By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers are preparing to grill Charlotte-area leaders about crime-fighting tactics and spending, particularly in the wake of two stabbings — one fatal — on the light rail system in the Democratic-led city.
A state House oversight committee asked Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and others to testify Monday at the Legislative Building.
The August fatal stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, followed in December by a non-fatal stabbing on the same Charlotte rail system, are among the chief reasons for GOP critiques of area law enforcement. The suspect in each stabbing — which drew comments from President Donald Trump — faces charges in state and federal court.
In invitation letters to testify, the committee’s cochairmen wrote high-profile crimes in recent years raise “serious concerns” about law enforcement staffing, “prosecutorial practices, and the City’s overall public safety strategy.”
The committee “has an explicit duty to ensure that local governments receiving and expending public funds are prioritizing the safety and security of North Carolina residents,” the letters read.
The committee’s public scrutiny has been useful for Republicans earning political points on hot-button issues. The panel can seek more documents and reports from local entities or threaten funding losses — although that couldn’t occur without separate action by the full General Assembly.
Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused in Zarutska’s death, had more than a dozen prior criminal arrests before the most recent charge, and concerns had been raised about his mental health. Republican lawmakers, as well as Trump and Vice President JD Vance, blamed Democratic leaders in Charlotte and statewide for soft-on-crime policies they allege allowed Brown to stay out of custody.
Lyles wrote soon after Zarutska’s death that it was a “tragic failure by the courts and magistrates.” She and others have since highlighted additional safety measures for the light rail system.
Zarutska’s death already resulted in a new state law that barred cashless bail for certain violent crimes and many repeat offenders. It also seeks to ensure more defendants undergo mental health evaluations.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein last week issued an executive order designed in part to address mental health treatment for people whom police confront and who are incarcerated.
The suspect in the second light-rail attack — identified in federal records as Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia and in state court as Oscar Solarzano — is from Central America and had been transported out the country twice since 2018 — having been convicted of illegal reentry into the U.S., according to an FBI affidavit.
Brown has been jailed due to the charges. A federal court ordered last month that he undergo a psychiatric examination to determine whether his legal case can proceed. A similar exam was ordered in state court months ago. Brown’s lawyers for federal court declined comment late last week. His state court lawyer didn’t immediately respond to an email.
Solarzano is also jailed and an attorney representing him in state court didn’t immediately respond to an email. There is no lawyer listed in his federal case.
The December stabbing occurred weeks after a federal immigration crackdown in Charlotte and elsewhere in North Carolina, resulting in hundreds of arrests over several days.
Republicans for years blamed McFadden, who is facing a Democratic primary next month, for failing to cooperate with immigration agents. A recent state law has now made it mandatory for sheriffs to honor requests from federal officials to hold an arrested immigrant so agents can take custody of them.
The committee meeting was previously delayed while committee leaders received guidance on what they could ask publicly about Zarutska’s death. A federal magistrate judge had granted a request from Brown’s attorneys preventing lawmakers from disclosing what’s inside their client’s case files from local police or the Mecklenburg County district attorney.