Julia Coin
@juliacoin.bsky.social
Charlotte courts and public safety gal. Got thoughts? Email jcoin@charlotteobserver.com
Police said he killed a man on a front porch in Charlotte last August. But more than six months later, David Graves walked out of jail. No trial. No bond. No plea agreement. - For at @charlotteobserver.com: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
He spent six months in Charlotte’s jail for a killing. Then prosecutors let him go
“Justice requires the case be dismissed,” Mecklenburg prosecutors wrote in a motion tossing the murder and armed robbery charges.
charlotteobserver.com
Court filings reveal that DeCarlos Brown Jr. is "incapable to proceed" with state hearings on the Charlotte light rail stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. For @charlotteobserver.com: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
DeCarlos Brown Jr. found incompetent to proceed in Charlotte light rail killing
Mecklenburg County prosecutors are OK with delaying the case, according to court documents.
charlotteobserver.com
A Trump-appointed federal prosecutor wants to drop the last charge against a Charlotte man who photographed ICE | By @juliacoin.bsky.social www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
Prosecutors want to drop last charge against Charlotte man who photographed ICE
Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez faced more than 20 years in prison on charges of assaulting ICE and Border Patrol agents in Charlotte.
charlotteobserver.com
CMPD said officers followed policy before light rail stabbing. They didn’t. | By @juliacoin.bsky.social (Gift link) www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
CMPD said officers followed policy before light rail stabbing. They didn’t.
Charlotte police were supposed to get DeCarlos Brown Jr. mental health help eight months before Iryna Zarutska’s death, CMPD policies say.
charlotteobserver.com
Charlotte police will today release videos of officers responding to DeCarlos Brown Jr. after he called 911 saying "man-made" material was controlling him months before the light rail stabbing. A judge ordered release after the Observer filed a petition. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
Video to show police with Charlotte light rail suspect months before stabbing
The Charlotte Observer petitioned for video of CMPD’s last interaction with DeCarlos Brown Jr. before the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska.
charlotteobserver.com
@juliacoin.bsky.social keepin em honest So proud of the work my newsroom has done on the Border Patrol in Charlotte. @charlotteobserver.com www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
DHS quietly corrects inaccurate information after Charlotte Observer report
As Border Patrol arrived in Charlotte, DHS falsely said a Honduran man charged with murder was released under NC’s “sanctuary policies.”
charlotteobserver.com
DHS incorrectly said a Honduran man was charged with murder and released “back on to North Carolina’s streets” under “sanctuary policies” in Charlotte. That man has not left Mecklenburg jail since he was booked in June 2024. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
DHS wrongly said NC officials released immigrant charged in Charlotte murder
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security falsely claimed Charlotte officials released a Honduran immigrant charged with murder.
charlotteobserver.com
Charlotte police said officers ‘immediately’ rendered aid after shooting. Video shows otherwise (Gift Article) | Part Two of an investigative series by @juliacoin.bsky.social www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
CMPD said it ‘immediately’ rendered aid after shooting. Video shows otherwise
Official statements on fatal shooting don’t line up with reality. Part Two of a three-part Observer series.
charlotteobserver.com
CMPD ignored pleas, shot mentally ill man, then waited for drone, videos show | Observer investigation by @juliacoin.bsky.social www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
CMPD ignored pleas, shot mentally ill man, then waited for drone, videos show
Police said they gave first aid immediately, but videos show otherwise. A three-part Observer series.
charlotteobserver.com
Private prison guards deployed a chemical gas into cells unprovoked, court records say. People drained toilets to breathe air through the plumbing as smoke lingered. A Charlotte federal judge handed down a reduced sentence to a man exposed to the fumes. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
Chemical gas used in private Georgia jail. Judge reduces NC victim’s sentence
Inmates drained toilets to breathe through the plumbing. It’s not the only jail with unconstitutional conditions, federal defenders say.
charlotteobserver.com
Ex-Wake Forest University trainer sues congressman over claims she was fired for Charlie Kirk posts. Lawsuit says the trainer & university 'mutually agreed' to part ways & was not fired as Rep. Pat Harrigan claimed. (Via @juliacoin.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/sports/artic... #nced #ncpol
Ex-Wake Forest trainer sues congressman over claims she was fired for Kirk posts
NC Congressman Pat Harrigan said the athletic trainer was fired after posting about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. She says that’s not true.
newsobserver.com
The federal defense attorney representing DeCarlos Brown Jr. has worked several high-profile death penalty cases and appeals.
Charlotte light rail stabbing suspect assigned new death penalty lawyer
The federal defense attorney representing DeCarlos Brown Jr. has worked several high-profile death penalty cases and appeals.
bit.ly
A CMPD officer of 20 years was suspended after talking to reporters and criticizing Chief Johnny Jennings and his spokesperson.
