
Officers arrested two teens on weapons charges and seized two guns during Charlotte’s New Year’s Eve celebration in uptown, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Thursday.
A 14-year-old was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a stolen firearm, police said. An 18-year-old was charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
CMPD didn’t say if they know how the 14-year-old got a gun or whether a parent will be charged. Police didn’t reply to an email Thursday.
Police reported no major incidents at the city’s annual celebration , including at Romare Bearden Park and Truist Field.
Eight adults were also arrested on drug, weapon, disorderly conduct and other charges during the 2025 celebration. And 10 young people ages 10 through 15 were arrested on charges of violating the city’s youth protection ordinance, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On Thursday, CMPD thanked these agencies for helping protect public safety on Wednesday night: Charlotte Fire Department, MEDIC, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Mecklenburg County Alcohol Beverage Control, N.C. Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the FBI.
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 10:47 AM.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Three women face charges after a 6-year-old girl died in east Charlotte.
Mecklenburg Trial Court Administrator’s Office
Three women have been charged in the death of a 6-year-old girl whom police found scarred and weighing just 27 pounds earlier this month, court records show.
A medical examiner found the girl, Dominique Moody, had a number of injuries by the time she died. They included burn scars; fractures to her ribs; and wounds from “prolonged sitting in urine/feces-soiled items, such as a diaper, for extensive periods of time,” according to an affidavit filed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
Other children at the east Charlotte home told detectives Moody’s legal guardian, Tonya McKnight, forced the girl to live in a dog crate, the affidavit said.
Police went to the three-bedroom home after McKnight called for help on Dec. 16.
It was “extremely unkempt” and had a “strong odor of feces and urine,” the affidavit said. It was cluttered, rat-infested and had human and animal feces throughout, according to the affidavit.
McKnight faces fives child abuse charges — one felony and four misdemeanors. She is in uptown’s jail under a $2 million secured bond.
The girl’s adopted sister, Tery’n McKnight, and Susan Robinson, who also lived in the home, are also in jail. They face the same charges and are being held in the jail without bond.
In court last week, prosecutors said they were waiting on lab results, which could lead to murder by torture charges being filed, The Charlotte Observer’s news partner WSOC reported. The case nearly brought one career prosecutor to tears, according to WSOC.
Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
This story was originally published December 29, 2025 at 2:22 PM.
Ryan Oehrli writes about criminal justice for The Charlotte Observer. His reporting has delved into police misconduct, jail and prison deaths, the state’s pardon system and more. He was also part of a team of Pulitzer finalists who covered Hurricane Helene. A North Carolina native, he grew up in Beaufort County.
A late-night 911 call led police to a fatal stabbing in a residential neighborhood near the Brookshire Freeway, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
The identity of the person who died has not been released.
It happened around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23 in the 2400 block of Booker Avenue, CMPD said in a news release. The neighborhood is in the Washington Heights community.
“Officers discovered a victim who sustained an apparent stab wound. The victim was transported by MEDIC to a nearby hospital and pronounced deceased by medical staff a short time later,” CMPD said.
Details of a suspect have not been released.
“Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-8477 (TIPS) and speak directly to a Homicide Unit detective.”
Anonymous tips can be offered through Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
The shootings happened around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, in the 800 block of Farmhurst Drive. The neighborhood is near the intersection of Interstate 77 and Nation’s Ford Road, maps show.
Two teens found fatally shot more than six miles apart have been linked to an “incident” that happened in southwest Charlotte, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
Detectives believe 16-year-old Bravlio Galeano Ayala and 18-year-old Samir Canales Molina were “shot at the same location during the same incident and then traveled away from the scene in an attempt to find help.”
Details of a suspect have not been released.
The shootings happened around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, in the 800 block of Farmhurst Drive, CMPD says. The neighborhood is near the intersection of Interstate 77 and Nation’s Ford Road, maps show.
One of the teens was found in the 100 block of East Woodlawn Road and he died after being taken to a hospital, police say. Investigators did not report how the teen got to East Woodlawn Road.
The second shooting was discovered when police were summoned to Novant Hospital located in the 200 block of Hawthorne Lane, officials said.
“Officers discovered one victim with life-threatening injuries who had sustained apparent gunshot wounds. The individual was later pronounced deceased by medical staff,” CMPD said.
Maps show the 100 block of East Woodlawn Road and 200 block of Hawthorne Lane are 6.9 miles apart.
Investigators did not release details of a motive for the shootings.
Anyone with information is asked to call the CMPD Homicide Unit at 704-432-8477 (TIPS) and speak directly to a detective. Anonymous tips can be given by calling Charlotte Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
Albert Lowery, 44, was shot multiple times around 3 a.m. Monday, Dec. 15, as he sat in a car outside Tender Hearts Child Care on North Sharon Amity Road, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
A Charlotte man found shot multiple times outside a city child care facility last week was killed after he had interrupted a crime in progress hours earlier, a police affidavit reports.
The shooting happened around 3 a.m. Monday, Dec. 15, in the parking lot of Tender Hearts Child Care on North Sharon Amity Road, and two men have been charged, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said in a Dec. 19 case update.
Investigators believe 44-year-old Albert Lowery was targeted for confronting a suspected thief at the 24-hour child care operation two hours earlier.
Lowery’s wife is the one who found his body, according to the affidavit.
“The 911 caller, Jessica Moss-Lowery, stated to police that she was inside the incident location and overheard gunshots,” officials say.
“When she called her husband, Albert, on the phone and he didn’t answer, she went outside to check on him. Ms. Lowery located her husband in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, unresponsive. … The victim had been shot multiple times.”
Lowery was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The shooting happened more than two hours after he caught a man trying to take the catalytic converter off an SUV in the parking lot, police said. Catalytic converters are prized by scrapyards for their “precious metals,” experts say.
