CMPD Command Seeks to Terminate Officer

According to a local news station CMPD has suspended an officer who logged off on the afternoon of deadly shootout, and has transferred another.

An internal email confirms the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department took action against two officers who logged off before and during April 29 ambush which left 4 law enforcement officers dead.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks, Task Force Officers Alden Elliot and Sam Poloche and CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer died at the hands of a gunman on the afternoon of April 29. 

Several other officers suffered injuries. A federal task force was attempting to serve a warrant on the fugitive at the time of the ambush.

The report:

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department suspended one of its own in the days after WCNC Charlotte questioned why some police logged off their radios before and as a gunman killed four officers, public records show.

CMPD won't reveal why the agency took action against that patrol officer. A spokesperson said, by statute, the department can't release certain details about personnel matters, calling that "confidential and not a matter of public record."

"From his file, it appears that the officer has been suspended pending the civil service review," CMPD Director of Public Affairs Sandy D'Elosua Vastola said in an email to WCNC Charlotte. "We don't have anything further to share at this time."

As of Thursday afternoon, the Civil Service Board had yet to set a hearing date for the officer, according to the city clerk.

In the aftermath of the deadly east Charlotte shootout on April 29, multiple officers shared concerns with WCNC Charlotte about a small number of their colleagues who were seemingly unavailable to respond that afternoon. WCNC Charlotte brought questions to CMPD on behalf of the hundreds of on- and off-duty police who responded to the Galway Drive shooting. In response, the agency dismissed their concerns and called WCNC Charlotte's reporting "irresponsible" and "a slam job."

Since May, WCNC Charlotte has repeatedly requested information about two officers in particular. An internal email sent to Vastola on May 29, recently obtained through a public records request, confirmed both officers were among those who logged off the radio on April 29. Upon sharing that revelation with the department, the spokesperson, citing state law, told WCNC Charlotte CMPD should not have released portions of that email.

"I would respectfully request that you do not publish that portion of the email as it was sent to you in error from our Public Records Department," Vastola said. "Specifically, the (logoff) sentence is protected personnel information."

A month-and-a-half before CMPD suspended the one officer, WCNC Charlotte filmed him working desk duty in June. That change to his employment lasted for weeks, but despite WCNC Charlotte's repeated questions, the department never reflected the temporary work assignment in the publicly releasable portions of his personnel file.

When asked, the department spokesperson said North Carolina public records law does not allow agencies to release public information about "current" work assignments or work schedules.

The officer's work status officially changed to suspended on July 31, according to his file. The suspension came just days after WCNC Charlotte aired its investigation and followed a Facebook post by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police criticizing the department's response to WCNC Charlotte's reporting.

"Now we know now several weeks later that this was 100% true; that your facts were 100% correct," FOP President Daniel Redford told WCNC Charlotte. "There's validity to what you were asking about. We know for 100% certainty that an officer has been punished for logging off. Granted, there may be some other things behind it, but (that) was one of them. It goes to show that your 'irresponsible' 'slam job' article that you wrote wasn't irresponsible on your part."

Even as a former FBI agent and a retired FBI assistant director called for more openness in the wake of the deadliest day for law enforcement in Charlotte history, CMPD's spokesperson "strongly" cautioned WCNC Charlotte from moving forward with a story, noting the sensitive nature of the day's events.

Ultimately, the department refused "to speculate" about why some officers were seemingly unavailable.

"It's not that they logged off. It's what their logging off represents as far as the response from the department," Redford said. "As tragic as it is, I don't want to see people using it as an excuse to forgo answering questions, because it might not fit a certain criteria of what they want their agency to look like."

Redford said the department's dismissive response prompted the FOP to take a public stand against the spokesperson's handling of this situation.

An internal email confirms the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department took action against two officers who logged off before and during April 29 ambush.

The Char-Meck FOP FaceBooK Post:

Whether you agree with Nate Morabito on this article or not, we can say the concerns he raises in this article are true and our Lodge received the same information. We can say that not every officer who logged off did so intentionally; however, questions remain on a few and is why Nate felt the need to inquire about it and later publish an article about it.

