Natalie Ruth Howie

Charlotte's independent news sources get a lot of things right. People like Charlitt, Charlotte News Alerts and others often post the stories long before "main stream media" even wakes up.

Sadly last week the post on Natalie Howie's death by Charlotte News Alerts got it wrong. According to CMPD investigators Ms. Howie took her own life.

Her obituary:

She was 18 years young and a senior at Independence High School.

Natalie was a lifelong resident of the town of Mint Hill and Mecklenburg County.

Natalie was preceded in death by her grandfather Dennis Abraham who she loved as Papa Abe. Natalie is survived by a large family that she loved and who loves her and will miss her dearly: dad, Dustin; mom, Lisa; big brother Trent; and her Yorkie Belle who Natalie loved with all of her heart. She is also survived by grandparents Gail Abraham of Concord, NC; Doris Hoke of Heath Springs, SC and John and Virginia Howie of Charlotte, NC; great great aunt Margaret Hill of Fairview,NC; fiancée Emiliano Leon, his dad Rene, mom Liliana, and brother Lauro; aunts and uncles, Steve Abraham of Charlotte, NC; Matt and Mary Osborne of Coventry, CT; Chad and Kym Howie of Ackworth, GA; Cameron and Leslie Howie of Fairview, NC; cousins Roby Abraham of Atlanta, Ga, Isabel Osborne of Coventry, CT, Eloise Osborne of Madrid, Spain, Alyssa Howie of Fairview, NC, Erick Howie of Fairview, NC, Priscilla Howie of Ackworth, GA, and Vivian Howie of St. Petersburg, FL.

Natalie never met a stranger and has many friends at Restoration Church of Indian Land, SC where she is a charter member, Independence High School where she was member of the National Honor Society, and at Chick-Fil-A Mint Hill where her favorite task was working the drive through line.

Natalie was planning on attending NC State University and studying to become a veterinarian. From the time she could walk and talk she loved and cared for every animal that crossed her path.

Natalie volunteered at school as a member of the student council, Youth Commission International, art club, and newspaper staff, at church as a teacher in children’s church, with the Special Olympics, YMCA day camps, and at KCBS BBQ contests.

Natalie’s favorite food was steak, she was a Steak Cook Off Association judge and loved to travel to contests with her Dad and big brother. Natalie was baby miss Mint Hill and baby miss Mecklenburg County in 2008.

Natalie’s family asks that if you have a family member who struggles with mental health that you get them any help that you can and that you hug and love them every day.

A celebration of life service for Natalie will be held on Saturday, May 31st, 2025 at Restoration Church in Indian Land, SC. Visitation with the family will start at 10:00 am and the service will start at 12 noon. Please visit the church's website link for livestream info.

In lieu of flowers a donation may be made in Natalie’s name to the building fund for the new sanctuary under construction at her church. Restoration Church, 8365 Possum Hollow Rd, Indian Land, SC, 29707

Cedar's Take:

Natalie's funeral will be tomorrow. It is hard to imagine why such a beautiful girl would take her own life. We as a society have a habit of hiding these stories. The News Media will not mention her death. There is the old idea that if one young person takes their life others will follow so it is better to not discuss this.

CMPD scrubs their Alerts and her death is only noted on the coroner's report and a closed homicide investigation files.

But news of Natalie's death and the details spread quickly neighbors knew within an hour, Independence High School sent a poorly worded message to parents and text messages between students were endless. 

Yes, sadly Natalie took her own life. We the public are trusting of investigators and yet there is always a nagging doubt and the question why? What could be so bad that she'd choose all that gave her joy?

Still the one takeaway is pay attention to your loved ones, friends, co-workers, fellow students and children. They have struggles and fears and often pain that is never visible. 

Some People Just Need To Stay Locked Up!

Freaks in particular.

So why do Mecklenburg County Judges keep letting this freak out of jail?

William Anthony Dibella aka Steven Dibella Photo Courtesy MCSO

William and his twin Brother Stephen have records in Gaston, and Mecklenburg counties along with Dozens of arrests, countless B&E and Auto theft charges, endless parole and probation violations and likey untold number of crimes not yet discovered. 

William's latest: Flee and Elude, Possession of Stolen Motor Vehicle, Drugs and more. 

Add a probation violation on priors and more pending B&E charges.

But the Meck DA and Judges will turn him lose once again. You've been warned.

CMPD Chief "Backwards Johnny" Agrees to Exit

Yesterday Michael Graff who is older than most the dirt around Charlotte and a fairly well known freelance writer posted his spin on his newly created The Charlotte Optimist. 

The CMPD Chief apparently wanted a sympathetic voice to "clear the air" giving the exclusive interview to Graff.

First the "presser" gives Jennings departure date as January 1, 2026.