CMPD chief violated 1st Amendment in suspending critical officer, lawsuit alleges
A CMPD officer of 20 years was suspended after talking to reporters and criticizing Chief Johnny Jennings and his spokesperson.
bit.ly
Trump and NC lawmakers have in part blamed Charlotte's light rail stabbing on a magistrate who released DeCarlos Brown Jr. from jail in January. Her decision adhered to state law and policies developed by some of her current critics. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
Did judge who released suspect before Charlotte light rail stabbing break rules?
The charge DeCarlos Brown Jr. faced in January might have been supported by little evidence, one expert said.
charlotteobserver.com
An off-duty officer was shot in the leg while responding to a domestic dispute in uptown Charlotte. One day later, information from CMPD remains scarce. Responding police took the officer, who is now in stable condition, to the hospital in a squad car. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
charlotteobserver.com
A Charlotte police officer who shot at a fleeing car while responding to an airport trespassing call does not have immunity and probably used an unconstitutional level of deadly force, appellate judges ruled Tuesday. @charlotteobserver.com www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
Charlotte cop who shot at moving car in airport lot could face federal trial
A CMPD internal affairs investigation led to the officer being disciplined.
charlotteobserver.com
Court officials are delaying cases and retesting evidence following reports that a DNA analyst intentionally manipulated tests inside Charlotte’s police crime lab, the Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office said. #clt #dna More from @juliacoin.bsky.social : www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
DNA testing problems inside CMPD crime lab cause court delays, retests
Authorities have not said how many cases have been affected.
charlotteobserver.com
Charlotte City Councilwoman Tiawana Brown, the first formerly incarcerated person elected to the council, has been indicted on federal charges for lying on loan applications for COVID pandemic relief funds. ✍️ @juliacoin.bsky.social 🔗 www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...
What grounds did Charlotte chief have to sue? Not much, one expert said. | @juliacoin.bsky.social www.charlotteobserver.com/news/article...
What grounds did Charlotte chief have to sue? Not much, one expert said.
Legal questions arise over Charlotte City Council’s cloaked, closed-session settlement with CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings.
charlotteobserver.com
🧵 The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer were honored as a Pulitzer Prize finalist for their joint coverage of Hurricane Helene and the aftermath in NC. The Associated Press and The Washington Post were also finalists. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...
N&O, Charlotte Observer named Pulitzer Prize finalists for Helene coverage
The Associated Press and The Washington Post were also finalists in the category.
charlotteobserver.com
JUST IN: #Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden said federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested someone at the county courthouse Wednesday. #clt #ice What we know from @oehrli.bsky.social: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
BREAKING: Robert DeWitt, head of #Charlotte FBI who previously led the FBI’s Miami office when federal agents raided then former-President Donald #Trump’s estate in 2022, is retiring at the end of May. #ncpol From @juliacoin.bsky.social & Virginia Bridges: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
Top FBI agent in Charlotte retires as others who investigated Trump step down
Robert DeWitt led the FBI’s Miami office when federal agents raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Then he moved to Charlotte.
charlotteobserver.com
A DNA analyst manipulated Charlotte crime lab tests, according to documents obtained by @charlotteobserver.com. Mecklenburg DA Spencer Merriweather now must decide: will the analyst, who potentially reported unreliable DNA results, face criminal charges? www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
A CMPD analyst manipulated DNA testing, but was it criminal? DA will decide
The Charlotte analyst allegedly intentionally manipulated the crime lab’s DNA testing process.
charlotteobserver.com
In the days after Asha Degree vanished from Shelby — and in recent interviews with The Charlotte Observer — investigators said they were haunted by one persistent thought: What if that was my daughter? A special report from @juliacoin.bsky.social: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
It's been 25 years since 9-year-old Asha Degree vanished in Shelby, NC. Asha’s story has reverberated through her Cleveland County community, the surrounding Charlotte metropolitan area & beyond for more than 2 decades. More from @juliacoin.bsky.social: www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/a...
‘Wounds never closed’: NC town reflects on 25 years of unsolved Asha Degree disappearance
The Cleveland County Sheriff promised closure in the decades-old case.
charlotteobserver.com
Union County protesters demand schools define protections for undocumented NC students #ncpol #nced www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/e...
Union County protesters demand schools define protections for undocumented NC students
Union County parents say they want “clear protocols” from UCPS.
charlotteobserver.com
Charlotte Hornets star player LaMelo Ball, who is also the highest-paid athlete in Charlotte, wants the family alleging he ran over and broke a child's foot to pay his attorneys' fees, according to recently filed court documents. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
LaMelo Ball wants family alleging he broke child’s foot to pay his attorneys’ fees
LaMelo Ball, the Charlotte Hornets’ highest paid player, asked a judge to dismiss him from the lawsuit.
charlotteobserver.com
The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office will pay $550,000 to the family of a teenager who committed suicide in the county jail in 2020, according to the family's lawyer. That lawyer says the sheriff's office will do more to protect people in the jail, too. www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/c...
Mecklenburg sheriff agrees to pay $550,000 to family of teen who committed suicide in jail
The sheriff’s office also agreed to change its jail supervision policies as part of the settlement, according to an attorney.
charlotteobserver.com