The point of our post is not so much on the topic of Nate’s story, but on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s response to it. Nate cites that CMPD is not going to speculate; however, they have the ability to conduct an easy and quick Internal Affairs (IA)Investigation. It would raise enough concern that officers intentionally logged off and would be in the wheelhouse of IA, as there were nearly 20 who logged off in the minutes around the shooting. We feel every officer would expect an investigation be conducted and appropriate action taken IF someone logged off to purposely avoid responding to a call for help. Again, not everyone who logged off did so nefariously.

CMPD’s IA is fully capable of quickly getting these answers for CMPD to provide to Nate without identifying anyone. IA pulled over 40 people in for interviews over memes being made - so they could ask questions here too.

It’s pretty bad when the former Assistant Director of the FBI says CMPD should be a bit more transparent. Instead of more transparency, CMPD PIO Director Sandy D’Elosua Vastola attacked Nate Morabito calling his article “irresponsible” and a “slam job.”

All Nate did was ask a question that CMPD refused to answer and one that several of CMPD’s own employees were concerned with. CMPD conveniently hides behind state personnel law when there is the appearance something is amiss, yet CMPD Chief Jennings couldn’t wait to spill the name, punishment, and intimate details of an officer involved in an arrest that went viral. You can’t use law to skate answering questions then forget a law exists when it’s a good look for you.

Chief Jennings says he has fought so hard to make CMPD a premier agency, yet the mouth piece of his department resorts to petty nastiness whenever she doesn’t like the questions being asked.

Sandy, we are not public affairs experts but this is how we would have handled this: (these are how we envision a conversation going if we were in Sandy’s position)

WCNC’s Reporter: Hi CMPD, some officers have raised concerns about a handful of officers who logged off during the April 29th shooting, can you provide any details?

How we would respond: WCNC Reporter, thank you for the inquiry. While we are unaware of this specifically, we’ll be glad to ask and get back with you.

WCNC’s Reporter: Thank you

How we would respond: WCNC Reporter, sorry for the delay but we found an answer for you. We do see that there were several log offs around the time the incident occurred but (depending on what was found) 1) none were found to have intentionally logged off, or 2) most were found to have not intentionally logged off and we are looking further into 1 or 2 to get more details. We thank you for you the partnership and do want to point out the heroism of all law enforcement officers that day. What you may not know is that dozens of CMPD officers who were on their day off came in wanting to help. We would like the public to know about them while we sort out and get answers on those who logged off.

WCNC’s Reporter: Thank you for the reply and answers. You all have a lot of heroes and it’s comforting to know. (News article not published because CMPD was transparent).

To Sandy D’Elousa Vastola, try being little nicer, you are representing the department, its employees and the City of Charlotte.

Florida Road Rager FA Almost FO

A Florida Mercedes driver almost found out on Tuesday.

The Port St. Lucie man is now facing a long list of charges, accused of threatening two people with a gun during a road rage incident.

Paul Slane, 63, faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of battery and one count of robbery with a firearm.

The victims, a married couple, told police that it started around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Southwest Heatherwood and Southwest California boulevards.

“Driver of a black Mercedes brake checked him, slammed on his brakes, and forced him to stop on the roadway,” said Leo Niemczyk, assistant police chief of Port St. Lucie.

The victims said they tried to go around the man, but he followed, continuing to harass them.

Police said they’re not sure why.

“We haven’t been able to lock that down, what exactly set him off,” Niemczyk said. “But who knows? It could have been a bad day. Maybe his goldfish died.”

The victims said the man even went so far as to follow them into their gated community and all the way to their house.

“At their home, the vehicle drove in front of them, slammed on the brakes again, forced the victim to stop, got out of his vehicle brandishing a firearm,” Niemczyk said.

That’s when the female victim in the passenger seat started recording on her phone.

Video released by Port St. Lucie police shows the man getting out of his car with the gun in his hand and approaching the victims’ truck, screaming profanities.

