A federal judge in North Carolina has blocked the state’s General Assembly from accessing investigation files on the Charlotte light rail stabbing that killed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.
DeCarlos Brown Jr. was arrested in Zarutska’s Aug. 22 death and faces both a state murder charge and a federal charge. His federal public defenders this week asked a judge to block the House Oversight Committee of the North Carolina General Assembly from receiving investigation files.
Representatives with the committee demanded such files from Mecklenburg District Attorney Spencer Merriweather in December, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. On Wednesday, Brown’s attorneys “learned that the file may have already been sent … to the legislative committee and legislators.” They filed a motion asking to stop any release the same day.
In a Thursday ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler issued a preliminary protective order that bars Merriweather and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department from releasing the files. If the files have already been sent, the General Assembly is not permitted to release them, Keesler ordered.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published January 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Julia Coin covers courts, legal issues, police and public safety around Charlotte and is part of the Pulitzer-finalist team that covered Tropical Storm Helene in North Carolina. As the Observer’s breaking news reporter, she unveiled how fentanyl infiltrated local schools. 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 in her hometown of Sanibel Island. Support my work with a digital subscription
The 9th Street Station stop along the LYNX Blue Line in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, December 8, 2025.
KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH
Knikouyeh@charlotteobserver.com
The head of the Federal Transit Administration is coming to Charlotte after the city’s transit system spent much of 2025 in the spotlight for a pair of violent incidents.
Asked if Molinaro’s January trip is related to the FTA’s investigation, Cagle told media after the MPTA meeting that while it’s “routine for the FDA administrator to show interest in transit systems … clearly, I think there is a focus on security, which is a direct result of the incidents that we have had.”
“The FTA administrator has stated publicly that security of passengers in all transit systems is a priority for him,” Cagle said.
Molinaro’s visit will include a ride on the Blue Line and a roundtable with local officials and business leaders, according to Cagle.
“The intent of that roundtable is to bring the FTA administrator together with CATS and other city staff … as well as local business people so that the FTA administrator can understand our priorities around security (and) safety,” Cagle said.
The FTA will determine what portions of the visit, if any, are open to the public, Cagle said.
Molinaro’s visit isn’t the first time federal and state officials have looked into safety in Charlotte since the first light rail stabbing.
The state House Oversight Committee announced this week it would hold a hearing Jan. 29 on safety in Charlotte, the city’s public transit system and DEI initiatives. Cagle is among those asked to testify, alongside Mayor Vi Lyles, County Manager Mike Bryant, City Manager Marcus Jones, Sheriff Garry McFadden, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather and Police Chief Estella Patterson.
Mary Ramsey is the local government accountability reporter for The Charlotte Observer. A native of the Carolinas, she studied journalism at the University of South Carolina and has also worked in Phoenix, Arizona and Louisville, Kentucky. Support my work with a digital subscription
The Charlotte Area Transit System released a letter Wednesday answering a list of questions about Friday’s stabbing on the Blue Line, including about people banned from transit.
KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH
Knikouyeh@charlotteobserver.com
The Charlotte Area Transit System said there is “no practical way” to identify passengers who are banned from riding public transportation after a stabbing on the Blue Line light rail Friday.
In a letter signed by interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle, the agency also doubled down Wednesday on its previous statements that staffing every train car with security at all hours of the day would not be feasible. CATS has pledged in recent months to dramatically increase its fare enforcement efforts and bolster security presence.
Oscar Solarzano, a 33-year-old Honduran man who is in the country illegally and banned from Charlotte’s public transit, was being disruptive and using profanities while riding the Blue Line, according to the letter. Solarzano is suspected of stabbing another passenger who told him to be quiet.
The incident is the second high-profile stabbing to happen on the light rail since August, when Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was killed.
Security on Charlotte transit
Security was not present on either train at the time of the incidents, according to CATS. Officers were working elsewhere in the CATS system on Friday, according to the letter. Staffing every train during all operation hours would require an additional 10,240 work hours per week and 256 officers daily, Cagle said in his letter.
“Security personnel do not ride each train car and each bus around the clock throughout each shift. That approach is not a best practice and there is not a major transit agency in the country that operates that way,” CATS said.
The letter urged passengers to report suspicious behavior.
CATS does not know whether Solarzano purchased a ticket but presumes he did not, according to the letter. However, the agency said he was not allowed on city transit at the time of the stabbing.
CATS data error
Solarzano received a one-year “exclusion” on Oct. 8 for a weapons violation on city property. He received an additional six-month “exclusion” on Oct. 9 for public intoxication.
Officers who responded to the Oct. 9 incident were not aware of the weapons violation “due to a data entry error that occurred during CATS training,” according to the letter. Solarzano otherwise would have received an indefinite exclusion.
Still, an exclusion has limited power. CATS said it serves as “a legal restriction, not a physical barrier.”
“It gives CATS the authority to remove or cite someone, but it doesn’t by itself prevent boarding,” the letter said.
