Suspect in random shooting spree was in U.S. illegally, sources say

CHARLOTTE — Sources tell Channel 9 that a suspect who went on a random shooting spree earlier this week in Charlotte is in the U.S. illegally.

Carlos Roberto Diaz, 18, and a 16-year-old were arrested Tuesday morning for the crimes that happened about 48 hours earlier, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. Investigators said they aren’t looking for any additional suspects in the case.

Roberto Diaz, who is from Honduras, was in the country illegally at the time of his arrest. The suspect, who was 14 years old at the time, had an encounter with Border Patrol along the Rio Grande River in Mexico back in 2019, the sources told Channel 9.

Information about what happened after that has not been released to Channel 9.

New court documents show the 16-year-old admitted to police that he and Diaz went on the crime spree after they went to a party together.

Roberto Diaz lives in northwest Charlotte, according to court documents.

“(There) was a lot of activity going on in that house,” said Anthony Blocker, a neighbor.

Blocker has lived in the neighborhood since 1973 and one of the things that alarmed him was that he said he heard gunfire coming from that home.

“Maybe every seven to eight days and they would do it at night 11:30, 12, right at news time,” Blocker said.

The neighbor said he was shocked to see crime scene investigators at the house Thursday because he said there isn’t any crime in the area.

Blocker said he was friends with Mustaffa Muhammad, who was shot and killed was driving home from work.

“He was a good guy,” Blocker said. “He was a friend. He was a good person, just wrong place wrong time, so that’s sad.”

Neighbors are glad the Roberto Diaz is not on the streets.

“You got people now just going by and shooting because they don’t have anything to do. Yeah, that’s scary. That’s scary. I’m glad we no longer have that in our community,” Blocker said.

‘Old-fashioned police work’

In a news conference Thursday, CMPD Deputy Chief Tonya Arrington said the arrests were a result of “good old-fashioned police work.” She said the two suspects were charged for the five different shootings which happened in about 30 minutes. An arrest warrant shows CMPD was able to link the shootings together using the suspect’s car description and shell casings from the scenes.

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According to Arrington, officers were patrolling Thursday morning on East Arrowood Road when they found a car that matched a description of the car involved in the shootings. They pulled it over and found the 16-year-old driving the car. They also found a stolen firearm, shell casings, and extended magazine inside.

Court documents show he was initially charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a handgun by a minor, and possession of a stolen firearm. Investigators used forensic evidence and information he shared with police to confirm he was one of the suspects in the five shootings and charged him with first-degree murder, Arrington said. He’s expected to face more charges.

The teen was taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Arrington said police believe he planned to continue his crime spree.

“That is a great possibility,” said Arrington. “That’s what officers believed that he was out there actively looking for another opportunity.”

Court documents show the teen admitted to police that he Roberto Diaz “went to a party and then drove around the city shooting at people.” His information led to Roberto Diaz’s arrest, the documents show.

CMPD said they arrested Roberto Diaz Thursday with the FBI’s help and charged him with first-degree murder, felony conspiracy to commit murder, five counts of attempted murder, two counts of shots into an occupied vehicle, two counts of shots into an occupied dwelling, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

Arrington said police are not searching for any additional suspects.

In court Friday, Roberto Diaz didn’t say a word.

Judge Fritz Mercer said he would let a superior court judge decide bond for Roberto Diaz’s murder charge and several others. Mercer set bond for two of the charges at $100,000, but even with that bond set, Roberto Diaz will still be held in jail with no bond for the time being on all the other charges that include first-degree murder.

He’ll be back in court at the end of the month.

CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings touched on the suspects’ ages Thursday, saying youth crime in Charlotte is a serious issue.

“Juvenile crime continues to be an issue, not just in our city, but across our entire country,” Jennings said. “And if we can’t provide resources, if we can’t break the cycle of violent criminal behavior with our young people, then our future is not very bright for the safety of our citizens within our community.”

Timeline

A deadly shooting at about 1:05 a.m. on Statesville Avenue started the 30-minute rampage, officials with CMPD said. Mustaffa Muhammad, 58, was shot and killed inside his car on Statesville Avenue. Loved ones said he was returning home from work.

Then at about 1:09 a.m., someone shot at a bicyclist near the intersection of Newland Road and LaSalle Street. Just after that, officers found a victim who said his vehicle was shot while he was driving on LaSalle Street near Interstate 77. Neither of those victims were hurt.

CMPD: 16-year-old, 18-year-old arrested for ‘brazen’ Charlotte shooting spree

At about 1:11 a.m., someone in a vehicle shot at a group in the 2100 block of Catherine Simmons Avenue. Rounds were also shot into an apartment, hitting a female, CMPD said. She was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Then at about 1:25 a.m., a gunman shot a bicyclist riding on Nations Ford Road in southwest Charlotte. The victim had non-life-threatening injuries. A round struck an apartment building on Kingsford Drive, as well.

‘Mom, you’ve been shot’

Channel 9 Glenn Counts spoke with the woman Thursday who was shot inside her apartment.

“I’m in pain, but I try not to show it,” said the woman, who didn’t want to be identified.

A round traveled through her shoulder and fragments lodged in her neck.

“I’m in pain,” she told Counts. “I’m depressed. I’m scared to go back in my house, really hadn’t slept since it happened.”

The woman explained what happened.

“We (were) listening to music,” she said. “I was looking on my phone for housing and my daughter said, ‘Mom, you’ve been shot,’ and I’m like ‘What?’ I didn’t notice, so I ran to the bathroom and felt the heat.”

‘Quick arrests’

Chief Jennings commended his officers Thursday for making the arrests within 48 hours of the crimes.

“These were brazen crimes. These were crimes that put our community at risk and created a safety hazard for our community,” Jennings said.

“These quick arrests -- within 48 hours of just talking about these -- these quick arrests are truly a testament to the dedication that our officers have every single day,” he said.

‘Haven’t had peace until now’

The 16-year-old was arrested near Laticia Sandoval’s neighborhood. Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz met her Wednesday as she showed him her apartment riddled by bullets in one of the shootings. One bullet flew over her daughter as she slept.

On Thursday, Sáenz called her and broke the news of the arrest.

“I’m happy because, imagine this, I haven’t been able to sleep. I haven’t had peace until now,” she said.

Police said they’re still working to uncover the shooters’ motives. There isn’t an indication that it was gang-related, Arrington said.

“We’re still asking the same questions. Why would two juveniles engage in this type of behavior on random victims?” Arrington said.

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Communities concerned about safety after Charlotte shooting spree

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