Surveillance footage confirmed Lowery was armed when he confronted a man who is seen under an SUV in the parking lot, the affidavit reports.
Lowery’s intervention prompted the man to get into a black Honda Civic parked beside the SUV and leave. Investigators were able to link the Honda to two suspects, the affidavit says. The car was found at a home an eight-minute drive from the crime scene, police said.
Details of how the incident turned deadly later in the night have not been released.
The suspects have been identified as Rethanachantra Em, 33, and Borein Ngiem, 32, CMPD said in a news release. Both live in Charlotte.
Em is charged with:
First-degree murder
Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
Attempted theft of motor vehicle parts
Felony conspiracy
Ngiem is charged with:
First-degree murder
Felony conspiracy
Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
An obituary reports Lowery was a father and grandfather raised in Pageland, South Carolina.
“Al was known for his very big heart, his ability to give good advice, and his gift for being a great listener,” his obituary states.
“A true man’s man, Al carried himself with strength, loyalty, and quiet wisdom, always showing up for those he loved.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 7:09 AM.
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
For the second time in six weeks, a body has been found in the 4800 block of Wallingford Street, just off West Woodlawn Road, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
The latest discovery happened just after 2 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, when officers responded to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered a victim who sustained a gunshot wound. The victim was pronounced deceased on scene by MEDIC,” CMPD said in a news release.
The identity of the person has not been released and investigators have not said if there is a suspect.
The previous killing on Wallingford happened Oct. 10, and was discovered around 5:30 p.m. when a Medic ambulance responded to reports of a gunshot victim, police said.
Ronald Neville, 53, is believed to have been killed while he was being robbed, CMPD said.
Three men have been arrested in the case and are charged with felony murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony conspiracy, according to a news release. The men range in age from 22 to 42.
Wallingford Street is just east of Interstate 77 and is only about two blocks long. It is lined with office space and hotels.
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
Ke’Nadie Cathey’s family and others in the community held a press conference outside Charlotte-Mecklenburg police headquarters on Nov. 8, 2025, to share that her health was not good after a school resource officer slammed her to the ground.
Ryan Oehrli
The Charlotte Observer
The teenage girl slammed to the ground by a school resource officer at West Charlotte High School has gone from singing, dancing and interacting with her siblings to sleeping all the time, her mother told The Charlotte Observer on Saturday.
Freshman Ke’Nadie Cathey suffered a “serious brain injury” after the Oct. 31 incident, family attorney Micheal Littlejohn said. A CT scan “confirmed bleeding on the brain,” or a subdural hematoma, he said. She began having seizures, he said.
“Everybody’s upset and angry and feeling overprotective about the whole situation,” said her mother, Shakera Rorie. “We just want something done, and this never happened to us before, so we don’t even know what steps to take.”
The family took one step on Saturday when they held a press conference outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s headquarters in uptown. They held up signs that read “DEMANDING JUSTICE FOR KE’NADIE” and wore matching black.
All she knows, Rorie told the Observer after that press conference, is that her daughter got into a fight at school before the officer slammed her to the ground.
The incident was partly caught on video. It showed a crowd of people in a bus lot, watching a fight. A police officer in the middle of the crowd held a stun gun as he picked up a female student — apparently Cathey — and slammed her. Another officer walked over as she was motionless.
Rorie has heard nothing from CMPD except for when they asked for a statement from her daughter, she said.
Ke’Nadie Cathey Courtesy photo
The family’s hope is for something “more than a suspension,” she said. For now, she has taken her daughter back to the hospital several times, she said, and another appointment is scheduled.
The girl’s father, Keai Cathey, simply asked that the community pray.
At one point during Saturday’s press conference, one of the girl’s siblings suddenly collapsed on the steps outside CMPD’s headquarters, seemingly fainting. It was just another sign of what the family was going through, Rorie said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday afternoon.
Deputy Chief Ryan Butler previously said that the officer in the video is on administrative leave while criminal and internal affairs investigations are underway. Police want information from witnesses, they have said.
Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
Ryan Oehrli writes about criminal justice for The Charlotte Observer. His reporting has delved into police misconduct, jail and prison deaths, the state’s pardon system and more. He was also part of a team of Pulitzer finalists who covered Hurricane Helene. A North Carolina native, he grew up in Beaufort County. Support my work with a digital subscription
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating after a 17-year-old was shot and killed early Saturday in north Charlotte.
Officers were called at 12:26 a.m. to the 1600 block of Old Plank Road for a medical call and found a girl with a gunshot wound, according to a CMPD news release. She then was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police on Sunday identified the victim as Amari Cooper.
Homicide detectives and crime scene investigators responded to the scene, police said, as well as other emergency responders. CMPD has not announced any arrests or suspect information. The investigation is ongoing, and police said additional details will be released as they become available.
Detective Carter is leading the case, and anyone with information is asked to contact CMPD’s homicide unit at 704-432-847. Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
This story was originally published November 1, 2025 at 11:07 AM.
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer is under two investigations and on administrative leave after video showed him slamming a female student onto the ground while trying to break up a fight at West Charlotte High School.
CMPD Deputy Chief Ryan Butler said during a Friday evening news conference that criminal and internal affairs investigations are being conducted into the officer’s actions. The officer is a school resource officer, but his name has not been released.
The fight occurred around 2:15 p.m. during school dismissal, Butler said.
“At that time, a fight with a large crowd broke out,” Butler said. “Officers responded to that fight and were trying to separate parties. During the officers’ response, one of the officers engaged with a female student.”
Video circulating online shows a crowd of people near buses in a parking lot as a fight is unfolding. A police officer in the middle of the crowd is holding a stun gun as he picks up a female student and slams her onto the ground. Another officer walks over. The girl is motionless after being slammed.