And it turns out the total package Charlotte City Council agreed to pay off CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings rumored to be between $100,000 and perhaps as high as $300K is actually $305,000.

The Chief's shake down of Charlotte Taxpayers started back in November and by April it was secretly agreed to with nearly one half of Charlotte City Council absent.

But the leaked information started public outrage that was quick and fiery. 

"Backwards Johnny" has now labeled the payoff a "separation agreement" rather than a settlement.

Basically here is his payoff:

$25,000 for costs he incurred in the dispute, including legal counsel.

A 5 percent merit increase for 2025, retroactive to January 1, totaling $14,017. 

An additional 40 vacation days, valued at $45,284, to use at his discretion. If he doesn’t use them by January 1, he’ll be paid for them.

A retention bonus of $45,699, paid in two installments, to stay through the end of the year while the city searches for his replacement.

Severance of $175,000, to be paid in January 2026.

The complete agreement is here.

And the addendum that allows the release of the above agreement is here.

The rest of the story:

Turns out the chief was really "butt hurt" over the "outer carry vests" issue and he still thinks most officers don't like the idea.

His opposition to the vests folded last April after the deaths of our four law enforcement officers Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Joshua Eyer, and North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections officers Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott all died during an ambush attack in which the shooter was also killed.

Says Graff: 

When Jennings took the job in 2020, he continued a long-running department rule that restricted patrol officers from wearing outer vest carriers, or ballistic vests over the uniform, unless they had a medical exemption. The three previous police chiefs all had it in place, too. They believed the vests didn’t align with community-oriented policing philosophies, which attempt to bridge gaps between officers and the people they serve. Jennings had made “customer service” central to his administration, and he kept the uniform policy.

“That’s not the look that I want for our police department,” Jennings told me.

Bokhari, who represented south Charlotte until April, and the local Fraternal Order of Police believed all officers should have the option to wear them. This wasn’t a new position for them, either: Bokhari had been advocating for the vests for more than two years. He often cited research that showed the vests improved officer comfort, and conversations with officers who said they wanted the vests. 

Jennings maintains that many officers didn’t want the vests, and that the loudest people don’t always represent the majority.

But Jennings complaint is more than just about the vests. He cites vocal opposition to his policies and management style and tells Graff:

“The push for me to be fired,” Jennings said. “The push for the city manager to be fired, the push for the petition for people to go online and sign for my termination or forcing the manager to fire me.”

The original story posted by Michael Graff is here. 

Cedar's Take:

But the reality is this entire adventure was clearly a money grab, a legal version of Tiawanna Brown's raid on the SBA. Jennings had apparently already secured a job in the private sector and turned his spat with Borkai into a way to fleece Charlotte Taxpayers with a final FU on his way out the door.

Panic will now settle in at CMPD as not only has the rudderless ship been confirmed but the department is seriously void of any real leadership. Which means the city manager who is also on the likely to make a departure list and the city council which is obviously going to undergo some serious change come November will have to deal with this unmitigated disaster right off the bat.

Like I've been saying you can not make this up.

Charlotte's attempt to hire from outside the department was a disaster. Rodney Monroe by many accounts was an epic fool (See Golf Cart), a cheat See (Education) and a liar (See Jonathan Ferrell).

So the next move was to promote from within enter Putney and Jennings. But Jennings simply promoted the DEI hires and that will leave the department a mess.

Yes he'll claim his leadership, reduced the man power shortage. But his has no clue as the the low level of morale or the coming exits. Additionally Charlotte has far fewer officers than it should have.

I've used Boston a city I worked in for on and off for 25 years as an example:

Boston:

Population 650,238

Square Miles 89

Number of Officers 2,144

Homicides 2024: 24

Charlotte:

Population 923,164

Square Miles 310

Number of Officers 1,587

Homicides 2024: 111

In Boston you can not turn a corner and not see a cop. They are everywhere. They protect street and utility crews whenever they need to block the road. Traffic law compliance is exceptional. 

You can walk across the Boston Common after dark and run the Charles River before sunrise and not have to deal with, muggers, homeless or prevents.

In Charlotte while "Backwards Johnny" is getting a nice goodbye package rooks struggle to cover basic costs of living in the Queen City. Even five year Officers need to load up on secondary if they have kids. But Johnny got his.

Did someone say "pledge fund"?

Come on Charlotte get your act together.

Body Count - Charloot

CMPD PIO last night:

Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Homicide Unit are conducting a homicide investigation in the 4000 block of North Graham Street in the North Tryon Division.

On Saturday, May 24, shortly before 8:30 p.m., officers responded to an Assault with a Deadly Weapon call for service in the 4000 block of North Graham Street. Upon arrival, officers discovered a victim with a gunshot wound. MEDIC transported the victim to a local hospital where they were pronounced deceased.

