Kayrin English Sentenced to 24 Months Incarceration for Gun Trafficking

Kayrin English, 27, of Charlotte, was sentenced on May 30, 2024 to 24 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for dealing in firearms without a license, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to court records and today’s sentencing hearing, ATF agents learned that between February 2020 and August 2021, English had applied for 36 firearm purchase permits. ATF agents also learned that in September 2021, English had applied for an additional seven firearm purchase permits. ATF agents approached English when she arrived to collect the seven permits and conducted a consensual interview. During the interview, English told ATF agents that she would generally obtain the permits and use them to purchase firearms, which she would then resell for profit to individuals who were prohibited from owning or purchasing their own firearms. 

Court records show that English admitted to ATF agents that, since January 2021, she had illegally sold approximately 15 to 20 firearms. English also told ATF agents that most of the illegal firearms transactions were local, however, she had previously travelled to New Jersey where she sold several firearms she had purchased in Charlotte.

On October 31, 2023, English pleaded guilty to dealing in firearms without a license. She is currently released on bond and will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

The ATF led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Cedar's Take:

Easy money. English was likely not acting alone. This sort of underground black market trade of weapons is widespread and problematic. Perhaps she was just an enterprising woman trying to make ends meet? Maybe she was just dumb enough to listen to someone who said easy money. This is of course a cultural problem. Those of us who are 2nd Amendment supporters need to push for more of this accountability. 24 Months seems sort of steep for someone with no priors so I'd suspect there is more to this story.

Yet consider this the only "local news" to report this action was WCCB. Their viewership numbers are barely visible, so it likely doesn't matter that they reported the news this way:

"U.S. Attorney Dena King sentenced 27-year-old Kayrin English to two years in prison and one year of supervised release for dealing in firearms without a license."

Of course ADA's don't sentence offenders judges do. 

The work of ATF in getting guns out of the hands of kids and violent offenders is much needed. Federal Judges don't take kindly to weapons violations. Had this action been in Mecklenburg County Court System English would have received community service or less.

Street Take Overs and General Disorder - Charloot!

Local News Media pointing to videos circulating on social media from this weekend showed cars doing burnouts in Uptown Charlotte and another street takeover in NoDa . Someone was even hurt in the process, MEDIC said.

The videos show large crowds watching the drivers during the stunts. At least two vehicles were doing donuts in the intersection in front of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the videos showed. 

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In the above video MEDIC said someone was hit by a car around 2 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of 36th and North Davidson streets. That victim was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, MEDIC said. 

Volume up for the distinctive "thud" followed by the collective "ooooohh" from the crowd. 

That incident happened in front of Fire Station 7. (We do hope the victim will be ok). 

Charlotte Fire said at the same time in the same location, one of their engines was involved in crash. It wasn’t a serious accident.

One video shows a different vantage point of the NoDa takeover. A coupe is seen drifting counter-clockwise around the intersection, and then it goes back the other way. On its second pass, a man recording with his phone crouches down before he’s hit by the coupe on video.

CMPD has remained silent regarding the incidents and the name of the one injured spectator has not been release. No arrests have been made and as with other street takeovers CMPD response was rather muted despite plenty of advance promotion of the locations, dates and times via social media. 

Clark Brothers Arrested Again - Suprised?

The Clarks where being held without bond at the Iredell County Detention Center earlier this week — they were out on bond in Mecklenburg County when they were arrested again on May 21, 2024 in Iredell County.

Deputies say they found marijuana, mushrooms, and money inside the car they were traveling in during a traffic stop.

Carlos (Left) and Christopher (Right) Clark face several drug charges after their arrest Tuesday.

The Iredell Sheriff’s Office said deputies stopped the brothers on River Highway in Mooresville.

But according to North Carolina Courts they were released on a reduced bond the following day.

Given that the arrest is a violation of their pretrial release you would expect Mecklenburg DA Spencer Merriweather would move to revoke their current bond and order their immediate arrest.

Nah...... 

File This Under Everything is Racist

And then there's this from the NY POST:

NY correction officer shares ‘racist’ biscuits and gravy post about Georgia jail, sparking investigation.

A veteran Westchester County corrections sergeant is under investigation for a “racist and offensive” social media post ridiculing Georgia jail guards, officials told The Post.

Sgt. Michael Bourhill’s off-color post shows a group photo of the Georgia Department of Corrections – most of who are black and some appear overweight, with the title, “Damn!!” “They must serve some good biscuits and gravy at the Georgia Department of Correction,” the caption above the image reads.

