Russ Ferguson

As police consider a 9 p.m. nightly curfew, data highlighted rising youth gun violence, noting six young people were lost to gun violence this year, with the youngest victim being 14. Statistics showed that of 431 juvenile victims between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the past year, 91% were Black, Hispanic or Latino. A youth advocate called for mandatory parental accountability at home to address escalating delinquency.

Two Honduran men were sentenced to federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in North Carolina and will be deported after serving their terms. The investigation revealed drug distribution, stolen firearms, and over $159,400 in transactions documented in seized ledgers.

Two Honduran men illegally in the country were sentenced for trafficking fentanyl in the Charlotte area, according to Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

A Pineville man was sentenced to over 10 years in prison for distributing methamphetamine in and around Charlotte, as announced by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Terry Detroit Page, 54, was investigated by law enforcement for drug distribution.

A man on probation for a previous drug trafficking conviction was sentenced to 15 years for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. United States Attorney Russ Ferguson reported the case.

The owner of a now-closed Union County wedding venue has pleaded guilty to defrauding customers and investors. The case involves court documents and a plea agreement as detailed by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Two Romanian nationals, Marian and Catalin Dumitru, stole $760,000 from SNAP benefits by installing skimming devices on ATMs and EBT cards in the Charlotte area. They used stolen funds to purchase goods in Gastonia and Pineville before being arrested and pleading guilty to wire fraud.

Ronnie Lorenzo Robinson Jr., a Charlotte man, faces federal charges for allegedly defrauding Medicaid of $735,000 by submitting false claims for mental health services through his company, The Fisher of Men Project, LLC. Prosecutors allege he used stolen personal information to file unauthorized reimbursement claims, resulting in $440,000 in payments to his company for services that were never provided.

A South Carolina man was charged with a federal hate crime after allegedly defacing a Charlotte Jewish community complex with antisemitic flyers containing a swastika, noose, and Nazi-associated symbols. Authorities arrested Dalton Mullis in June 2025 for the January 2025 incident and linked him to related antisemitic social media posts.

Decarlos Brown Jr., a homeless man charged with murdering Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail, was declared incompetent by a federal judge. Brown will be hospitalized for up to four months to assess if he can be restored to competency for his federal trial.