The student was transported to the hospital, treated and released, Butler said during the news conference.
The criminal investigation is being conducted by CMPD’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, Butler said. That means CMPD detectives will make the decision about whether to charge one of their own officers with a crime. Officers are interested in speaking with “any witnesses that are out there,” he added.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said it’s aware of the fight that occurred at West Charlotte High School and reviewed a video circulating online that it said was “deeply concerning and difficult to watch.”
CMS said the West Charlotte Principal Paula Cook sent the following message to families at 5 p.m. Friday:
West Charlotte Families, this is Principal Cook. I am reaching out to inform you of a fight that took place on our bus lot during dismissal today, a video of which you may have seen circulating on social media. We understand this footage may be disturbing. We have contacted the families of all students involved.
School leadership is aware and this incident is being investigated by both Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and CMPD. We will provide updates as we are able.
Every student deserves to feel and be safe at school. The safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remains our top priority. Thank you for your understanding and continued support of West Charlotte High School.
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 7:08 PM.
Rebecca Noel reports on education for The Charlotte Observer. She’s a native of Houston, Texas, and graduated from Rice University. She later received a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. When she’s not reporting, she enjoys reading, running and frequenting coffee shops around Charlotte.
Josh Bergeron is the government editor at The Charlotte Observer. Previously, he was the editor of the Salisbury Post in Salisbury, N.C. and worked as an editor and reporter at newspapers in North Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi. He’s a proud LSU alumnus — Geaux Tigers.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police fatally shot a person accused of kidnapping a woman and killing two others in west Charlotte on Thursday afternoon.
Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers shot and killed a person in west Charlotte who had been accused of fatally shooting two other people and kidnapping a third.
One person was found dead at the scene and another died at after being taken to the hospital, a CMPD press release said.
Shortly thereafter, police got another call in the same area about a kidnapping and home invasion, Jennings said. CMPD said the suspect was driving a stolen vehicle.
Officers spotted the vehicle, with the suspect driving and the kidnapped woman in the passenger seat, the chief said.
Officers chased the vehicle while the suspect fired at their cars. The suspect crashed his vehicle at the intersection of Freedom Drive and West Morehead Street, got out and ran away. Officers continued the chase on foot.
“As they were running, the suspect continued to fire rounds at officers,” Jennings said. Officers fired back and hit the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene. A firearm was recovered at the scene, the news release said.
None of the officers was seriously hurt; the woman was uninjured. She was found near the scene, Jennings said.
Four officers were taken to the hospital as a precaution, the news release said.
The officers involved were placed on administrative leave, which is standard protocol after a shooting involving police. The State Bureau of Investigation will investigate the shooting, CMPD’s news release said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Jeff A. Chamer is a breaking news reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He’s lived a few places, but mainly in Michigan where he grew up. Before joining the Observer, Jeff covered K-12 and higher education at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in Massachusetts.
Officers are investigating three unrelated killings in separate areas of Charlotte on Saturday, including two within 15 minutes of each other, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said.
The first homicide occurred just before 2 a.m. in the 1300 block of Wembley Drive in east Charlotte. MEDIC pronounced the person dead, police said. CMPD released no other details, including the type of weapon involved.
Police didn’t say whether they have suspects in the killings. They also haven’t named those who were killed or released their ages, saying only that they were “males.”
CMPD urged anyone with information about the shootings to call the homicide unit at 704-432-8477 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 704-334-1600.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said two of the shootings were related.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published October 18, 2025 at 7:04 PM.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Visiting Judge Keith Kelly sentenced Dylan Lineberger, 33, to time served with a permanent restraining order after Lineberger pleaded guilty to misdemeanor first-degree harassment in York County criminal court. Kelly suspended the maximum three-year prison sentence, and gave Lineberger 355 days credit for wearing a GPS monitor for almost a year after Rock Hill police arrested him in late October 2024.
Lineberger worked for the CMPD for nine years before his arrest. He was placed on administrative leave when he was arrested, then left the department in April, according to his lawyer, Chris Lusk, and CMPD records obtained by The Herald under a Freedom of Information Act request.
The Herald is not naming the victim because of previous court statements, in which she remains fearful for her safety. She was in court Thursday but did not speak.
Prosecutor: Harassment by text, surveillance, vandalism
Lineberger and his former girlfriend broke up in September 2024 when she told him she wanted no further contact, prosecutor Alex Harper said in court Thursday. The harassment started in North Carolina, then moved to Rock Hill, where the woman lived when Lineberger sent unwanted text messages, made phone calls, and sent the victim gifts, Harper said.
In October 2024, Lineberger vandalized her vehicle. Then on Oct. 24, Lineberger texted his ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend saying, “If he ever saw the victim and him together, that he would kill him and make the victim watch,” Harper said in court.
Lineberger had access to his police-issued gun and more than 30 weapons at the time, Harper said.
The next day, Lineberger called the victim several times using an app to block the number and followed her in a rented car to a Rock Hill Food Lion, Harper said. Police arrested Lineberger in Lincoln County, N.C. before he was extradited to South Carolina.
Ex-cop admits crime but says nothing else in court
Lineberger was in court Thursday but did not say anything except to plead guilty.
Lineberger was released on $10,000 bail with the GPS monitor soon after Rock Hill police arrested him. He had no prior criminal record and now works a maintenance job, Lusk said in court.
Time served would be “an appropriate resolution,” Lusk told Kelly.
Victim’s civil lawsuit against Lineberger still pending
A civil lawsuit filed by the woman, which alleges Lineberger stalked her, remains pending, according to Lusk and York County court documents.
The criminal case and civil suit are separate.
