Burning Man Festival Charlotte Style

Karma is sometimes slow in coming but not for a Charlotte man with a long criminal history of auto theft, traffic violations including, Weapons Charges, DWI and fleeing from police as well as theft of catalytic converters.

Photo NC DOC

Alexander Komthongpane had outstanding probation warrants and was listed as an absconder with the North Carolina Department of Corrections when a North Carolina State Trooper saw a driver not wearing his seatbelt with a vehicle without a tag and initiated a traffic stop. 

That driver later ID'd as Komthongpane apparently assumed the Trooper would break off the chase like CMPD usually did, and he took off.

But the NCSHP has different rules and pursued Komthongpane as he reached speeds nearly 70 miles per hour. Continuing to refuse to stop the 33 year old lost control of his car hitting the medium and a tree near the intersection of Fred D. Alexander Boulevard and Freedom Drive.

Witnesses said the car burst into flames upon impact.

North Carolina State Troopers pulled Komthongpane from the burning car and performed CPR on the driver but he died at the scene.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say that between Aug. 18 and Aug. 20, they found three BMWs stripped of their wheels and tires on the drivers’ sides. This was along Old Dowd Road and Josh Birmingham Parkway, at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

They discovered that the wheels on Komthongpane’s car were the ones taken from cars at the airport.

Komthongpane was already known to CMPD because he was involved in several catalytic converter theft and larceny of motor vehicle theft cases across Charlotte.

Turns out our "Burning Man" Komthongpane has a long history of arrests in Mecklenburg County.

Photos Courtesy MCSO

But no convictions. Out of more than 3 dozen charges there are no convictions only dismissed cases. Once again the liberal Mecklenburg County DA giving a free pass to repeat felons.

Over in Iredell County however where they take crime and public safety seriously the burning man had tallied up 3 convictions including larceny, flee elude arrest, one that seems to have  resulted in death. Those charges were prosecuted and resulted in felony and misdemeanor convictions and Burning Man was sentenced to 3 months active time followed by a year probation. 

Sadly Komthongpane known to his family as "Keysaun" found himself trapped inside a burning car with the temperature quickly climbing to 1,500 degrees, that heat and accompanying smoke likely claimed his life.

Proving once again that incarceration saves lives.