CMPD said it's still working to figure out a motive behind the shooting, and stated that the fact the shooting unfolded in one location while the victims drove to another initially complicated the investigation. However, officers said they were able to find evidence in the initial area along Reagan Drive.

This homicide follows an "Assault with a Deadly Weapon" investigation in the 1800 block of Stroud Park Court in the Metro Division on Friday.

Again from CMPD PIO: 

On Friday, May 23, shortly before 5:30 p.m., officers responded to a call for service in the 1800 block of Stroud Park Court. Upon arrival, officers discovered three victims with gunshot wounds.

All three were transported to area hospitals. Two suffered life-threatening injuries while the third sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

A suspect was arrested shortly after and there is currently no search for additional suspects in this case.

Charloot is well on the way to another 100 murders in 2025.

Officially CMPD reported 111 Homicides in 2024 compared to 89 in 2023. But numbers are just lies that look like facts. 

Look at the CMPD numbers for violent crimes: 7,413 offenses in 2024 compared to 7,215 offenses in 2023. A 2.67% in violent crime, which is not bad.

But the first quarter spin was:

In the first quarter of 2025, Charlotte, NC experienced a significant decrease in violent crime, including a reduction in homicides. Specifically, there were 20 homicides in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 32 in the first quarter of 2024, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). This marked a 17% drop in violent crime rates overall.

Sadly the illusion of a safer Charlotte didn't last long. Since March 31, 2025 another 23 bodies have hit the floor. At this rate the 2nd Quarter will have 38 homicides on the books and that's a 90% increase over the prior quarter.

"Cooking the books is nothing new at CMPD. Dumbing down arrests, inflating reports and dismissing facts.

Moreover, a 2.67% drop in reported crime doesn't support a 17% drop in violent crime.

Charlotte Government lacks transparency. 

It doesn't matter if it is closed door payoffs to the police chief, federal indictments, no bid contracts, outside consulting agreements, CMPD reserves, secondary jobs or promotions that seem to be based on DEI protocol. 

It's time to clean house in Charlotte.

Robin Emmons - Open Letter

Robin Emmons is a college educated, former bank employee with a background in finance, she is a well known social activist. 

She is also a resident of district 3 and has released the following "Open Letter" expressing her concerns regarding Tiawana Brown, Garry McFadden, and Charlotte City Council's payment to Johnny Jennings.

She takes particular issue with Councilwoman Brown's statement "the justice system does not favor people who look like me" calling it a careless deflection from legitimate inquiry.

Props to Joe Bruno for posting her letter on "X".

Charlotte City Council You Couldn't Make This Up

Just days after allegedly voting to give our CMPD Chief a $300,000 check, Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown apparently told supporters "here hold my beer"!

According to local news Brown and her daughters have been indicted on federal charges, according to a press release sent by the US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

The charges were made public Thursday morning, hours after Brown sent an early morning press release saying she expected to face federal charges.

Brown was elected to the city council in 2023 and represents District 3, covering most of west Charlotte.

Tiawana Brown Thursday May 22, 2025

During a press conference Thursday morning, Brown read from her press release saying in part: “I am not here to be tried in the media,” - “However, I must address the allegations against me by the United States District Court. I will have my day in court, and I trust the process.”

A press release about the indictment sent by the US Attorney described an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain federal money during the pandemic:

“According to allegations in the indictment, between April 2020 and September 2021, the defendants conspired to execute a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and obtain COVID pandemic relief funds for their purported businesses, through the submission of loan applications that contained false information or false documentation. It is alleged that the false documentation generally included fake and fraudulent tax forms, among other misrepresentations. It is further alleged that the defendants submitted false statements to obtain forgiveness of the PPP loans. In total, the defendants allegedly submitted at least 15 applications for EIDL or PPP funds and falsely obtained at least $124,165 in connection with their scheme to defraud.”

According to the US Attorney’s Office press release, Brown used money for a number of expenses not related to a business, including spending $15,000 on a birthday party for herself.

At a press conference Thursday morning, Brown confirmed the indictment is at least partially related to a company called TC Collections.

Records of PPP loans show a Tiawana Brown in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the recipient of a $20,833 loan that was approved on April 27, 2021. 

The indictment from the US Attorney’s Office specifically mentions the $20,833 PPP loan, noting that the amount was wired to a bank account on May 5, 2021.

The information on the PPP loan does not name a company and notes the industry as a Women’s Clothing Store. 

CP searched the North Carolina Secretary of State's website for either a business called TC Collections or a business listing Tiawana Brown as an officer or member and in all cases the results returned as not found.

According to WBTV: The company does not appear to have its own website outside of the Facebook and Instagram pages.