The woman’s lawsuit claims the surveillance and stalking and Lineberger tried to hack her email, court records show. She also has a North Carolina restraining order against Lineberger, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit that describes Lineberger’s actions as “dangerous” claims Lineberger falsified emergencies to try and reach her. She is seeking punitive and compensatory damages for intentional emotional distress and other claims.
Related Stories from Charlotte Observer
Andrew Dys covers breaking news and public safety for The Herald, where he has been a reporter and columnist since 2000. He has won 51 South Carolina Press Association awards for his coverage of crime, race, justice, and people. He is author of the book “Slice of Dys” and his work is in the U.S. Library of Congress.
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools employee was charged with attempted murder on Friday in a domestic violence case, police said.
Muhammad Farhad
Getty Images/iStockphoto
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools employee was charged with attempted murder on Friday in a domestic violence case, police said.
Cheryl Harris Gates, 43, of Charlotte, is also charged with contaminating food or drink to render one mentally incapacitated or physically helpless; stalking; and damage to property.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police provided no information about what they believe happened.
Records in North Carolina’s online court system, eCourts, were not fully available Friday. A message on the system’s website said it was down through Sunday because more counties were being added to the system.
Before the online court system went down Friday, The Charlotte Observer was able to see some of the records. An arrest warrant for misdemeanor stalking was issued for Gates on Sept. 29. The victim in the stalking case was listed as James Gates, and Cheryl Gates was accused of placing a tracking device on his vehicle.
The arrest warrant in the stalking case was returned on Tuesday and a release order was issued. The online court file says an unsecured bond was set at $5,000, which would have meant Cheryl Gates would have been released.
A CMPD news release Friday on the attempted murder charge said detectives found Gates on Friday and arrested her in that case.
Observer public safety editor Patrick Wilson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 7:16 PM.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Major Gene Lim speaks during a news conference Wednesday announcing new public safety initiatives in Uptown.
Nick Sullivan
nsullivan@charlotteobserver.com
Charlotte will beef up its Uptown police presence and crack down on minor offenses, city officials announced at a press conference Wednesday.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is launching two initiatives in response to what officials said are public perceptions of danger in the city. Some notable recent incidents in Uptown include a shootout that left one person dead at a club in September. This week a teenager was arrested after a group of people were shot at in Romare Bearden Park.
One of the new initiatives CMPD will begin this year is CROWN. That’s an acronym for Center City’s Restoration of Order, Wellness and Nonviolence.
Minor infractions can eventually lead to more serious crimes, said Major Gene Lim, the area commander over the southeast part of the city. CROWN will focus on “quality of life crimes” such as panhandling, illegal street vending and other “public disruption crimes,” he said.
Residents can expect to see more officers patrolling the streets and stricter enforcement within a half-mile radius of Trade and Tryon streets in Uptown.
“This is a focused, high-impact effort to immediately shift the environment and perception of our center city,” Lim said. “Disorder will not be tolerated.”
CMPD also recently launched the Entertainment District Unit initiative to address what Lim said are trends of violent crime near bars and nightlife spots. The EDU is a specialized police unit operating at peak nightlife hours around entertainment districts and event venues where Lim said crime is most likely to happen.
Both efforts seek to reduce overall crime and increase police presence. The difference is that CROWN takes a community-wide approach, and EDU is targeted to nightlife, Mayor Pro Tem Dante Anderson said.
“We want to make sure that those minor infractions are stamped out when we see it, that they are addressed, and that we have a very strong presence,” Anderson said. “While our residents enjoy their Uptown life, we want to make sure that it’s a safe environment.”
The initiatives resulted from a safety task force formed in July that included business and nonprofit leaders, city and county officials and CMPD. Anderson said the task force’s work is ongoing, and more initiatives will continue to roll out in the coming weeks.
The safety task force formed before the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska on a Blue Line light rail in August, but the tragedy galvanized the city’s response to public safety issues. Charlotte already announced policing changes around public transit centers, which included a deal with CMPD to deploy off-duty officers for 966 hours per week to assist the private security company contracted to patrol transit property.
“During COVID, the world needed grace. And we offered it,” said Michael Smith, CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners. “In doing so, I’m concerned that our community has inadvertently relaxed our standards for public safety … We’re seeking to return to the standards that helped define quality of life for residents and guests of our community.”
The safety task force’s initial actions focused on center city, but Smith said they’re looking for “quick wins and enduring results” that can be applied countywide. They’re also working on initiatives that address shelters, housing and mental health, he said.
Center City Partners recently launched a campaign to improve the image of Uptown, where it focuses its work, and transform it from a business-centric district into a destination district.
Nick Sullivan covers the City of Charlotte for The Observer. He studied journalism at the University of South Carolina, and he previously covered education for The Arizona Republic and The Colorado Springs Gazette.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers were “entirely reasonable” in shooting a man waiting on an involuntary commitment after he pointed a gun at his brother, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather, shown here, told the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
John D. Simmons
jsimmons@charlotteobserver.com
His mother was waiting on police to take him away for treatment. She’d just finished filing paperwork with a judge that would allow officers to get him help — even if he didn’t want it.
It was a somewhat routine process. Sanrico Sanchez McGill had bipolar schizophrenia. He’d been diagnosed for nearly 10 years and involuntarily committed at least three times before, his brothers later told police.
This time, McGill had a gun. He shot it outside their apartment, his mother told police. His brothers said he’d shot two bullets into the air in response to two other shots nearby.
After officers showed up, McGill pointed it at one of his brothers. The other told police not to shoot.
Four Charlotte police officers responding to McGill’s mother’s calls shot at the 34-year-old 25 timeson Dec. 16, 2023. One of them had taken him in under an involuntarily commitment order not six months earlier.