The post came to the attention of county officials last week, prompting a probe.

“Posting or reposting inappropriate images is a violation of Westchester County employee policy,” Cioffi said. “Employees who violate this policy will be subject to formal disciplinary charges.”

A Westchester County black corrections officer group took even more umbrage, calling the post racist.

“The Westchester Correction Association strongly condemns the racist and offensive social media post shared by a Westchester Correction Sergeant,” the group said on Facebook.

“Sharing this post is not only unprofessional and inappropriate for any law enforcement supervisor as well as deeply racist and demeaning,” the group said. “To merely share such a post is offensive to this supervisor’s colleagues and co-workers.”

Mecklenburg Commissioner Elect Yvette Townsend-Ingram Arrested

According to local television news a newly-elected Mecklenburg County commissioner was arrested for driving while impaired, back on May 1st.

Commissioner-Elect Yvette Townsend-Ingram was arrested on May 1 in Gaston County. She was in a parking lot in Belmont on Catawba Street. The police report says she was arrested at Kevin Loftin Riverfront Park.

Records show Townsend-Ingram had a blood alcohol content more than two and a half times the legal limit. She blew a 0.2 for her breathalyzer test.

Townsend-Ingram, who called the incident a learning experience. She said she takes accountability for the arrest.

“I’m looking at this as a moment of, you know what, this is a teachable moment. You can use this to empathize with people,” Townsend-Ingram said. “Things happen, but it’s how you move forward from them that makes the difference.”

Townsend-Ingram said she had a weak moment after she lost her job at Johnson C. Smith University and was also mourning the death of her brother, who died in March.

“I had brought with me a bottle of wine. I fell asleep with the car running for the air conditioning and with the bottle of wine open,” she said. “So when the police came knocking on my door, Belmont police came and knocked on my door and arrested me because they said I had intent to drive.”

She was arrested and taken to the Gaston County jail. The warrant says she drove her car but Townsend-Ingram denies she was driving.

Townsend-Ingram said she is not hiding from her mental health issues and wants people to learn from this.

“It’s a distraction. A distraction of my own creation, but it’s a distraction,” she said.

Yvette Townsend-Ingram, a Democrat, will be sworn on to the Mecklenburg County Commission later this year. She defeated Pat Cotham in the March primary to earn the third at-large spot. No Republicans are running.

The incident won’t impact her ability to be sworn into office.

Cedar's Take:

2 and 1/2 times the legal limit on wine? That's more than me tossing one back before having dinner with my Baptist mother in law. 

Drinking to excess and driving automatic resign we don't need elected officials killing us we have enough drunks and druggies on our highways. We can withhold judgement until after her conviction. However, mental health issues should absolutely preclude anyone from holding public office.

Note Robin and Andréa are hot Yvette omg not! Convince me I'm wrong?

Idiots Among Us - Audrey Ellise Stanley

Seems like the 20 year old Audrey Stanley had a heck of a Friday night.

SHP apparently lit her happy ass up and quickly determined she was higher than Jesus. Seems it was only 7PM but she had a head start on the night of fun. Seems she was so intoxicated she was unable or unwilling to perform a breathalyzer test.

In addition to her charges of:

Reckless Driving to Endanger, Obtain/Attempt to Obtain Alcohol with a Fake Drivers License, Driving While Impaired and Driving After Consuming Alcohol Under 21, Her license was automatically revoked.

She was released from the Mecklenburg County Intake Center on an unsecured bond of $5,000.00.

Pineville North Carolina OIS

Pineville Police said they were called to the Food Lion on Johnston Road (which is inside the Pineville town limits) because someone was shoplifting. An off-duty Pineville Police Department sergeant who was working at the store in uniform caught up with the suspect in the parking lot.

The Pineville Officer attempted to detain the suspect who resisted arrest and the confrontation turned into a physical fight. 

The suspect managed to break free and run from the Officer. With the Officer in foot pursuit the suspect ran across Johnston Road (often confused as being Park Road) That led to the two running across the street to an apartment complex on the other side of Johnston Road which is inside the Charlotte City limits.

At this point witnesses said they heard around five gunshots.

Officials say a second physical altercation began between the Pineville Officer and the shoplifting suspect at the apartment complex, in which the sergeant fired his weapon, shooting and killing the suspect.

