Maurice Quick The Face of Evil

Maurice Quick Photo Courtesy of MCSO

Last week this evil MoFo broke into his estranged wife's home. At the time he had just been served a restraining order, but that didn't prevent him from beating her unconscious.

Her injuries so severe that CMPD Officers and Medic questioned if she was going to survive.

Quick later told officers he didn't know if she was dead or not but he took full responsibility for his actions.

The sick part is they arrested this POS back on May 15th for attacking her yet the Mecklenburg County Judicial System let him out of jail the same day, on a unsecured bond.

But it gets worse, Monday morning in court with Quick in jail across the street, Mecklenburg County ADA Samantha Pendergrass dismissed the charges related to the May 15th attack. Saying there was insufficient evidence.

You would hope she's clueless or that she's been doing the job in the Mecklenburg County DA's Office so long she just doesn't care, because to think otherwise would mean she dismissed the charges for the first attack knowing he nearly killed her during the second.

From the CMPD report:

On May 29, 2025, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded to report of an occupied residential breaking and entering call for service reported at XXXXX XXXX Drive.

The female complainant and victim, later identified as XXXXXXXX Quick, indicated in the call that her husband kicked her door in and was breaking into the house and that she had an ex parte order to keep him away from the home.

The female complainants voice, as well as males voice, could be heard in the background of the 911 call. The male voice could be heard making statements to include "I'm done with you".

The female could be heard screaming in the background, before she stopped responding to the 911 dispatcher.

Officers responded and encountered the male defendant, later identified as Maurice Quick, in the immediate vicinity of the incident location walking into the road with his hands raised.

Officers made verbal inquiry asking what happened, to which the defendant responded by making multiple statements including "she's dead". Officers then took the defendant into custody.

Officers located the victim, Ms. Quick, outside of the residence, suffering from what they described initially as major head trauma to include severe bruising, swelling, and visible loss of blood around the victims eyes, nose, mouth and entire facial area.

The victim was transported via ambulance to hospital in life threatening condition; She was not conscious and was therefore unable to give officers any additional statement or information before being taken into surgery.

The defendant was interviewed by Detectives. After being advised of his Miranda rights and signing waiver of those rights, the defendant made numerous statements concerning this incident.

The defendant indicated that he blacked out and could not recall specifically what happened and that he didn't know if the victim was dead or not, but that he knew he was going to do time and that he took responsibility for what happened.

The defendant was observed to have blood on his clothing and shoes, which were collected as evidence. At the time of this incident, there was valid Ex Parte Domestic Violence Protective Order (25CV601 145-590) in effect which granted the victim possession of the residence and ordered the defendant to have no contact with her.

The order was issued on May 27, 2025 in Mecklenburg County by the Honorable Judge Aretha Blake. The order was confirmed to be served on the defendant in person by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office as of 1:35 PM on May 29, 2025 by Deputy D. Jones, and was effective until June 10, 2025.

At this time the investigation of this incident is active and ongoing, and the victims ultimate condition and prognosis has not yet been confirmed.

Maurice Quick is charged with:

Attempted First-Degree Murder

Assault Inflicting Serious Bodily Injury

Assault with Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury

Breaking and/or Entering with Intent to Terrorize and/or Injure

Assault on Female

Midsomer Crime of Domestic Violence

Violation of Domestic Violence Protective Order

He remains in custody at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center under a $850,000 bond.

The Eyes Have It! (ReDux)

It is often said "the eyes are the window to the soul" a quote often attributed to William Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, the philosopher Cicero and even Jesus in the bible from Matthew "The eye is the lamp of the body" so it comes as no surprise that the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office see some really odd, freaky and often scary mofos.

Here's just a sampling from the last two weeks:

Robert Alex McCullum 

DOB 8/15/1971

DV PROTECTIVE ORDER VIOLATION

MISD CRIME OF DOM VIOLENCE

INTERFERE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION

FALSE IMPRISONMENT

FELONY STALKING

Da'Shawn Anthony Tillman

DOB: 3/24/2001

LARCENY OF MOTOR VEHICLE (FELONY)

FINANCIAL TRANSACTION CARD FRAUD (MISDEM

Isiah Stevenson

DOB: 2/21/2001

Second Degree Trespassing

Brian Paynter

DOB: 9/24/1972

RESISTING PUBLIC OFFICER

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Timothy Prince Record

DOB: 9/8/2005

SIMPLE ASSAULT

RESISTING PUBLIC OFFICER

ASSAULT BY POINTING A GUN

Jennifer Lee Callan

DOB: 5/26/1980

DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED

DaJwon Hatcher

DOB: 4/30/1996

ROBBERY WITH DANGEROUS WEAPON

ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON

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".