This time, two bullets struck him.
He probably would have survived the shot to his hip. It was the shot to his chest that killed him, Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather wrote in a Tuesday letter reviewing the shooting.
McGill died inside the home in north Charlotte’s Lincoln Heights. The gun, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers later found, wasn’t loaded, and an empty magazine was on the sidewalk in front of the steps where McGill died.
“As you know,” Merriweather wrote to Brandon Blackman, the special agent in charge at the State Bureau of Investigation’s Harrisburg office, “this letter specifically does not address issues relating to tactics, or whether officers followed correct police procedures or CMPD Directives.”
CMPD has the power to review and change their policies, Merriweather said, but he does not.
Merriweather wrote that the officers were “entirely reasonable” in believing McGill posed an “imminent threat of great bodily harm or death to his brother.” When police are able to prove they sensed “an imminent threat,” they are also able to argue they acted in self-defense, history shows.
Officers were justified in shooting McGill, Merriweather wrote. Any charges brought against them wouldn’t hold up in court, he determined.
Merriweather continued: “If no criminal charges are filed, that does not mean the District Attorney’s Office believes the matter was in all respects handled appropriately from an administrative or tactical viewpoint. It is simply a determination that there is not a reasonable likelihood of proving criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt unanimously to a jury.”
Merriweather has never brought a police shooting in front of a grand jury for review since being elected in 2017. The Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office last did that in 2013 for the police shooting that killed Jonathan Ferrell. That case was later dismissed with a hung jury, and then-Attorney General Roy Cooper opted not to prosecute a case.
A mother’s calls
McGill’s mother called officers at 6:15 a.m. on Dec. 16, 2023,after she heard five shots in the parking lot outside a duplex at 1515 Catherine Simmons Ave. — “a densely populated area of Charlotte,” according to Merriweather. She thought McGill had fired them.
When officers arrived, McGill was inside. His mother told them he was “not mentally well” before they asked him, through a loudspeaker, to put his hands up.
He didn’t.
Instead, he came out “in an extremely agitated state,” yelled at his brother, went inside and came back out with a gun, racking the slide — a maneuver that loads a gun’s chamber — and pointing it at his brother, Merriweather wrote, referencing body-worn camera footage.
Officers Benjamin DeVries, Sean Werchek, Tymel Carson, and James Fisher didn’t know the firearm wasn’t loaded, Merriweather said. They only knew McGill was posing an imminent threat to his brother.That was enough to justify their shootings.
CMPD makes contact
SBI investigators interviewed Officer Werchek nearly two weeks after the shooting, on Dec. 29, 2023.
He remembered neighbors coming outside after hearing noise: officers and family members talking to McGill. When McGill first walked onto the front porch steps, his hands were empty but clenched, Werchek said, according to Merriweather’s letter. He remembered McGill “taking an aggressive stance” and “not acknowledging the officer’s commands at all.”
McGill was yelling, he said, but Werchek couldn’t understand what he was saying. He “did not speak with or engage with officers at any point,” Werchek said. He remembered Officer DeVries firing at McGill “at some point, while giving commands.” Werchek fired his gun when McGill appeared with a semi-automatic gun and raised it toward his brother and some officers.
Werchek thought he fired five times. He fired 11 bullets toward McGill.
“Officer Werchek explained that he fired more than one shot because he fired until the decedent no longer posed a threat,” Merriweather wrote. “He determined the decedent was no longer a threat when the decedent fell to the ground.”
Werchek had seen McGill before, he told investigators. Less than a year earlier, he’d taken McGill into custody for an involuntary commitment order without incident.
Investigators spoke to Officer Carson five days after the shooting, on Dec. 21, 2023. He’d been at CMPD for three months, and Werchek was his training officer. McGill was “acting in an irate manner” for about 30 minutes, Carson said. It wasn’t until officers shined a spotlight onto McGill that he went inside to get a handgun, Carson said. When he pointed it, it looked like he was aiming for officers and bystanders, Carson said.
Carson told McGill to “drop the gun” and fired his weapon. McGill fell to the ground, he remembered, then got up and went inside.
Carson remembered shooting at McGill five times. He shot 11 times.
Six days after the shooting, on Dec. 22, 2023, investigators interviewed Fisher, who provided cover to other officers during the incident by keeping his rifle pointed at McGill. Fisher recounted watching McGill leave the step, go inside and come back out. At this time, Fisher tried to tell Carson to turn off the blue lights on the police car. They were annoying McGill, he told SBI agents.
As he did that, he heard gunfire ring out. He thought they “were in the middle of a gunfight,” where McGill was firing at officers, he said. Fishersaw McGill in an “’interesting’ posture, like he was leaning or running,” he said.
He fired his rifle once.
SBI agents also interviewed DeVries on Dec. 22, 2023.
He didn’t remember what McGill had said, but he knew he ignored commands. He didn’t remember what commands officers gave but “suggested they would have been something to effect of ‘show your hands’ or ‘stop.’”
DeVries told investigators he “heard the slide rack,” which indicated a round is chambered, and saw McGill with the gun in his hand. “At that point, he made the decision to fire his rifle,” Merriweather wrote in the review. He felt he “was compelled to shoot, relying on his experience with firearms” and on his observations of McGill.
He fired two shots at McGill.
Brother told officers not to shoot
SBI officers interviewed McGill’s brothers, identified as “D.M.” and “C.M.” in Merriweather’s letter, the day of the shooting, on Dec. 16, 2023.
They told officers their brother had been diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia for nearly 10 years. He’d been involuntarily committed three or four times and was supposed to be taken in again following a magistrate’s Dec. 15 order.
Officers can take up to 24 hours to serve involuntary commitment orders after they are issued.
