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Driver sentenced for shooting Charlotte dad 12 times as he walked with 3-year-old child

A 26-year-old driver received a lengthy prison sentence in Mecklenburg County NC Superior Court on Sept. 14, 2022 Prosecutors said he shot a Charlotte dad 12 times as the victim walked his toddler daughter home from a park. 
A 26-year-old driver received a lengthy prison sentence in Mecklenburg County NC Superior Court on Sept. 14, 2022 Prosecutors said he shot a Charlotte dad 12 times as the victim walked his toddler daughter home from a park.  FILE IMAGE

It wasn’t enough for Jamario Clinton to fire shots from his car at a Charlotte dad walking his 3-year-old daughter home from a park last year, prosecutors said Friday.

Clinton left his car and shot him again, returned to his vehicle and drove away, according to a Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s office news release.

Good Samaritans immediately rushed to the dad and his toddler to tend to them, prosecutors said. But Clinton wasn’t done with the dad, with whom he’d been in a dispute, according to the D.A.’s office.

He circled back, left his car “and shot the victim again at point-blank range,” prosecutors said in the release.

‘Extensive surgeries’

The victim was shot a total of 12 times during the March 2021 encounter along Hovis Road in northwest Charlotte, according to District Attorney Spencer Merriweather’s office.

“Extensive surgeries” saved the dad, whom prosecutors didn’t identify in the release.,

Police arrested the 26-year-old Clinton and charged him with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

On Wednesday, a Mecklenburg County Superior Court jury found Clinton guilty, and Judge Robert Ervin sentenced him to between 22 years to 27 years and four months in prison, according to the D.A.’s release.

Prosecutors said they were grateful for Freedom Fighting Missionaries’ support for the victim.

The Charlotte-based non-profit organization helps formerly incarcerated residents find jobs and provides them counseling and other support, according to its website.

This story was originally published September 17, 2022 at 3:52 PM.

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Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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