CHARLOTTE — Charges have been dropped against a man who prosecutors said fatally shot someone during a dispute over noise.
The victim’s wife said she was blindsided by the development.
Cameron Lackey was a husband and a father with a new daughter on the way.
“My husband was an incredible person,” said Yaneli Rodriguez, the victim’s wife. “He touched many people.”
At about 10 p.m. on Dec. 29, 2024, Lackey was shot and killed in a dispute with a neighbor on Old Camden Road in eastern Mecklenburg County over loud noise.
“I believe they have failed us,” Rodriguez said.
She’s upset because prosecutors dropped the charges against Michael McAllister, 18, who was arrested for first-degree murder in the case.
“We were totally blindsided by the whole situation,” she said.
According to court documents, McAllister and a friend drove to a home near Lackey’s residence, and they were making a lot of noise. Lackey went to talk to them and allegedly fired a couple of shots in the air.
McAllister then drove off.
That was when Lackey and a cousin went to McAllister’s home where he, his father, and a friend were armed. Prosecutors said when Lackey and his cousin arrived, Lackey charged at McAllister despite being told to put his hands up.
“They told us there was a warning,” Rodriguez said. “There was no warning. My husband, as soon as he stepped out of his vehicle, he was instantly fatally shot.”
Rodriguez said that’s what she heard on the 911 call which Channel 9 has not had an opportunity to hear.
Prosecutors said the main reason the 18-year-old was charged was that he refused to talk to investigators.
Weeks later, he changed his mind and gave investigators a statement in which he claimed his life was in danger. His father and friend backed him up and prosecutors changed their mind.
The dismissal reads, “Here, the state does not have a reasonable likelihood of success at trial in proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense, therefore justice requires that the charges be dismissed.”
“I, myself, am upset with the outcome because he was such a good person and they made it out to be like he wasn’t and he really was,” Rodriguez said.
There was no indication that Lackey was armed when he was shot and killed despite the earlier confrontation.
Rodriguez said he wanted to talk and get them to tone it down because it had been an ongoing issue.
VIDEO: ‘Make a change’: Wife speaks out after husband killed in east Mecklenburg County shooting
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