The night before the shooting was “restless for everyone,” C.M. told investigators. McGill had episodes once or twice a year. This one consisted of McGill talking to himself, opening and shutting doors and yelling repeatedly.
Merriweather says remedies can’t come from him
“The fact that a shooting may be controversial does not mean that criminal prosecution is warranted,” Merriweather wrote in his review. “Even if the District Attorney believes a shooting was avoidable or an officer did not follow expected procedures or norms, this does not necessarily amount to a violation of criminal law. In these circumstances, remedies (if any are appropriate) may be pursued by administrative or civil means.”
Those remedies are primarily made through “city and county governments, police departments, and private civil attorneys.”
This is a breaking news story and may be updated.
This story was originally published July 30, 2024, 1:41 PM.
Related stories from Charlotte Observer
Julia Coin covers local and federal courts and legal issues after previously working as a breaking news reporter for the Observer. Julia has reported on fentanyl in local schools, the aftermath of police shootings and crime trends in Charlotte, and she occasionally photographs and reviews local concerts.. Michigan-born and Florida-raised, she studied journalism at the University of Florida, where she covered statewide legislation, sexual assault on campus and Hurricane Ian’s destruction. Support my work with a digital subscription
Deputy Police Chief Tonya Arrington of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department told reporters on Friday, May 31, 2024, that police confirmed there was only one shooter in the April 29 shootout on Galway Drive in which four officers were killed. Arrington spoke at CMPD headquarters in uptown.
Jeff A. Chamer
Jeff A. Chamer
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police confirmed Friday that there was only one shooter firing at officers on April 29 when they tried to arrest him, an incident in which eight officers were shot, four fatally.
The officers exchanged gunfire with Terry Clark Hughes Jr., who moved between several second-floor windows of the house on Galway Drive before he jumped from a window at the front of the home and was fatally shot by police.
“Officers were actively engaged with gunfire from the suspect for over 17 minutes,” said Deputy Chief Tonya Arrington. “That’s an eternity. They were in a gun battle.”
Arrington and Police Chief Johnny Jennings provided the updates at a press briefing at police headquarters.
Police also confirmed that all shell casings found inside the home were from the AR-15 Hughes was using, Arrington said. Hughes also had a handgun on him when he jumped from the window, but it wasn’t used in the shootout.
Because the home had not been cleared and deemed safe, and because an officer saw movement from one of the windows where Hughes had been shooting even after he was outside, officers used “suppressive fire” on the windows for another two minutes to give law enforcement time to evacuate those who were wounded, Arrington said.
“We know this was not sympathetic or friendly fire,” Arrington said, confirming something the chief had previously said. “We can confirm that the suspect was responsible for all who were shot in the line of duty that day.”
A U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force made of federal, state and local officers had gone to the home to arrest Hughes on pending warrants for eluding police in a January chase in Lincoln County and felonious possession of a firearm, officials have said. But Hughes began firing at them with an AR-15 rifle.
Three task force members were killed: State Department of Adult Correction Officers William “Alden” Elliott and Sam Poloche, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. “Tommy” Weeks Jr. CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer, who was among officers who responded to the shooting after it started, also was killed.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police provided this diagram of the upper level of the home at 5525 Galway Drive, where a man fired on officers April 29 after they arrived to arrest him on pending warrants. CMPD
Hughes told a woman and 17-year-old in the house to get out or get down before he started shooting, Arrington said.
After Hughes was shot in the front yard and the two women were safely evacuated, police used an armored vehicle to tear off the walls in the front of the house. Arrington said Friday police did that because they weren’t sure if there was another shooter inside the house or not.
Asked about the location the two women in the home during the shootout, Arrington said she didn’t have the information.
“I know that after he told them to ‘get out or get down’ that they got down,” she said.
They were “hunkered down” until Hughes was shot and killed, and then law enforcement began communication with them, Arrington said. They got out of the home safely.
“We did do gunshot residue tests on the females at the scene and that has been sent to the state, but we are confident that they were not involved in the shooting,” Arrington said.
Because they were no other guns found inside of the home, there was nothing for them to shoot at law enforcement with, she said.
Task force tactics
Arrington declined to comment on the surveillance and investigation that preceded the task force’s attempt to deliver the warrant, or if Hughes was prepared for the officers’ arrival.
She did confirm, however, that the arriving marshals task force initially used a megaphone to direct Hughes to surrender.
“It’s a tactic that we use every day, it’s called ‘surround and call out’ and what we’re doing is giving the suspect every opportunity to come out peacefully, and, you know, surrender to the officers that are there,” Arrington said. “So there’s no doubt who we are, what we’re there for.”
That is a standard protocol, she said.
Thus far the investigation has included reviewing, Arrington said, footage from 1,128 body-worn camera videos, 8,903 images, 65 officer interviews and 765 pieces of physical evidence.
“This was a rapidly evolving and chaotic scene. Circumstances were changing by the minute. We ask that you continue to respect this process, and what our law enforcement community went through that day,” Arrington said. “It was an unprecedented tragedy for this community.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2024, 8:31 PM.
Related stories from Charlotte Observer
Jeff A. Chamer is a breaking news reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He’s lived a few places, but mainly in Michigan where he grew up. Before joining the Observer, Jeff covered K-12 and higher education at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in Massachusetts.
North Carolina Department of Corrections Probation Officers Sherri Sullivan, David Gary and LaTonya Lynch hold candles as Mothers of Murdered Offspring and Footprints Ministries sponsor a community candlelight memorial service at Marshall Park in memory of slain Charlotte Mecklenburg police officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton on Wednesday, April 4, 2007.