At one point, he reaches through the driver’s side window, hits the driver and tries to grab the phone out of the woman’s hands.

Niemczyk said it’s lucky nobody was hurt or killed, and not just because Slane had a gun.

The video shows the victim, who was driving, also had a gun in his lap.

“Should I shoot him?” he’s heard on the video asking his wife.

In the end, no shots were fired.

“This guy’s behavior is absolutely unacceptable,” Niemczyk said. “And he’s going to face the consequences.”

Slane is currently being held in the St. Lucie County jail without bond.

Cedar's Take:

Let me be very clear I won't ask my wife for permission to use my weapon. Unlike law enforcement I'm not going ask him to drop his weapon he's not going to get within ten feet of my black Tahoe. 

At this point right here he takes two in the chest. 

If he's lucky I don't put an extra round in his head.

How close was this crazy MoFo to having a change of venue? 

This close:

Anyone disagree?

CMPD Apparently Hired Security Staff from former WackenNut Security

A security guard admitted to masturbating multiple times while working at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Law Enforcement Center according to an affidavit published Sunday.

Austin Thomas, 24, has been charged with one count of indecent exposure and four counts of public masturbation. A police department employee on Saturday, Aug. 17, caught Thomas masturbating while he was sitting at front door to the headquarters, the affidavit said.

The front doors to the police headquarters are open to the public, and the inside of the building is visible from outside the glass doors.

That employee reported the situation to their supervisor, officials said. The alleged masturbation was reportedly caught on camera.

When confronted by detectives, Thomas stated that he was “just adjusting his shirt and that the zipper on his pants was down, so he zipped up his pants,” the affidavit reads. Once detectives told Thomas about the cameras, he reportedly backtracked and admitted to exposing himself and masturbating two to four other times while on the job.

Thomas said, “In the heat of the moment I didn’t think,” according to the affidavit.

Authorities said Thomas was employed as a security guard for one and a half months leading up to the incident. He first appeared in court on Monday, Aug. 19, and is scheduled to appear again for a disposition in December.

According to the arrest sheet:

On August 17, 2024, at approximately 2237 hrs while working as Security Guard for (Walden Security) at the Law Enforcement Center the suspect exposed his penis and masturbated while sitting at the front door. This area is open to the public and can also be seen from outside the glass doors. 

The victim (CMPD Employee) arrived for work and as she was walking up to the front glass doors, she observed the suspect exposing penis and masturbating from outside. When she entered the building, the suspect covered his penis, and she walked directly past him and directly upstairs where she immediately told her supervisor what she had seen. 

The cameras were reviewed, and the entire incident was captured on video. The suspect ended his shift and after being contacted by his employer voluntarily came back to the LEC where he also agreed to be interviewed by detectives. 

The suspect first advised he was just adjusting his shirt and that the zipper on his pants was down, so he zipped up his pants. He was advised of the cameras, and he then admitted to exposing his penis and masturbating at the front door near the x-ray machine. He stated "My thing was hard" and it gets very uncomfortable when its hard so "I Stroked my penis to get it soft." The suspect was asked if he realized what he did was crime and he advised he did and stated|, "In the heat of the moment didn't think." 

The suspect who has been employed as security guard for months also admitted to masturbating other times at the LEC while working as security guard Detectives reviewed camera footage and the suspect was also observed on August 09 2024 at 2130hrs, August 14, 2024. at 2220hrs and again on August 16,. 2024. at 2208hrs masturbating at the front desk located in the lobby and main entrance of the Law Enforcement Center The suspect was charged with count of Indecent Exposure and counts of Public Masturbation.

Thug on the Run

With 23 arrests and dozens of charges, why do Mecklenburg County Judges keep releasing this POS?

His two prior convictions for Speeding to Elude or Avoid Arrest and Assault on a Female resulted in probation. 

Local news is reporting it this way "A Charlotte man was arrested Friday afternoon after officers say he led police on a chase in a stolen vehicle through the Lake Norman area."

