The Murder of Savion Lockhart

On July 13, 2023 South Meck High School Student 7 year old Savion Lockhart took two in the chest. 

His "friends" drove him to the emergency entrance of Atrium University Hospital and left him crumpled and bleeding in from of the automatic doors before fleeing the hospital.

Lockhart was dead in 30 minutes. 

Savion Rashaad Lockhart, age 17

Jerry Duncan was a mentor of Lockhart's with RISE 2 Impact a Black centric organization that endeavors to keep Black youth out of prison and the cemetery. Duncan was also one of  Lockhart's teachers at South Mecklenburg High School.

Rise 2 Impact mission statement: Young boys of color in our school, community, and nation are experiencing issues that lead to decreased success in school. RISE 2 IMPACT addresses persistent opportunity gaps faced by African American male students to ensure all young people can reach their full potential. This happens through the cultivation of intentional experiences and opportunities that inspire and challenge our young men to see themselves as commodities and not burdens to society as they are so often portrayed.

Duncan's went on to say this about Lockhart:

He didn’t live that life. He was just real wholesome. He was a son. He loved his mom. You know he loved his family. He was a very good kid, and everybody that was around him in my class, they liked him. They had a really good relationship with him. I could talk all day and not say a bad word about Savion Lockhart. So I want him to be remembered for the life that he lived and not the tragic way he died,” 

A few days later CMPD Officers charged two suspects, 19-year-old Reginald Marsaeus Moses and a (not named because of his age) 17-year-old, in connection with the case. 

Moses had been shot during the incident was also taken to Atrium hospital. According to police Moses who had been shot in the buttocks had injuries that were not considered life threatening. 

Reggie Moses Photo Courtesy MCSO

At the time of his arrest for the murder of Lockhart, Moses was out on bond for resisting arrest on March 22, 2023 and had been released after 2 days in jail on an unsecured bond. 

Additionally he had been arrested on June 11, 2023 and held until June 15, 2023 on possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon, attempted larceny. He was released on a reduced bail of $15,000.00, which allowed him to walk out of jail on less than a $500 cash bail.

He was held on the murder charge from July 13, until a few days before Christmas 2023 when the murder charges were dismissed.

The Mecklenburg County DA's recap of the case and reasoning for the dismissal follows below.

Since his arrest and dismissal of the murder charge Moses has been charged with a dozen other crimes including a February 20, 2024 B&E at Carolina Sporting Arms in Steele Creek.

His arrest included 20 counts of larceny of a firearm. Additionally he has been charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle. 

This case and the other priors are still pending. It also seems those arrest warrants remain unserved at least there is no record of such with the MCSO.

But they are so disorganized anything is possible.

Cedar's Take: The system is clearly broken. Reginald Moses is a threat to society and should not be out on bail. Had he been in jail perhaps Savion Lockhart would be attending NC State this week. 

PERIOD!

Mecklenburg District Attorney's Statement of Fact regarding the dismissal request:

There is insufficient evidence to successfully prosecute in this case. The evidence is unclear at this point as to which individuals were engaged in the felony of Robbery with Dangerous Weapon, and which individuals were acting in lawful self-defense during the robbery.

The evidence in the case tends to show the following:

On July 8, 2023, around 6:45 p.m. on Turtle Point Road in the University area, two sets of people met up to hang out and go uptown for the night. However, one side of the group showed up to rob the other side, though it is unclear what the robbery was over and which side shot first.

The meetup was at a dead-end near where Defendant Meadows and Defendant Moses lived. The other side, which consisted of Jeremiah "Walk" Farris, Lary "Trap" Burton, Evan "EBK" Tolson, and the victim Savion Lockhart, arrived in a black Volkswagen Jetta.

The group apparently discussed seating arrangements and were confused as to how six people could fit in five seats in order to go uptown.

At some point, several individuals brandished firearms. There were at least two guns involved, and a minimum of nine shots fired.

Defendant Moses was struck in the buttocks. Victim Saivon Lockhart was shot in his right chest and left abdominal. Numerous other houses and cars were fired into as well.

Victim Lockhart and his three friends all got back into the Volkswagen. Lockhart was then driven to Atrium University hospital where his friends are seen on camera using their shirts to cover up their faces in an attempt to hide their identity while dropping the victim off.

They left Lockhart at the ER entrance, and then drove off, refusing to stay and speak with law enforcement. Lockhart died of his wounds at the hospital.