There is no automatic system to prevent somebody with an active ban from entering transit property. The light rail operates on an open system, meaning there aren’t barriers like turnstiles or ticket checks that might flag when a passenger violates an exclusion.
“Tens of thousands of people ride CATS vehicles every day and monitoring everyone entering the system is not feasible at this time as there is no practical way to identify an excluded individual as they board,” the letter said.
CATS said even closed transit systems have no mechanism to block excluded passengers from boarding.
The agency is exploring facial recognition technology to help identify excluded individuals, according to CATS.
A video of the incident cannot be released at this time due to an ongoing investigation, CATS said.
CATS safety plan
CATS shared its security and public safety plan, which was updated on Sept. 24, 2025, just over a month after the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska. The plan provided a breakdown of the “numerous proactive measures” the agency had taken in recent years to improve security.
This included boosting spending on security from $5.8 million in 2023 to $18.4 million in 2025 and consolidating all security to Professional Security Services. CATS also upgraded its camera system and looked into new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to improve surveillance and responsiveness.
The nine-pager also laid out the agency’s immediate, mid-term and long-term security plans and changes, especially following Zarutska’s death. It also explained CATS’ effort to enforce fares, increasing more security personnel across the transit system, and plans for updating technology and facilities.
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.
In its preliminary report, State Auditor Dave Boliek’s staff said CATS armed security staff shrunk in recent years despite increased spending on security. The auditor’s office also questioned the transit authority’s use of diversity rules in its hiring process for its private security firm.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles pushed back on the report’s findings in a response letter included in the report. She stood by the city’s contracting practices and security firm.
Tuesday’s report notes the auditor’s office “will release a final report after conducting a full review.”
NC auditor’s preliminary CATS report
The preliminary report says CATS’ number of armed security personnel fell from between 68 and 88 in 2018 to 39 this year. The agency’s security spending increased from $5.9 million in 2022 to $18.4 million in 2025, the report states.
The report also questioned Charlotte’s efforts to increase contractor diversity during the CATS security firm selection. Republicans at the state and federal level have taken aim at diversity and inclusion practices related to hiring in recent months.
The audit says the city’s request for proposals from security firms in 2022 “was ‘targeted only’ to businesses that were registered and certified” with its inclusion program, which aims to get more women- and minority-owned businesses involved in city contracting.
That contract ultimately went to Professional Security Services out of eight applicants, the audit said.
“The safety of the citizens of Charlotte needs to be first and foremost when security decisions are being made. Our report shows there has been a clear shift away from armed security in the CATS’s private security contracts,” Boliek said in a statement on the preliminary report. “Further, limiting any part of a contract providing citizens with security to only firms that meet a DEI checkbox raises questions as to whether politics has taken priority over public safety. As we continue our investigation, we will be examining the decisions that went into designing, soliciting, and approving these security contracts.”
Charlotte responds to CATS audit
In a response letter included in Tuesday’s report, Lyles stood by the hiring of PSS, saying the firm “was chosen following a competitive process” and noting that President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign contracted with the company for event security.
“The report appears to suggest that PSS is not qualified but fails to offer specific evidence to support this conclusion,” she wrote, adding “PSS has met contract requirements and continues to provide satisfactory services.”
The mayor said the city adhered to its policies for awarding contracts and that CATS has increased security personnel overall, with unarmed security personnel “assisted, as needed, by armed security.” She also said the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department increased the prescence of police along the Blue Line.
In her letter, Lyles also questioned the auditor’s office timeline for its report.
She said the city met an initial deadline to answer questions and was then given less than 24 hours to respond to follow-up questions. Lyles said the auditor’s office sent a copy of the report to the city Friday afternoon and said it planned to release the report Monday. Boliek’s staff then sent an updated report Monday afternoon and said it would be released publicly Tuesday, Lyles said.
Lyles wrote she “would respectfully request” the auditor’s office “provide reasonable deadlines for city responses and clarify the process moving forward.”
CATS said in an additional statement it “is working to meet the needs of our community,” citing increased overall security staffing, CMPD presence and fare enforcement.
Lyles, City Manager Marcus Jones and interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle previously announced a news conference about CATS security would happen Wednesday. After the auditor’s report was releasede, the news conference was moved to Friday.
Other investigations into CATS after stabbing
In addition to the state auditor’s investigation, multiple other agencies are looking into CATS following the light rail stabbing.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Transit Administration would examine CATS’ safety plans, security spending and any risks to operators and customers. He also said the FTA could withhold federal money from Charlotte depending on its findings.
FBI Director Kash Patel also said on social media after security footage of the stabbing went viral the agency had “been investigating the Charlotte train murder from day one.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 5:49 PM.
Mary Ramsey is the local government accountability reporter for The Charlotte Observer. A native of the Carolinas, she studied journalism at the University of South Carolina and has also worked in Phoenix, Arizona and Louisville, Kentucky. Support my work with a digital subscription