YALONDA M. JAMES
Staff Photographer
The fatal shooting of four law enforcement officers, including a U.S. Marshal, during a standoff in an east Charlotte neighborhood on Monday marked the first time in 17 years that an officer had been killed in the line of duty in Mecklenburg County.
Through Charlotte Observer archives and records compiled by the Officer Down Memorial Page, nearly 30 law enforcement officers have died while on the job in Mecklenburg County over the last century.
Here are their names.
Feb. 16, 1924: John Fesperman
Charlotte Rural Police Officer John Fesperman, 21, was shot and killed at a liquor raid. Fesperman was shot and killed by a suspect he was placing into custody at the scene.
Fesperman had been appointed to the police force on the day he was killed. He was working in place of an officer who previously died in the line of duty.
Sept. 30, 1927: Joseph Orr and John Byers
Charlotte Police Chief of Detectives Joseph Orr, 48, and Det. John Byers, 32, died from injuries sustained in a car accident in China Grove, North Carolina.
The detectives were driving from Charlotte to High Point, responding to a mock riot during a statewide police training exercise when the accident occurred.
Byers passed away two days after the crash, and Orr succumbed to his injuries the day after the crash.
Byers had served with the agency for two and a half years. He was survived by his wife and five children.
Orr had served with the department for 15 years. He was survived by his wife and six children.
Jan. 1, 1927: Robert Reid
Charlotte Police Officer Robert Reid, 49, succumbed to injuries a day after being struck by a vehicle while directing traffic at the intersection of College Street and Trade Street.
Jan. 22, 1929: Harvey Edgar Correll
Charlotte Police Det. Harvey Correll, 40, was killed while he and another officer searched a home for stolen goods.
Correll had been with the agency for just under five years. He was survived by his wife and five children.
Aug. 30, 1929: William Rogers
Mecklenburg County Police Officer William Rogers, 33, was killed during a shootout while investigating a vehicle linked to a series of robberies.
Rogers had been with the department for six years.
Oct. 21, 1929: Thomas Jenkins
Charlotte Police Det. Thomas Jenkins, 48, was shot while making an arrest during a disturbance at the intersection of First and Davidson streets. During the arrest, one of the suspects grabbed an officer’s gun. The gun discharged during the struggle between the officer and the suspect, hitting Jenkins in the abdomen. The suspect was never caught.
Jenkins had been with the agency for five years and previously served as a deputy sheriff with the York County Sheriff’s Department for 15 years. He was survived by his wife, three sons, and a daughter.
June 9, 1930: Benjamin Frye
Charlotte Police Patrolman Benjamin Frye, 44, was shot and killed when he caught a burglar suspected of stealing chickens. The suspect opened fire on Frye, hitting him several times.
A man arrested in 1933 for an unrelated charge later confessed to the murder but was later acquitted.
April 17, 1936: Charles Nichols
Charlotte Police Officer Charles Nichols, 60, was killed by a driver while on patrol at the intersection of Tryon Street and Third Street. He had been with the department for 10 years.
Feb. 12, 1937: Rufus Biggers
Mecklenburg County Police Officer Rufus Biggers, 47, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while escorting a school bus. The driver was never found.
Jan. 1, 1938: John Rape
Huntersville Police Chief John Rape, 34, was shot and killed during an encounter with a man who was standing in front of a bank. The suspect was never found.
Rape was survived by his wife.
April 12, 1941: Charlie Baker
Charlie Baker, 36, suffered a fractured skull in an auto collision while on duty and died from his injuries five days later. He served as an officer for 10 years.
Dec. 31, 1942: Ralph White
Cornelius Police Patrolman Ralph White, 40, was killed after being electrocuted when he came into contact with a downed power line near the intersection of Catawba Avenue and Statesville Avenue
At the time, the duties of Cornelius police officers included restoring power to the town following storms.
White was survived by his wife and three children.
May 21, 1960: Johnny Annas
Charlotte Officer Johnny Annas was shot while breaking up street fight at South Church Street and West Summit Avenue.
Charlotte Police Officer Johnny Annas, 25, was shot and killed while breaking up a street fight at South Church Street and West Summit Avenue. He was on the force for 18 months.
Mellot Faust was convicted in Annas’ death and sentenced to death in July 1960. Then-Gov. Terry Sanford commuted his sentence, and he was paroled on Oct. 16, 1981.
May 4, 1970: Lewis Robinson
Mecklenburg County Police Sgt. Lewis Robinson, 44, was fatally shot while attempting to serve a warrant with eight other officers. The suspect had been hiding under a tree when he fired at the officers.
Robinson was a U.S. Navy veteran and was survived by his wife and daughter.
Oct. 18, 1970: Ronnie McGraw
Mecklenburg County Police Officer Ronnie McGraw was shot in the back and chest while he and other officers raided a gambling house on East Fourth Street.
McGraw was a U.S. Air Force veteran who served with the Mecklenburg County Police Department for three years. He was survived by his wife and daughter.
Nov. 23, 1981: Edmond Cannon
Charlotte Police Officer Edmund Cannon, 26, was shot during a robbery at a convenience store in east Charlotte. He was on the force for four years.
Ameen Kareem Abdullah, John Martin and Charles Brown were convicted in Cannon’s death and sentenced to life in prison.
Cannon was the first Black police officer in Charlotte killed in the line of duty. He was survived by his son.
July 1, 1982: Ernest Coleman
Officer Ernest Coleman served in Charlotte for two and half years.
Charlotte Police Officer Ernest Coleman, 31, was shot on Oaklawn Avenue while working as an off-duty security guard. He served as an officer in Charlotte for two and a half years.
Richard Watson was convicted in his death and sentenced to life in prison in March 1983.
Coleman was survived by his three children.
May 21, 1985: Edmund Thomas Jr.