According to the Mooresville Police Department, officers responded around 4 p.m. to the area of Interstate 77 and U.S. 21. That’s where they made contact with a vehicle that reportedly had a driver with a felony warrant for his arrest. He was considered to be armed and dangerous, actively fleeing from officers. 

As the suspect vehicle, a black Ford Expedition, continued to flee, the offender allegedly struck a marked MPD patrol unit and a civilian vehicle, resulting in minor damage and no injuries. The pursuit continued south on I-77 into Mecklenburg County to the Sam Furr Road area. Officers deployed stop sticks, and the suspect vehicle became disabled. 

The offender, 24-year-old Victor Miguel Richardson, jumped and ran from the vehicle prior to being apprehended by a MPD K9. 

Officers say Richardson had an active warrant for felony larceny of a motor vehicle, and that the vehicle he was driving had also been reported stolen earlier in the day. 

Officers also linked him to an active MPD investigation for misdemeanor larceny. 

Richardson is in the custody of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and has pending charges for:

Felony Flee/Elude Arrest with a Motor Vehicle, 

No Operators License, and 

Larceny (result of MPD’s involvement). 

Well that's not the whole story. Even with all the prior arrests Mecklenburg DA again and again saw fit to dismiss the charges, even those where Richardson was charged with AWDW and other violent crimes. Crimes dating back to 2019. 

Many of those arrests are not reflected in the above mugshots.

Why is this happening? 23 Cases over four years with close to 100 charges and all but two were dismissed. Those resulted in minimal probation sentences.

Seriously there is no redemption for this man and we are lucky someone was not killed during yesterday's police chase. 

Another Black Teen Murdered

Charlotte's long list of teenage shooting victims sadly gained another name Aryan Jaswal age 17, Tuesday morning.

The 17-year-old black male was found shot to death Tuesday morning in a car in south Charlotte, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Shortly after 8 a.m., police executed a welfare check at Wynhollow Downs Lane in the upscale Cheswyck at Ballantyne Apartments in South Charlotte.

Cheswyck is located at the corner of Ballantyne Commons Parkway and Old Lancaster Highway just south of Pineville.

CMPD reports state that after a welfare check they found 17-year-old Aryan Jaswal inside of a car in the apartment complex. He had been shot multiple times and Medic declared the young man deceased. 

It’s not clear what led up to the shooting and police haven’t shared a description of any suspect or suspects.

Jaswal is the 22nd murder victim under the age of 20 shot to death in the last 12 months.

The sad list of other victims under 20:

Savion Rashaad Lockhart, age 17

Caleb Thompson, age 18

J’Karri Anderson, age 19

Quaveon Jeremiah Robinson, age 19

Lawahon Dwight Hutchinson, age 19

Johnie McClendon, age 14

Jah’Zir Elijah Jackson, age 18

Lonnie Mcconico Jr, age 18

Tzion Dae, age 16

Amir Kidd, age 15

Avyon Thomas, age 17

Daikwan Jedarren Deese, age 17

Melakah Corbette, age 17

Carter Jimenez, age 3

Jorden Anthony Wood, age 17

Fate Brannon, age 17

Kaleb L. Brown, age 17

Jonathan Miller, age 14

Belian Garcia Mejia, age 18

Marquez Alexander Summers, age 19

Rashaka Prince, age 18

Anyone with information is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and ask to speak directly to a homicide unit detective.

How screwed up are our Mecklenburg County Courts?

Well, you be “da judge”

On January 12, 2021, CMPD Officers attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Tyree Jamichael Knight. A pursuit followed, then an accident and the suspect Knight was taken into custody.

Knight was booked into the Mecklenburg County jail on January 13, 2021, on the charge of Felony Flee/Elude Arrest with a motor vehicle. 

He was released on zero bond after less than 24 hours in custody.

Then the wheels of justice began to turn:

On 01/13/2021 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 03/05/2021 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 06/24/2021 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 07/28/2021 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 09/01/2021 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 11/16/2021 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 02/15/2022 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 04/04/2022 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 07/11/2022 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 09/20/2022 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 01/23/2023 a Motion/Order to Continue was granted.