The suspect, who police identified as 46-year-old Dennis Bodden, and the officer got into a struggle before Bodden took off toward the Berkshire Place apartments across the street. Police said Bodden “ignored and refused verbal and lawful orders to stop.”

Dennis Bodden MCSO

At this time the Pineville Officer has not been identified

National Police Week - Open Invitation

It’s National Police Week and therefore as was the case last year any CMPD Officer current and or retired who might find themselves out at the coast this Saturday the invitation from retired CMPD Sgt Whit Neal is come on by Ocean Isle Beach 1530 hours til the beer runs out.

A Lot of Questions Few Answers

Far removed from most of Charlotte citizens daily lives there are a group of law enforcement personnel who "operate" under the Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force (CRFTF).

Background

The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force (CRFTF) has partnership agreements with four federal and 68 state and local agencies; and operates in South Carolina and North Carolina . 

The Task Force (CRFTF) has apprehended more than 8,900 fugitives in the Carolinas since its inception.

Members of the Task Force are deputised US Marshals. It is the modern day equivalent of a US Marshal's pose in the American West during the late 1800's.

The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force (CRFTF) began operations in January of 2018 under the Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000. The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force (CRFTF) is the newest Regional Fugitive Task Force. 

The US Marshal's website promotes the Task Force like this:

The Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force (CRFTF) has made an extraordinary impact on the apprehension of the region’s most dangerous and violent fugitives striving to make their communities a safer place.

Subject 

More than a week ago upon information and belief a warrant was secured for the arrest of a career felon.

Just months before four law enforcement officers were killed and five others were injured during a standoff, the man at the center of the deaths led police on a high-speed chase in Lincoln County.

Lincoln County Sheriff Bill Beam said one of his officers tried to pull over the suspect in January, but instead of stopping he decided to run. Sheriff Beam said a supervisor called off the short chase once the officer identified the license plate number, which was registered to a woman.

This was just another crime connected to the suspect. His list of convictions began 20 years ago and charges range from traffic to felony B&E. There are random weapons charges but nothing that would rise to this level of violence.

With 2 years and 3 months of total incarnation time according to the NCDOC.

But there are countless dismissed charges that cause alarm and then there are the crimes he committed that haven't been discovered. 

Task Force Operations

We will in good time learn what happened on Monday April 29th.

Sources familiar with the work of the US Marshal Task force say the Officers are extremely well trained and typically form a very cohesive team. 

Entry is typically made with a team stacked up at the door and quickly securing the interior of the premises and taking the suspect into custody. 

But the planning starts well before the arrest is made.

Intel is at the forefront. They talk to family, friends and informants. Cellphone pings and activity, technology surveillance is utilized and ultimately a plan is formulated.

The team may even set up in a nearby parking lot to practice the entry based of the knowledge before hand. 

Depending on the subject's habits the time of day for the arrest is made accordingly. It may have been that the suspect was known to take midday naps at the home at 5525 Galway Drive, Charlotte, NC, 28215. It may have been that he only occasionally stayed at the location. 

It is likely the team knew of the motion sensitive device on the right side of the house overlooking the driveway.

What we don't know is how the shooter managed to get a tactical advantage on the team before they could make entry.

US Marshals do not typically have BWCs so there may not be the typical fire fight video for review.

The response to the first shots fired officer down was without comparison. In the end it wasn't enough to save four heros.

North Carolina Department of Adult Correction Offices Sam Poloche and Alden Elliot, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Joshua Eyer and US Deputy Marshal Tommy Weeks died a week ago. Forever heros.

We continue to seek answers.

One more thing - The cost of this event will be far greater reaching than many of us realize. Politicians that we have elected to Charlotte City Council are clueless and many of us who value and obey the law don't understand the complexity of policing. 

You will see the clowns who complain that going after a low level perp was a waste. But if you don't draw the line here then where? The public forgets that many of the crimes committed by career criminals go undetected. 

I get the entire hidey hole thing. I don't agree with it. Josh by all accounts was at the other end of the spectrum. 

Those who know me also know that my wife and I have a lot of family that work in public safety, among them a Battalion Chief, a former FBI internet crimes now Bank Fraud Investigator, a retired CMPD Sergeant, two former Independence Division Officers one on disability (damn overachiever) two Rookie Officers . A former West Virginia Bureau of Criminal Investigations Agent, a US State Department Diplomatic Security Special Agent and one stand up guy who is also a part of the CRFTF. So yeah last Monday was hard.