Passenger charged in Charlotte bus shootout released from jail on reduced bond
A man who got into a shootout with a CATS bus driver in May was released from the Mecklenburg County jail after $200,000 was shaved off his bond.
Omarri Shariff Tobias, 23, posted $50,000 in bail on Aug. 11, court records say. He was released from jail the next morning, according to an online inmate listing.
Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge Karen Eady-Williams had lowered his bond two weeks before.
Tobias’ defense attorney, Taylor Adams, said he showed the judge what he described as evidence that Tobias was not the first person to “display” a gun, was not the aggressor and was “exercising his rights to self-defense.”
That included screenshots from surveillance footage and “context from what I know talking to witnesses, including my client,” Adams said.
Video of the incident, which drew national attention, shows Tobias amble to the front of a moving bus near Steele Creek’s Charlotte Premium Outlet Mall and ask to be let off.
Driver David Fullard told him it was not a designated stop, and to move back, The Observer previously reported. The two got into an argument.
“I dare you. Touch me,” Tobias is recorded saying. “I dare you to touch me. I’m going to pop your [expletive].”
Both men pulled out guns. Multiple shots were fired, and the shield to the driver’s side was riddled with bullet holes. Tobias crawled away, and Fullard continued to fire.
Both men were taken to the hospital. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged Tobias and Fullard was “dismissed from his duties,” CATS said. Police have not charged Fullard, a spokesperson confirmed.
From $250,000 to $50,000
Judge Eady-Williams lowered Tobias’ bond from $250,000 to $50,000 on July 28, according to the records. He is under electronic monitoring and “not to go on any CATS property,” they say.
Since 2019, Tobias has been convicted of communicating threats, assault on a female and battery of unborn child, according to data pulled from the Administrative Office of the Courts. Those charges were misdemeanors.
Police Chief Johnny Jennings — who has successfully advocated for reforms to the bond system — took no issue with Tobias’ reduced bond.
“At this stage of the investigation, it is up to the court to decide whether or not to keep Tobias in custody,” Jennings said in a written statement. “He has been in custody for approximately 3 months, and I believe that the time he has served is sufficient before his case is adjudicated.”
Tobias faces the felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, misdemeanor carrying a concealed gun and misdemeanor communicating threats.
He is scheduled to appear in Mecklenburg County Superior Court on Nov. 28, according to an online court calendar.
