Bail bondsman, suspect injured in southwest Charlotte shootout, police say
Two men are in custody after a bail bondsman was shot about 15 times while trying to serve warrants on two suspects late Monday afternoon in a residential area in southwest Charlotte, police said.
Chopper 9 Skyzoom got to the area of Superior Street off Hamilton Road shortly after 5 p.m. where there was personnel from multiple agencies, including the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Charlotte Fire, and MEDIC.
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It started when a bail bondsman agency went to the neighborhood to serve warrants on the suspect. The suspects were in the area, but do not live there, officials said.
One of the suspects pulled out a gun, which led to the shootout. The bail bondsman was struck by several rounds. One of the suspects was shot, as well.
Another suspect ran off.
At about 5:30 p.m., several CMPD officers with guns drawn ran to the edge of a wooded area and walked out with the uninjured suspect in handcuffs.
Rounds from the gunfire hit multiple homes, CMPD stated in a news release.
A woman in a nearby home was grazed by a bullet and didn’t need to go to a hospital. No one else in the house was hurt.
Multiple weapons were recovered from the scene.
A part of the residential area was blocked off during the investigation.
On Tuesday, police said Jalen Terrell Johnson, 22, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, attempted murder, carrying a concealed weapon, and two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling. Johnson was the suspect hurt in the shooting and his injuries weren’t life-threatening, police said.
Chance Anthony Armond Logan, 21, is charged with carrying a concealed weapon and simple assault.
Both were taken to the Mecklenburg County jail.
Residents told Channel 9 they couldn’t believe a gun battle erupted in their neighborhood.
“I’m just glad I came home 30 minutes later than I did,” said Jason Watson, neighbor. “Thirty minutes after I was supposed to because that’s insane. I can’t imagine being with my son and I saw something like that.”
The bail bondsman who was shot had life-threatening injuries and was taken to Atrium CMC. He’s in critical condition.
The home where the gunfire happened had nothing to do with the incident, police said.
No further information has been released.
The dangers bail bonds workers face
Jason Cunningham has been a bondsman for more than 20 years and said he knows the bondsman who was hit.
“Our prayers go out to the company and the bondsman,” he said.
A bail bonds agency is on the hook for the amount of money they put down for someone. If a bondsperson posts a $10,000 bond and you’re a no-show to court, they have 150 days to track you down and bring you in or they have to pay the court the $10,000.
“The city is very dangerous right now. Murders every day, shootings every day,” Cunningham said. “You can see people are trying to bring them back to court, there’s a victim on the line.”
This is a developing story, check back at wsoctv.com for updates.
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