Defendant Moses ran back to his house after the shots were fired, where Teachell Mays drove him and Defendant Meadows to the same hospital. Defendant Moses was interviewed at the hospital where he told Detectives, “somebody tried to rob us and they shootin us."

"I don't know them. I just know we were supposed to be getting ride to some females." He denied this being a gun or drug deal, and also denied that he or Defendant Meadows had a gun.

Defendant Meadows was outside the hospital when law enforcement arrived and was asked by a patrol officer what happened. He provided a different version of events and told the officer he was in the house with his sister Teachell Mays when he heard a bunch of shots go off and then Defendant Moses came in wounded. They drove him to the hospital, and he doesn't know what happened.

The next day detectives went to Defendant Meadows home to speak with him after they realized he was in fact at the shooting incident. Defendant Meadows again denied being there and stuck with the same story. Detectives said they've heard otherwise, but Defendant Meadows stated he was being honest and had no reason to lie.

Detectives were also able to locate the occupants of the Volkswagen. Larry Burton was on an electronic monitoring band at the time and was shown at the shooting location, and then going to nearby house located at 3818 Yorkford Drive.

When Officers arrived at that residence they located the same black Volkswagen seen on hospital cameras, sitting in the driveway. They knocked and spoke to two occupants of the home, Jeremiah Farris and Evanolson. Lary Burton was found down the street at local business. All three agreed to go to the law enforcement center and give statement.

Jeremiah Farris repeatedly denied that he had any involvement in the shooting and claimed not to be present. When confronted with the evidence that indicated otherwise, he finally admitted that he was present, but claimed to have no recollection of what occurred, who shot, or why they shot.

Lary Burton was reluctant at first to provide details on what occurred, but ultimately stated that the defendants, whose names he did not know, nor could he identify in photo lineup, pulled out the guns first and tried to snatch their property. When asked what property, Mr. Burton admitted that it was a firearm.

Evan Tolson corroborated in large part what Mr. Burton stated.

The defendants were arrested five days after the homicide, on July 13, 2023. Both Defendants were found at their home near the homicide location. Inside the home detectives found over pounds of marijuana, over $12,000 dollars in cash, money counting machine, personal property belonging to victim in separate theft case, an assault rifle, pistols (some having "switches" attached making them fully automatic), ammunition, magazines, and seven iPhones. Several of the firearms were reported stolen and there were suspected stolen vehicle items in the house as well.

The seven iPhones were scattered throughout the house and all in hidden locations. Several firearms were hidden in a bag in the attic, and one was found under Defendant Moses' pillow. All the firearms were tested, but none came back as a match to the nine discharged cartridge cases at the scene of the homicide.

Absent some relevance to the homicide, this evidence would be inadmissible at trial.

Defendant Moses was interviewed and changed his story. He went into detail about how he was robbed but continued to deny that he or Defendant Meadows had a gun. Well into the interview, after being confronted with his inconsistencies, he finally admitted that he had a gun and that he shot the victim in self-defense. He claimed he did not know what happened to the gun he used and claimed that all the guns at the house were not his, but they're also not anyone else's in the house.

Defendant Meadows changed his story during his post-arrest interview as well. He now indicated that he was at the shooting, and not in his house like had he said.

He said he at no point had gun, and he never saw Defendant Moses with gun. He claims only the victim's side had guns.

All cellphones seized during the investigation were searched and nothing in any of them shed light on what occurred that day. Furthermore, CMPD detectives reviewed social media accounts, collected home security footage in the area, requested fingerprint analysis, and requested DNA analysis, all of which were of minimal value to the investigation.

In North Carolina, the law of self-defense and defense of another provides that defendant is not guilty of any homicide if (1) the defendant reasonably felt that that he needed to kill the decedent to protect himself or another from death or great bodily harm, (2) the defendant was not the aggressor in bringing on the situation, and (3) the defendant did not use excessive force.

To prevail at trial in case where self-defense is asserted, the State must convince all twelve jurors, beyond reasonable doubt, that the defendant did not act in self-defense or defense of another. The law imposes no burden of proof on the defendant. In this case, the available evidence does not indicate which individuals were entitled to self-defense, and which individuals were not, and the State cannot disprove self-defense beyond reasonable doubt.

Therefore, the State must dismiss the charges against Reginald Marsaeus Moses.