Mecklenburg County Sherriff’s Deputy Edmund Thomas suffered a fatal heart attack during a foot pursuit of a suspect. He had gone to a trailer park to arrest the suspect on a probation violation. He was transported to Charlotte Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Thomas was a U.S. Navy veteran. He was survived by his son and daughter.
July 16, 1985: Timothy Whittington
Charlotte Police Officer Timothy Whittington, 26, was shot while searching for a break-in suspect after a stabbing.
Charlotte Police Officer Timothy Whittington, 26, was shot while searching for a break-in suspect after a stabbing on Tennyson Drive. He was a police officer for three years.
The suspect, William Camp, was sentenced to 150 years in prison for killing Whittington and stabbing an 82-year-old man during a robbery.
January 15, 1987: Robert Smith
Charlotte Police Officer Robert Smith was on the force for seven years.
Charlotte Police Officer Robert Smith, 27, was shot as he investigated reports of someone shooting into the Pawtuckett Condominiums near Little Rock Road. He was on the force for seven years at the time.
Lawrence Graham LeRoux was convicted in the killing and sentenced to life in prison plus 60 years in December 1987.
August 6, 1990: Terry Lyles
Charlotte Police Officer Terry Lyles, 32, was shot while taking a prisoner to jail after a family disturbance at a residence in north Charlotte. He served in law enforcement for two and a half years.
Police charged Calvin Christmas Cunningham, 43, of Charlotte, with murder. He was initially sentenced to death, then granted a new trial where he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Lyles was survived by his wife, parents, two brothers, two sisters, and a stepdaughter.
Nov. 22, 1991: Eugene Griffin
Lila Griffin, mother of slain Charlotte Police officer Eugene Griffin gets a hug from Officer D. J. Offnick at the Police Memorial near the Law Enforcement Center. BOB PADGETT
Charlotte Police Officer Euguene Griffin, 42, was struck in the chest at close range by a shotgun blast at a motel where he moonlighted as a security guard. He died shortly afterward on the operating table at Carolinas Medical Center.
Three 17-year-olds, Allen Lorenzo Gaines, Mustafa Coleman, and Brian Cornelius Harris, were charged with first-degree murder in his death. Two of the suspects were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole, while the third pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Griffin had served with the Charlotte Police Department for 21 years. He was survived by his wife, two children, parents and brother.
Oct. 6, 1993: Anthony Nobles and John Burnette
Stan Norket, the stepfather of slain police Officer John Burnette, reads the inscription below the photographs of Burnette (left) and his partner Anthony Nobles, at a Peace Officers memorial service for fallen officers Friday at First Baptist Church in Charlotte. T. ORTEGA GAINES
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers Anthony Nobles, 26, and John Burnette, 27, were shot in the head as they chased two suspects through the woods behind a public housing complex in west Charlotte. The incident marked the first time a pair of CMPD officers were killed at the same time.
Nobles had been employed with CMPD for four years and was survived by his parents and two brothers.
Burnette served in the department for two and a half years and was survived by his mother, stepfather, and sister.
The wounded pair were rushed to Carolinas Medical Center by backup officers who found them in the woods. They were pronounced dead.
The city of Charlotte named a park and two streets in honor of the two officers.
Sept. 29, 1998: Anthony Stancil
Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Stancil was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and served with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office for eight years. MECK SHERIFFS DEPT
Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Stancil, 35, was killed working as an off-duty security guard when he tried to stop a suspected shoplifter in a grocery store parking lot in northeast Charlotte.
The suspect, Samuel Emmanuel Mahatha, 23, was charged with murder.
Stancil was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and served with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office for eight years. He was survived at the time by his expecting wife and two children.
July 17, 2002: Anthony Futrell
Sgt. Anthony Scott Futrell was killed in a Civil Air patrol plane crash July 17, 2002.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Sgt. Anthony Futrell and two other officers were killed in a plane crash while searching for marijuana crops in eastern North Carolina.
Approximately 90 minutes into the second flight of the day, the plane experienced problems and crashed. Witnesses saw the plane nose dive into the ground.
Futrell was with CMPD for 15 years and was survived by his wife and two children.
April 1, 2007: Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton
CMPD Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton were killed in 2007 while responding to a call in northeast Charlotte.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officers Sean Clark, 34, and Jeff Shelton, 35, were shot and killed after responding to a disturbance call at Timber Ridge apartments in northeast Charlotte.
The shooter, Demeatrius Antonio Montgomery, 25, of Charlotte, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Clark was a U.S. Air Force veteran who served with CMPD for a year. He was survived by his pregnant wife and 2-year-old son.
Shelton served in the department for six years and was survived by his wife.
Feb. 25, 2011: Fred Thornton
CMPD Officer Fred Thornton was the longest tenured officer on the department’s SWAT team with 23 years of service.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Fred Thornton, 50, was only a few months from retirement when a flash-bang device went off as he was securing his SWAT gear at his Mint Hill home.
He underwent emergency surgery but later died as a result of his injuries.
Thornton was the longest-tenured officer on the department’s SWAT team, with 23 years of service. He left behind his wife, two daughters and two sons.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Mia Goodwin was killed when a tractor-trailer struck her patrol car on I-85 near W.T. Harris Boulevard. She was the first woman on the force killed in the line of duty.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, Daniel Morgan, 52, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 to 29 months in prison.
Goodwin was a member of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for more than six years. She is survived by her husband and three children.
In 2023, the W.T. Harris Boulevard Bridge, where she was killed, was renamed the Officer Mia Goodwin Bridge in her honor.
Evan Moore is a service journalism reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He grew up in Denver, North Carolina, where he previously worked as a reporter for the Denver Citizen, and is a UNC Charlotte graduate.
