Men Try to Rob Huntersville Police Officers in Broad Daylight

From Charlotte Observer Staff Reports, October 21, 2011 via www.ten8.wordpress.com

Four police officers involved in a drug sting Thursday in Huntersville found themselves as would-be victims of armed robbers instead, according to a WSOC-TV story.

But the police officers turned the tables on the four men, arresting them on a variety of charges, WSOC is reporting.

It happened Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of a restaurant on U.S. 21. Huntersville police say their officers were to buy drugs from a suspect, but four men showed up instead. WSOC says one of the men had a gun and tried to rob two undercover officers.

A team of eight law enforcement officers was nearby, and police quickly rounded up the four men. They were identified as Jeremy Edward Berry, El-Tamon Maurice Greene, Garrett Taylor Robinson, and Tahj Kierre Wilson.

N.C. Dept. of Agriculture Agents Investigate Unlicensed “Slaughterhouse” In Charlotte

Investigators Trying to Determine If Meat Sold at Facility was Sold to, or Served in, Area Restaurants

By ANN SHERIDIAN / NewsChannel 36 – http://www.wcnc.com, October 18, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Undercover state agriculture agents are investigating an illegal slaughter house that they now believe also doubled as a cock fighting arena.  Agents say they bought beef, chicken, even lamb from the street side corral on Dilling Farm Road in Charlotte.

Don Delozier from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture says the meat sold at the compound could have been contaminated or dangerous to eat, because it never made it to mandatory inspections.

“We saw a lot of people coming and going,” he said.  “The average person off the street.  Evidently they knew the place,” Delozier told NewsChannel 36

Consumers might have known it as a place to get inexpensive meat, but even inspectors were shocked when they raided the place.

“There were dead animals laying on the surface of the ground, rotting and decaying,” said Delozier.

Delozier’s agents called Charlotte Mecklenburg Police who further investigated.  They found evidence of cock fighting.  “The picture is a ring,” said Delozier.  “The ring has a wall so they can’t jump out and a timer is there and Tylenol injections.”  Those injections are allegedly used to keep the animals fighting longer.

Agriculture Agents are investigating whether any of the illegal meat sold made it to local restaurants or grocery stores.  CMPD is investigating the cock fighting allegations, which carry criminal charges.

Agriculture agents will decide Wednesday if they will fine the owners of the corral.  So far, there are no charges.

By TONY BURBECK / NewsChannel 36 Staff – http://www.wcnc.com, October 18, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Investigators are pouring through the business ledgers of an unlicensed animal slaughterhouse to see if any of the meat ended up in restaurants and grocery stores.

State agriculture investigators say chickens, hogs, goats, cows and sheep were available for picking, slaughtering and packaging at a compound on Dilling Farm Road in northwest Charlotte.

Investigators say the problem is none of the animals killed and sold for food were inspected to make sure they’re healthy.

There are no reports of anyone becoming ill from the meat.

The operators could face a fine of up to $5,000 per violation.  Investigators say several violations are caught on tape from undercover buys.

When NewsChannel 36 tried to ask people on the compound about this, we were told to leave.

And, we were given the “bird.”

Speaking of birds, police found nearly 100 roosters they say were used for cockfighting at that same slaughterhouse compound.

“There was a ring, a makeshift ring that we found there.  We did find a variety of different pharmaceuticals that are used.  Vitamin B, different things like that, some sparring gloves,” said Mark Balestra with CMPD’s Animal Care and Control.

Balestra says the vitamin B was used for stamina and other drugs were used for healing wounds.

“They said that’s not the purpose of those birds.  They just train them and used them because they really like raising roosters,” Balestra said.  “With the evidence we found on the property, we don’t believe them.”

No one has been arrested.  Police are still working this case and say cockfighting and animal cruelty charges are possible.  Officials are working on a letter outlining what compound operators have to do to clean up and be compliant with meat inspection laws.

 

Rockwell Community Looks to Address Crime, Code Enforcement Issues

From http://www.wcnc.com By Ben Thompson, Oct. 18, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Neighbors in northeast Charlotte’s Rockwell community met with city leaders Tuesday, hoping to get answers to chronic problems concerning crime and code enforcement. Residents complained they often felt their concerns went ignored.

 

“I will not let nobody disenfranchise my community,” said Thereasea Elder, the 84-year-old organizer of the community forum.

Elder brought officials from CMPD, CFD, city code enforcement, and the planning commission to speak to dozens of neighbors at the Rockwell AME Zion Church. For at least two hours, officials answered a range of questions from dozens of people. Elder also said fellow residents must get more involved.

“There are people who don’t care about some of these things. They need to be somewhere in the jungle,” said Elder.

In fact, Elder had this directive to apathetic neighbors: “Leave,” she bluntly exclaimed.

Officials encouraged neighbors to use 311 more frequently to report code violations, and to use 911 anytime they suspect criminal activity.

