Arrest made in manhunt for shooting, carjacking suspect that spanned 70 miles

A man accused of stealing two cars and shooting two people is in custody. The incidents started in Thomasville, NC and reached to the Charlotte area - nearly 70 miles away.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say three women were robbed while in a car at an apartment complex on Lewis Street at Ikea Boulevard around 11:14 p.m. Wednesday.

The robber took off with one of the victim’s 2013 Chevrolet Impala, police say, leaving behind a stolen Chevrolet Malibu. The Malibu had been taken during an earlier robbery in Thomasville, where two people were shot.

The stolen Chevrolet Impala was located around 1 a.m. Thursday on Fincher Boulevard. A resident in the area called 911 after she says the suspect knocked on her door shortly after midnight.

Deborah Rowe said she woke up after hearing someone knocking on her door. She looked out her window and saw the suspect and a car parked outside her house. She at first thought the man could be her son so she opened the door. She says he mumbled something and when she realized it wasn’t her son she closed the door and locked it.

Fifteen minutes later she called 911 when she realized the car was still parked outside and the man wasn’t there, thinking he might need help. When police got there, they told her the car was stolen and what he was accused of.

“He said ‘two people had already been shot’ and I was like ‘whoa,’” she said.

Rowe said she did not feel threatened during her interaction with the suspect and said she feels blessed she’s safe today.

Police describe the robber as a white man around 30 years old with short hair. He has large gauge earrings and multiple tattoos, including on his face.

The suspect, whose identity has not been released was taken into jail in Thomasville.

This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 9:48 AM.