CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — More disturbing information surfaced Friday in connection to a shooting spree across Charlotte that killed one person and injured several others.
According to court documents obtained by Queen City News, one of the teen suspects charged with first-degree murder in these shootings admitted to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police their reign of terror began around 1 a.m. Tuesday, July 9, after the two “went to a party” and then “drove around the city shooting at people.”
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However, the shooting spree case won’t be impacted by a new juvenile justice reform law in North Carolina, since the law doesn’t take effect until December, but other similar cases in the future involving teen suspects will be impacted.
Earlier this week, before the teenage suspects were identified and apprehended, police sent out warnings for people not to be out late unless they had to.
“It’s one thing when we have a shooting spree between two maybe rival gangs, neighborhood gangs, beefs, but this is random and just completely unusual,” said Deputy Chief Tonya Arrington with CMPD.
18-year-old Carlos Roberto-Diaz was denied bond Friday morning by Judge Fritz Mercer on a first-degree murder charge.
CMPD did not release the name of the 16-year-old, who’s also charged with first-degree murder.
He won’t be getting out of juvenile jail either.
CMPD says the teens went on a tear in the city, shooting at drivers, bicyclists, and homes at random, firing into a 58-year-old Mustaffa Muhammad’s car and killing him.
“Our police department and personnel within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department took this personally,” said CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings at a news conference Thursday announcing the arrests.
Jennings is in favor of a bill that will become law in December that automatically moves cases where 16 and 17-year-olds are charged with serious crimes to adult court.
“If we can’t break this cycle of violent crime with our young people, then our future is not very bright for the future of our citizens in our community,” said Jennings.
Kerwin Pittman with Emancipate NC, lobbied lawmakers to vote against the legislation.
“This bill strips away the rehabilitative nature for these juveniles, essentially, it will transfer these juveniles to adult court without even having a hearing to determine should they be there in the first place,” said Pittman.
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