‘Shocking to me’: 19-year-old arrested in string of violent crimes

CHARLOTTE — A 19-year-old man is in the Union County jail accused of a string of crimes over just a few months.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say Jaylin Johnson has been on a violent crime spree since June, including one shooting on the same day he was released from custody.

Channel 9′s Jonathan Lowe spoke with one man who was shot. The man asked us not to share his name to protect his identity.

“I’m coming through the parking lot, and all of sudden, boom, just that fast, they were shooting,” he said.

The victim says he could barely get his car stopped when he realized the extent of his injury.

“It came through the left side of my left leg, came in, hit my femur and fractured my femur,” he said.

There’s now a rod and two screws in his thigh and he uses a walker to get around.

“I’m 20, so he’s not too far behind me which is shocking to me,” he said.

On Tuesday, CMPD detailed the long list of violence they say Johnson is responsible for, which includes stealing 16 vehicles from a rental car business near the airport in June, an aggravated assault threatening nine victims later that month, and multiple apartments shot into in July.

On Oct. 10, multiple apartments and vehicles were shot up endangering 26 people, and a home was shot into on Sunset Oaks Drive threatening nine.

“This cannot rest, I can’t let this rest because we minding our business and these kids running around with these guns, it’s not making sense,” said the mother of another victim.

“From the video that we heard, it was about 12 shots,” she said.

The family was asleep when the gunfire started.

“It’s been scary because we don’t even know what this is from, who these people are,” she said.

She says her family is living in fear.

“I had my grandson in the house when all this was happening and we can’t be here, I can come during the day, but I can’t be here at night,” she said.

Johnson was found in Union County on Tuesday where sheriff’s deputies arrested him on 20 outstanding warrants.

Investigators say they seized six firearms from Johnson.

His bond in Union County is set at $35,000.

VIDEO: 4 minors accused of leading police chase from Concord into Charlotte

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