 

Congress Could Consider National Concealed Carry Bill Soon

From The Buckeye Firearms Association, October 14, 2011 via www.ten8.wordpress.com

As we have been reporting, H.R. 822, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011,” is on the move in the U.S. House of Representatives. On September 13, House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security held a hearing on H.R. 822. The House could consider H.R. 822 in the next few weeks, so it is critically important that you contact your U.S. Representative immediately about this vital legislation.

Unfortunately, not only do we have to continuously battle the ignorance and misrepresentation by our anti-gun opponents, but also by some so-called “pro-gun” organizations.

This bill is GOOD for gun owners.

This bill ENHANCES Americans’ right to self-defense by enabling millions of permit holders to exercise their right to self-defense while traveling outside their home states.

There is currently only one remaining state (Illinois) that has no clear legal way for individuals to carry concealed firearms for self-defense. H.R. 822 would require states to recognize each others’ lawfully issued carry permits, just as they recognize driver’s licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards.

This bill DOES NOT:

• Create a federal licensing or registration system;
• Establish a minimum federal standard for the carry permit;
• Involve the federal bureaucracy in setting standards for carry permit;
• Destroy permitless carry systems such as those in Arizona, Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming.

H.R. 822 is a good bill for gun owners. Don’t listen to false claims. Read the bill yourself and read our fact sheet to get the facts. Then, please contact your member of Congress and urge him or her to support the earliest possible consideration of H.R. 822 this year.

You can find contact information for your U.S. Representative by using the “Write Your Representatives” tool at www.NRAILA.org. You may also contact your Representative by phone at (202) 225-3121.

Please watch for future Alerts on H.R. 822′s status and what you can do to help ensure it passes out of the Judiciary Committee.

Cab Company Changes Policy After Driver is Stabbed in East Charlotte

Owner of Diamond Cab Says Most Drivers Now Carry Guns

By Lisa Miller WFAE through The Charlotte Observer – Oct. 17, 2011

Diamond Cab company is changing its policy on picking up customers after one of its drivers was stabbed in the neck last week in east Charlotte. But drivers still have concerns about their safety.

Driving cabs has some big hazards.

“You never know who you’re picking up. I mean, it could be a nice person, it could be a bad one,” says Abdi Mohamud, who has driven taxis in Charlotte for ten years.

Like the stabbing victim, he also works for Diamond Cab. Mohamud has been robbed once and closely escaped a second robbery.

So it wasn’t all together a shock when one of his colleagues got stabbed. That call came in from a pay phone for a pick-up at a gas station.

Diamond Cab has now decided not to send a driver to anyone who calls from a pay phone, or won’t give a phone number or specific address to meet.

That doesn’t make Mohamud feel much safer. He says his biggest defense is his own judgment. He’s refused to pick up people a few times when a situation seems suspicious.

“I notified my dispatcher and they were happy what I did. I said don’t send any other cabs for these people,” says Mohamud.

But he says drivers worry the city will take away their licenses if people complain that they refused to pick them up.

Universal Taxi owner Mohamad Moustafa changed his company’s policy a couple years ago after a driver had a gun held to him. His drivers now rarely pick up people who flag them down on the street.

“It’s more safer to take the people that call you because you can check their names, their phone numbers, the database and stuff like that in the system,” says Moustafa.

Moustafa says over nineteen years in business, four of his drivers have been killed. So he says it makes sense most drivers now carry guns.

WFAE is acontent partner with the Observer.

 

Man Arrested in Southwest Charlotte Murder of 17 Year-Old Girl

From The Charlotte Observer By David Perlmutt, Meghan Cooke and Celeste Smith, October 16, 2011

A Charlotte man was arrested early this morning and charged in the killing of Aerial Patterson, found Saturday in the yard of an unoccupied southwest Charlotte house.

Eddie Yannick Doh, 23 today, is in the Mecklenburg County Jail after Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged him with Patterson’s murder. Doh also faces charges of armed robbery and possession of firearms by felon, police said.

Patterson, 17, was found dead early Saturday in the yard at 15129 Arbroath Ct., just off Steele Creek Road, hours after a friend dropped her off there to meet someone.

When, police arrived about 3:45 a.m., they found Patterson suffering from fatal injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not said how she was killed.

A friend had dropped Patterson off at the home earlier to meet an unknown person “through a pre-arrangement,” police said. When the friend returned to pick up Patterson, she found her with the injuries in the yard. Police didn’t elaborate on the nature of the meeting.

The friend is cooperating with police.

Anyone with information about Patterson’s death should call police 704-432-TIPS or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Husband of Murdered Maryland Woman Apprehended in Charlotte

 Woman’s 11 Year-Old Son Still Missing

From www.nbcwashington.com – October 13, 2011

The husband of a Maryland woman found dead in her home was charged Thursday, but her son is still missing, News4’s Pat Collins reported.

