Robbery

Police Baffled by Huge Increase in Charlotte Scooter Thefts

Published on: August 9, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to a recent article on WCNC.com, there’s a terrible crime wave sweeping the city of Charlotte. This particular activity has so far occurred twice as much this year as it did in all of 2011. What type of crime is the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department searching for ways to clamp down? – Scooter thefts.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Sgt. Rich Tonsberg said the department sees the rash of thefts as a “significant problem.” Swiping the small and gas-efficient vehicles has become more common across many different areas in the city. Post #1 criminal image 8.9.12.jpg With rising gas prices and families still recovering from the economic downturn, scooters are becoming an increasingly popular mode of transportation in Charlotte and many cities throughout the country. They’re cheaper and smaller. The tanks are less expensive to fill and the costs of insurance and registration don’t even come close to that of a car. Unfortunately, they have also become a prime target for theft.

The police say there’s a reason why criminals are targeting scooters in particular. Most are not secured which means they can be easily picked up, put in the back of a pick-up truck or a van and driven away from the scene of the crime.The police say this makes scooter theft a surprisingly easy crime to commit.

Charlotte Man Arrested for Presbyterian Hospital Attacks

Published on: July 21, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

A report out of WCNC.com, reveals that a Charlotte man is now behind bars after a hospital employee was attacked and held at gunpoint just outside Presbyterian Hospital. This recent attack marks the third such incident in as many weeks.

The latest assault took place around 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at the main hospital located in the Elizabeth neighborhood. A female employee was leaving work when she was robbed at gunpoint in an elevator in the parking garage adjacent to the hospital’s orthopedic center. Post #2 criminal image 7.20.jpg Thankfully, the employee was not injured in the attack. Police say the gunman, Lejarris Williams, took the employee’s purse and ran from the scene but was quickly apprehended by Presbyterian Healthcare Public Safety Officers on a nearby street.

Not all the victims have been as lucky as the woman in this incident. An earlier attack left a nurse badly injured after having been stabbed three times and robbed in another hospital parking lot in the early morning hours of June 27th. Later that same day, another employee, Kelli Hannum, says she was robbed in the parking lot.

Presbyterian Hospital began offering a $10,000 reward on June 28 to help find out who was responsible for the first two attacks. The hospital also beefed up security. Many in the area are relieved at the news of the recent arrest but police have not yet said whether Williams is connected to the two previous attacks.

Charlotte Man Jailed for A String of Rapes and Robberies

Published on: April 19, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

WFMY News recently reported that a Charlotte man pleaded guilty to a handful of charges involving a string of rapes and robberies in the area. On Friday, April 13, 2012, Jaunton Carter pleaded guilty to First Degree Rape, First Degree Kidnapping, Sexual Battery, and Robbery. The judge sentenced Carter to serve 28-34 years in prison.

Carter has an unusual technique as he tricked women into thinking that they had been involved in car accidents. Post #2 criminal image 4.19.12.jpg He used this ruse to lure them out of their cars where he would rob and then rape them. These occurred in February 2010 in the high-end residential neighborhoods of Dilworth and Myers Park in Charlotte. According to officials at CMPD, Carter ambushed a woman as she was getting out of her car on Spanish Moss Lane. It was 1:30 AM and he clasped his hands over her mouth and demanded her pocketbook. He searched through her purse for money and when he did not find any he took her cigarettes instead.

Less than 24 hours after the first robbery, Cater rear-ended another car at the intersection of Colony Road and Runnymede Lane. Two women exited the vehicle to see how much damage had been done to the vehicle. That is when Carter approached them with what they thought was a gun. He pointed it at them and demanded that they get back into the car. He got into the car with them, forcibly demanded money, and made them drive to a nearby ATM. He was apparently unable to get any money out of the ATM. Carte then made the women drive to Ferncliff Road where he made one of the women exit the car.

He raped the woman he made get out of the car while he forced the other woman to watch in horror. Carter managed to hold a gun on both of the women while he was raping one woman. He took the money that they had on them, which amounted to $6.00 and then he left the scene. Thirty minutes after robbing and raping these two women, Carter rear-ended another woman and stole her purse.