Pregnant woman gives police enough room to shoot armed captor

A man was shot multiple times by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers Monday night while he held a pregnant woman at gunpoint, police say.

Johnathan Autry, 28, is in critical but stable condition in the hospital, police said. He’ll be taken to jail and charged with burglary, kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon once he gets out of the hospital.

The woman wasn’t hurt, although she was taken to the hospital as a precaution. A child was also in the home at the time. Neither have been identified.

Police say Autry demanded money after forcing his way into the woman’s home, on Holly Street off Beatties Ford Road, at about 10 p.m. Monday.

Investigators believe the break-in was not random. The woman didn’t know Autry, but he mentioned her husband’s name while asking for money, police said. Her husband wasn’t home.

When officers arrived at the home, they found Autry holding the woman at gunpoint. They ordered him to drop the gun and let her go.

“The woman managed to create a slight separation between herself and the suspect,” police said. “The officers continued ordering the suspect to drop the gun. Three officers perceived an imminent deadly threat and fired their weapon, striking the suspect multiple times.”

Police said the officers who fired their guns were Shon Sheffield, hired by CMPD in August 2012; Joseph Bauer, hired in October 2013; and James Tindall, hired in October 2015. All are on paid administrative leave pending investigations.

Witnesses said another suspect fled before officers arrived, according to police.

Autry served three years in prison for common law robbery and was released in 2012, records show. He has a pending charge, from April, for assault on a female in High Point. Police said he also had three outstanding warrants from another county for driving without a license, resisting a public officer and speeding.

Autry’s criminal history shows he has lived in High Point and in Thomasville, which is in Davidson County.

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Pregnant woman gives police enough room to shoot armed captor."