Another Charlotte homicide victim killed while sitting in a vehicle

The victim in Charlotte’s latest homicide was found in a vehicle overnight not far from Ovens Auditorium.

It’s at least the third time this year that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have investigated a homicide that happened while someone was sitting in a vehicle.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they found the body of 43-year-old Raymond James Johnson III about 8 p.m. Thursday, in the 600 block of Fugate Avenue. That’s a connector between Monroe Road and Independence Boulevard.

The Observer’s news partner WBTV reported Friday that Johnson was a pawn shop manager and had just closed up for the night when the shooting occurred. A surveillance video acquired by WBTV shows a white van pull into the parking lot just before the shooting. It is then seen speeding away just after Johnson’s vehicle reversed out of the parking lot and crashed into a pole.

Police told WBTV the van was found late Thursday night.

The homicide happened just blocks from where a 30-year-old was shot and killed in March.

The vehicle Johnson was in crashed into a power pole near that intersection and no one else was inside the car, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

This is Charlotte’s 54th homicide for the year. At least 39 victims were shot. Others were beaten, stabbed, neglected or hit by a vehicle.

In July, Dionte’ Hunter, 17, was found dead in a vehicle on Monroe Road two miles from where Johnson died, records show. And in June, David Sean Lindsay, 29, was found dead in a vehicle in east Charlotte near Hickory Grove Road.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-8477 and speak directly to a Homicide Unit Detective. The public can also call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or visit the Crime Stoppers mobile app website at http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/.

This story was originally published August 4, 2017 at 7:05 AM with the headline "Another Charlotte homicide victim killed while sitting in a vehicle."