Days after string of killings, CMPD reports city’s homicides have jumped in 2024
Homicides are up in Charlotte this year compared to the first part of 2023.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department shared crime statistics at a press conference on Monday from the first quarter of 2024 that show 34 homicides between Jan. 1 and March 31. That’s a 31% increase from the same period in 2023.
“Any homicide in Charlotte is one too many, but 34 in three months is an alarming number,” Deputy Chief Zeru Chickoree said. “And a pace that we should not tolerate as a city.”
On Friday, three people were shot and killed. Police have identified the victims as:
Justin Carache-Soto, 21, who was found dead in the 6200 block of Upas Lane, just north of Waverly Lake and Albemarle Road in east Charlotte.
Kaleb Brown, 17, who was found dead in the 7600 block of Boswell Road off Misenheimer and Harrisburg roads in east Charlotte.
Larry Thomas Jr., 27, who was found shot in the 5300 block of Pinehurst Park Drive, off Providence Road in south Charlotte.
Lt. Kevin Pietrus said the department compares quarters of the year to the same months of the previous year to be transparent.
“We feel that keeping the lines of communication open, keeping those in our community and our partners here the media abreast as to what the conditions are in our city is important,” Pietrus said. “So that’s why we’re here quarterly.”
In January, The Charlotte Observer requested data on shootings at or near Romare Bearden Park in uptown from 2018 to 2022. The request came after five people were shot there on New Year’s Eve. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department still hasn’t provided that data despite a requirement in state law that public records be provided ‘promptly.’
A Wall Street Journal story published on Sunday, which compared the number of homicides in major cities during the first three months of 2024 and 2023, said homicides dropped about 20% in 133 cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
“Homicides in American cities are falling at the fastest pace in decades, bringing them close to levels they were at before a pandemic-era jump,” the story said.
In 2023, there were 95 homicides in Charlotte, an 11% drop from 107 the year prior.
During the press conference, the department also shared that violent crime has remained relatively flat in 2024 compared to the beginning of 2023. Violent crime is down 1% compared to 2023, while property crime saw a 4% increase, according to police. Crime overall has risen 3% in the city of Charlotte.
The city has also seen a 30% increase in auto thefts in the first three months of this year, police said, with 1,941. Kia and Hyundai thefts continue to be a major part of those thefts.
About 80% of people arrested in auto thefts so far this year — 222 people — were under 18, police said.
Police stats showed 17 shootings into occupied homes so far this year, impacting 74 victims. Police said that’s a 42 percent increase from the first quarter of last year.
The department also announced what it calls the Civilian Crash Investigators Program, which is set to launch in July.
It will include the hiring of 16 people to investigate accidents that don’t involve injuries. They will receive city benefits and be paid $46,000 to $52,000. The investigators will not be sworn officers and will not have power to arrest or detain people or write citations, Chickoree said.