On 07/15/2024 the case was dismissed.

Never mind that during this time Knight was arrested nearly a dozen times by CMPD. 

The charges include, Larceny from a person, Weapon on Campus, Discharging a Weapon into Occupied Property, Discharging a Weapon into a Moving Vehicle, Possession, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, Resisting Arrest, and Conspiracy to Discharge a Firearm into an Occupied Dwelling.

Every one of these cases were dismissed.

Finally on July 24, 2024, Tyree Knight was convicted of Discharging a Firearm into Occupied Property and Larceny from a Person.

His sentence was just 36 months’ probation.

Then his luck turned. On August 1, 2024, just one week after being given the best break of his life, at around 2335, CMPD Officers responded in reference a shooting into occupied dwelling call for service.

Upon arrival in the area officers observed a Dodge Charger driving in the neighborhood without any lights on. Officers decided to maintain visual on the vehicle as it pulled into dead-end street and seemingly waited for Officers to leave area. 

Once the Officers were out of sight the vehicle drove away with Officers following at a distance while they maintained visual on the suspect vehicle until it entered a driveway a short distance away. The Dodge Charger was displaying a North Carolina tag, which came back registered to Tyree Knight.  While Officers were watching the vehicle, the suspect later determined to be Knight got out of the driver side and began walking towards the shooting scene. 

While the vehicle was unoccupied, Officers noticed a firearm in plain view underneath the passenger seat. The driver of the vehicle was determined to be a recently convicted felon on probation. 

Based on this probable cause Officers searched the vehicle which revealed that the firearm they saw under the seat was an Anderson Manufacturing AM15, serial #21039853. (AM-15 is an AR style rifle and is not cheap around $900.00 unmodified) There were no other occupants observed getting out of the vehicle once the defendant left the area.

Tyree Jamichael Knight is now charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Shooting into an Occupied Building and violating the terms of his probation. He is currently being held on $250,000.00 secured bond. 

Cedar Update:

Mecklenburg DA Spencer Merriweather dropped the charges against Knight and Meck County Sheriff Garry McFadden released habitual felon Tyree Knight back onto Charlotte Streets at 11:44 PM Thursday August 22nd. 

 

Third Hispanic Male Charged In Shamrock Drive Murder

Yesterday Thursday, August 8, 2024 CMPD detectives arrested Jonathan Rivera, 20, for the attempted armed robbery and shooting of 3 people and the murder of Jose Octavio Cruz, age 57.

Rivera was transported to the Law Enforcement Center to speak to detectives. At the conclusion of the interview, Mr. Rivera was transferred into the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

Jonathan Rivera, 20

And as with the two other suspects Kevin Jeremy Zetino, 19, and Adilio Cesar Garcia Lemus, 24, Rivera was also out on an unsecured bond having been released by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office on July 23rd.

Rivera had been previously arrested on February 7th on B&E charges and released on zero bail hours later. Then he was arrested on June 23rd. Despite these arrests Rivera was released on no bail even though he had been charged with 24 felonies and had other outstanding prior charges. 

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police had previously charged both Kevin Jeremy Zetino, 19, and Adilio Cesar Garcia Lemus, 24 with Murder, Attempted Murder, Armed Robbery, Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, First Degree Burglary, and Assault with a Deadly Weapon Intent to Kill or Inflict Serious Injury.

Cedar's Take:

First MCSO is terrible at recording hispanic names and identifying arrestees. Those pesky combination of surnames. Someone please tell Garry that Pérez- Quiñones is the last name not just Quiñones. In this case Rivera-Santos is the perps last name.

As in so many cases much of the MCSO data is conflicting or error prone.

No one can yet confirm his immigration status or if there is an outstanding ICE Detainer in effect.

But understand this Josh Stein and Garry McFadden's sanctuary city effort not to cooperate with the minimal efforts of ICE to protect our borders does nothing to protect law abiding citizens.

The number of hispanic arrestee in Mecklenburg County has exploded. As recently as four years ago you would be surprised to find one or two listed on the daily arrest blotter