Brown was apparently convicted in 1994 on felony fraud charges and served four years in federal prison. Since her release, Brown has served on various boards and councils seeking incarceration reform.

This fact is not listed on her public resume posted on the Charlotte City Council website or mentioned on any of her social media pages.

Brown also started a non-profit called Beauty After the Bars. IRS records show the company is a registered non-profit but had its status revoked in 2020 for not filing the necessary forms. The non-profit status was reinstated by the IRS in 2023.

Cedar's Take:

In 2020 and 2021 Mrs. Cedar (who just happens to be a SBA lender) and her team processed more than 100 PPP loans for existing bank customers. Many are businesses you drive past daily in Charlotte and the surrounding areas. The SBA PPP and EIDL loans were the help that was clearly needed in the face of very uncertain economic times during the mandatory shutdowns,

However, one of her customers when told he was approved for a PPP loan called Mrs Cedar back an hour later and said: 

"I've been thinking, since the start of the COVID pandemic our business has actually increased and we are doing pretty well. Tell you what, use that money for a small business that really needs it, we will be ok without it."

Councilwoman Brown deserves her day in court where she will hopefully be found not guilty. Until then she should resign her position effective immediately. 

North Carolina State Auditor Goes After Charlotte City Council

Republican state auditor Dave Boliek is investigating the City of Charlotte for "the $100,000 to $300,000 in public dollars may have been given" to police chief Johnny Jennings to avoid a potential lawsuit.

City staff have not confirmed to the public how much money was paid or even whether a payment exists, as Boliek underscored in a letter sent Tuesday to Charlotte City Council.

"Even if the payment was worth one penny, it should be disclosed to the public in a timely and transparent matter," Boliek wrote. "There is no tax dollar free from public scrutiny."

According to multiple media reports, the council voted behind closed doors on May 5 to pay Jennings $300,000 so he would not take legal action against the city for comments former council member Tariq Bokhari made.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles would later publicly apologize to the Chief saying in part that she should have spoken up sooner. 

In texts published by WFAE, Bokhari told Jennings he would call on the chief's resignation and work to "cripple" his legacy if he did not agree to let officers wear outer carrier vests.

The city has not confirmed the settlement. Instead, officials — including interim City Attorney Anthony Fox and City Council member Malcolm Graham — have discussed investigating leaks of information to the media.

Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police is taking a no-confidence vote against Jennings, and fractures within council are being revealed.

"It is my understanding there is a possibility that as much as $100,000 to $300,000 in public dollars may have been given to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings for a legal settlement that may have been entered into by the City Council," Boliek wrote in his letter.

Boliek continued, "This is only what has been gathered by the Auditor's Office from news reports, social media, and conversation. The truth of the matter remains unclear."

The reported settlement may be higher than Jennings' yearly salary of just over $280,000.

Boliek remarked that the mayor's office could quickly release information that answers some of the most pressing questions — "which I strongly encourage."

Per state law, the city can vote on settlements behind closed doors, but it must publicly share the terms "as soon as possible" after finalizing the deal, as the Charlotte Observer reported.

However, the city has a poor track record of timeliness and transparency, from taking excessive time to fulfill public records requests to failing to publish city minutes.

The settlement fiasco has revealed ruptures within the council. WSOC reported that one council member's vote was counted as a "yes" because they left the room without being formally excused. That brought the tally to six votes, just enough for the settlement to pass.

Cedar's Take:

Liberal media even Axios which is somewhat more centric are fast to point out the Boliek who holds an elected position is a Republican. 

But his criticism of Charlotte City Council is well founded. What city government or any elected body would be allowed to settle a "pending lawsuit" that had little if any merit without a full understanding and public discourse or record meeting minutes as much as 3 years after the meeting has concluded. 

Currently the city clerk is only 26 months behind which is a nice improvement over 2022. But in a real world setting of local government, meeting minutes are formally entered into the record at the next following meeting. 

The city staff explain that since there is a video posted the next day the minutes are an unnecessary burden. 

Let's face facts the Mayor is ceremonial the council are all democrats with the exception of the two "Ed's" - Ed Peacock and "bidenesque" Ed Driggs neither of which have the drive to out the grift and DEI hires. Bravo to Dave Boliek for pointing out the obvious.

But the City of Charlotte's troubles run deeper than just sketchy City Council. It is clear to long time residents there has been a noticeable change in just about everything. 

Streets and Roads are awful

Street signs are in sad shape or completely missing.  

Traffic Enforcement is nearly non-existent.

Public Parks are unsafe

Every intersection is covered with litter and accident debris.

City management is disproportionately African American.

Police Call response time and 911 are far from what they used to be.

Solid Waste is a circus.   

Cost of city water is outrageous.

Property Tax is insane.

And it is only going to get worse.