Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather spoke with Channel 9 for the first time on Wednesday since the death of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska who was killed on Aug. 22 on Charlotte’s light rail.
“My thoughts are with Iryna Zarutska and her family, understanding that what they have to deal with is a life that was stolen from them,” Merriweather said.
It was also the first time he spoke with Channel 9 about the suspect and repeat offender, Decarlos Brown, who was federally indicted on Tuesday for the slaying of Iryna Zarutska on Aug 22.
Brown could face the death penalty.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department had charged Brown with first-degree murder after the homicide.
He was arrested 14 times since 2007, charged with offenses, including communicating threats, assault on a female, and shoplifting. Brown was convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon and spent five years in prison.
Channel 9’s Hunter Sáenz spoke with Merriweather for 30 minutes.
Merriweather’s office warned Channel 9 that he would not talk about the specifics on the case, Sáenz asked anyway.
Sáenz also wanted to know what many in the community have been asking: “What needs to be done to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Some of the blame has fallen on Merriweather and the court system.
Some have even asked for his resignation.
MORE PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Man accused of killing Ukrainian refugee on light rail charged with federal crime
- Charlotte mayor announces security changes after deadly light rail stabbing
- Deadly Charlotte light rail stabbing draws national attention; leaders call for change
- President Trump weighs in on deadly light rail stabbing
- Charlotte mayor releases statement in response to new video of light rail stabbing
- CATS releases video of deadly random stabbing on light rail
- CATS believes light rail murder suspect did not purchase fare before fatal stabbing
- EXCLUSIVE Q&A: CATS leaders say ‘processes worked’ after deadly stabbing on light rail
- No security on board light rail when 23-year-old was fatally stabbed
- Local leaders demand action following deadly stabbing on light rail
- Woman flees war-torn Ukraine, killed on Charlotte light rail
- Suspect, victim identified in South End stabbing
- Man accused of killing Ukrainian refugee on light rail to remain in jail
Merriweather told Sáenz that he and his team aren’t focused on the noise, they are focused on the job at hand.
The DA said, even with Brown charged with a federal crime, his office will proceed with the first-degree murder case.
He also said the tragedy is personal to him as a member of this community and it’s shaken him, too.
“A person, who is a repeat offender with a record like this, should he have been on the streets?” Sáenz asked the DA.
“What we do to make sure people who are repeat offenders who have been charged with crimes, are not on the streets, is make sure we make use of sentence enhancements like our habitual statute that would make sure that people who are waiting for trial, we make use laws that I had a hand in helping to change like the Pretrial Integrity Act,” Merriweather said. “The current design of our system calls on us to wait for the worst thing to happen before we address a public safety threat, and that has to be something that changes.”
Sáenz asked if Brown should have been charged as a habitual felon.
“I can’t speak specifically to the record involving the defendant, because I do have those prohibitions,” Merriweather said. “But where someone does qualify to be a habitual felon, you should have an expectation that person will be charged with.”
“Should this office had prosecuted Decarlos Brown in a tougher manner, knowing his previous arrests?” Sáenz asked.
“What I can tell you is that the people in this office sign up every day to take crime seriously,” the DA said. “No one goes to law school to decide to become a prosecutor to dismiss cases. We do it to try them.”
Over the years, numerous cases against Brown were voluntarily dismissed by the DA’s office.
A vast majority of those dismissals happened before Merriweather took office.
“Sometimes that means whether or not there is physical evidence that allows them to be able to prove a case, sometimes it refers to the availability of witnesses,” Merriweather said.
Merriweather acknowledged the county’s court system must be enhanced.
He’d like to see funding for more prosecutors, judges, and others in the system.
He also backs more funding for adequate mental health resources.
He also said magistrates should have more information about the suspect in front of them when setting initial bond, including criminal and mental health history, and the qualifications to be a magistrate should be looked at.
“We ought to take a hard look at the way that, you know, the magistrates are selected, appointed, and all of that, if you take a look at our state constitution and see. What that looks like,” Merriweather said.
He added, “I think the General Assembly, at the right time, should take a look at all that.”
Merriweather said he believes magistrates should have more information than they currently do when determining bond when a suspect is brought to the jail.
Brown’s attorney released a statement on Wednesday afternoon:
“Extrajudicial statements made by parties litigating pending cases are disfavored by our ethical code. Those rules are aimed at maintaining the integrity of the legal process for ALL people charged with a crime. Consequently, I will not be commenting beyond what is already public record.
“It is public record that Mr. Brown will be evaluated by State experts to assess his Capacity to Proceed. Once the evaluation takes place, there will be a hearing in Court on the issue. In the meantime, the case will follow the normal criminal procedure process – where statements about this case may be made on the record by both parties in the proper setting."
VIDEO: Iryna Zarutska’s family seeks accountability in Charlotte light rail killing
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
