Search on for ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect in kidnapping, killing of woman, CMPD says
UPDATE: Malek Anthony Moore was arrested without incident Sept. 9 in Greensboro, N.C., according to the Greensboro Police Department Violent Criminal Apprehension Team. He faces a murder charge in the death of Gabryelle Allnutt. The original story is below.
A woman who evacuated to Charlotte to get away from Hurricane Ida is dead, and now a citywide manhunt is underway for the “armed and dangerous” suspect believed to be responsible for kidnapping and killing her in northeast Charlotte, police said.
Malek Moore, 29, is a suspect in the death of Gabryelle Allnutt, 29, early Monday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.
Investigators have not said how she died.
“Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Homicide Unit are requesting the public’s assistance in locating Malek Moore. ... Warrants for murder, first degree burglary and kidnapping were issued for his arrest,” CMPD said in a release.
“Moore should be considered armed and dangerous.”
Investigators say Allnutt’s body was found in the 400 block of East 22nd Street, a block north of Cordelia Park.
“Around 5:30 a.m., Eastway Division officers responded to a call for service to assist Medic for an unresponsive female,” CMPD said in a release. “Upon arrival, officers and Medic located a female who was not breathing, and she was pronounced deceased on scene by Medic.”
‘A danger to the public’
Allnutt was an artist who evacuated to Charlotte from New Orleans to escape Hurricane Ida, police Capt. Joel McNelly said during a news conference Tuesday. The Observer confirmed that she had worked at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts.
McNelly asked the community to be on the look out for Moore because he’s “a danger to the public right now.”
Police are “confident” Moore is responsible for two other crimes that happened before and after Allnutt’s death, McNelly said.
On Sunday, shortly before noon, a victim was “punched in the face with a closed fist “on the greenway near the 2100 block of North Davidson Street and Cordelia Park, police said.
On the same day, shortly before 10 p.m., Allnutt was killed on East 22nd Street, McNelly said.
Monday morning, The Exchange at 36th Street was broken into and property stolen from within the NoDa market, police said.
Kevin Samuel, the co-owner of The Exchange, was alerted that the market’s alarm went off at around 4:30 a.m. When he went in at 8 a.m., he said he didn’t notice anything was wrong until he saw outdoor security footage of a man breaking into the door of the market and leaving with a cash register.
“That was it. He didn’t touch or damage anything else,” Samuel said.
When CMPD initially spoke to Samuel about the break-in, he said the officer noticed that the damage on the market’s door matched the damage on the front door of the art studio Allnutt was staying in with two other artists.
The Exchange reopened Tuesday morning on normal hours, but the market asked the public on its Instagram page to excuse the damaged door.
The Greensboro Police Department also considers Moore a person of interest in a case they’re working, McNelly said, but he didn’t elaborate any further.
Moore may be wearing a short haircut and police believe he frequently travels by rail, McNelly said. All rail companies in north and south Charlotte have been notified and given mugshots of Moore, he said.
“We ask communities along rail lines north and south of Charlotte to pay particular attention to those areas,” McNelly said. “We believe (Moore) to be fairly transient.”
Moore was out on parole during the time of the incidents, but McNelly didn’t know the specifics of what he was initially in custody for. He was convicted of various felony and misdemeanor breaking and entering and larceny charges dating back to 2009, according to crime data reviewed by the Observer.
“Moore is a very dangerous individual and it’s really important that we get him in custody as soon as we can,” he said. “If you see Malek Moore, call 911.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit detective.
Charlotte had two other homicides over the three-day weekend.
▪ Jeffrey Bernard Lineberger II, 43, was shot and killed and other two people were found around 4 a.m. Sunday in the 4900 block of Springview Road.
▪ Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jaylen Xavier Foster, 16, was killed and two other people were wounded in the 9700 block of Trinity Road, CMPD said. Police have charged a 14-year-old male with murder in that case, CMPD said.
This story was originally published September 6, 2021 at 8:32 AM.