An Amber Alert was issued just after midnight Thursday for 11-year-old William McQuain, who was last seen in Germantown on Sept. 30.

“My hope is that he may be with a family member or a friend that perhaps has no idea what’s occurred with his mother, but as time goes on, it becomes more and more of a longshot that that’s the case, but we’re still hoping we can find William,” Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said.

 

A missing persons report for the boy and his mother, 51-year-old Jan McQuain, was filed Wednesday about 2 p.m. because an acquaintance hadn’t seen them in about two weeks. Police learned the boy hadn’t been in school since Sept. 30.

Detectives found Jane McQuain dead in the bedroom of her home in the 13100 block of Briarcliff Terrace in Germantown Wednesday evening. Investigators said the death was caused by blunt force trauma to the upper body. Police believe she may have been dead 10 to 12 days, Manger said.

Her son and her vehicle, a 2011 black Honda CRV with Maryland plate number 5AG9405, were gone.

Montgomery County police said the Honda CRV was found unoccupied Thursday morning at an Econo Lodge in Charlotte, N.C.

Jane McQuain’s husband, 45-year-old Curtis Lopez, is in custody in Charlotte. He was arrested about 9:30 a.m. at the Econo Lodge on first-degree murder warrant.

Lopez was known to frequent McQuain’s residence but did not appear to live there, Manger said. Witnesses recently saw him there loading property from the residence into the victim’s vehicle.

Detectives talked to Lopez Wednesday evening before the body was discovered and considered him a person of interest after it was determined to be a homicide due to inconsistent statements.

Lopez is not William’s biological father, Collins reported. Sources told News4 that he was with a female companion not believed to have anything to do with either the death of Jane McQuain or the disappearance of her son. Those sources also say Lopez has an attorney (public defender) and made no statements to investigators.

Law enforcement continues to search the Germantown area for William, described as biracial, 5 feet tall, 85 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He attends Martin Luther King Middle School in Germantown, which sent a letter home to parents Thursday.

Anyone with information on the child should call either 911 or Montgomery County police at 240-773-5070. Police caution citizens not to take action on their own.

CMPD Raids House on Central Avenue

 

From The Charlotte Observer by Cleve Wootson and Steve Lyttle –Oct. 12, 2011

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police SWAT team raided a boarding house onCentral Avenuebefore dawn Wednesday, taking two people into custody as part of a drug investigation, according to search warrants and witnesses.

The search took place at a house nearBriar Creek Road, next to theTele-TimeAcademyday care center.

A resident of the house, declining to give his name, said police arrived about6 a.m.and broke in through the front and rear doors and through a front window of the yellow frame house. The resident said police hurled a concussion grenade into the house when they arrived.

According to the search warrant, police were looking for Desmond Nelson.

A resident told the Observer that Nelson had lived at the house for about a year. The resident said Nelson and his girlfriend were taken away by police.

Officers left the scene shortly after8:30 a.m.

The police activity startled parents who arrived Wednesday morning with their children at the day-care center next door. They were greeted by police cars and television news crews.

John Seck said he has been bringing his son, Assan, toTele-TimeAcademyfor about two years and his daughter before that. He said it was disconcerting to see the police activity Wednesday morning.

“I never questioned the place,” he said of the boarding house next door. “I didn’t know it was a place where people come and go.”

Seck said the biggest concern with the house had been a dog that lived there and barked at the day care center’s children.

CMPD Investigating East Charlotte Dog Fighting Incident

From www.wcnc.com – October 11, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating an incident involving dog fighting in east Charlotte.

According to a police report, CMPD officers responded to an apartment on Eastcrest Drive off of Central Avenue Sunday around 11 p.m.  While on scene, officers and animal control noticed three pit bulls with injuries that appeared to have been sustained during dog fighting. 

Those three pit bulls also had injuries from an instrument police are calling a “breakstick” that was used to separate the dogs during fights.

No one has been arrested yet, but police plan to take out warrants on those they think may be responsible for holding the dog fights.  The three dogs were taken by animal control for treatment.

Another Habitual Felon Wanted After Chopping Off Electronic Montoring Device

From http://www.wcnc.com – October 8, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  A man is wanted by Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department after taking off his electronic monitoring device.

In a press release to NewsChannel 36, CMPD says Vernard Gregory wore his device for three days after he was released from jail. Friday, Gregory cut off the court ordered device and is now on the run.

Police say he was last seen in the area of Milton Road and The Plaza.

Gregory is wanted for a slew of outstanding warrants including interfering with an electronic monitoring device, and hit and run.

According to authorities, Gregory is a habitual felon with an extensive criminal history including arrests for robbery, drugs, auto theft, breaking and entering, larceny from auto and resisting arrest.

Gregory is the 19th offender to cut off a CMPD electronic monitor in 2011.