CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot and killed a man outside a northeast Charlotte nighclub last summer was cleared of any wrongdoing.
The district attorney said the special agent was in imminent danger last August and that the shooting outside the nightclub Tropix on North Tryon Street was justified.
They said Donald Janvier had already hit and injured the special agent with a car. Officials said the agent was standing in front of the moving car when he shot and killed Janvier.
While witnesses report hearing up to eight shots, the district attorney said all of the officers at the scene said it was just one and the physical evidence proves it.
They have not identified the agent involved.
Authorities said the incident unfolded after a fight broke out involving 30-year-old Janvier inside the bar before spilling outside.
Sources told Channel 9 that Janvier got into his car, drove toward and struck an ICE agent, who then fired a shot and killed him in the parking lot.
Tiffany Belk told Channel 9 that Janvier was like a brother to her.
"He wasn't supposed to go, man,” Belk said.
Officials said ICE Homeland Security Investigations and state Alcohol Law Enforcement officers were inspecting the bar when a disturbance occurred.
Homeland Security spokesman Bryan Cox said the agent was working on a criminal investigation and not an immigration matter.
A source told Channel 9 ALE was doing checks on bars across Charlotte and was looking at Tropix Bar and Lounge because of Facebook posts alluding to gang members being there.
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The agent who was hit suffered a hairline fracture to the leg, sources said.
Belk said Janvier frequently went to Tropix on Friday nights but said she doesn’t know why he would be involved in a fight.
"That man got a wife. That man got kids,” Belk said. “I don't know what's going on.”
Channel 9 spent hours working to find people to talk to who were at the club during the shooting.
People said off camera that they didn’t feel safe sharing what they witnessed.
At one point, the owner of the club told Channel 9 he would talk, but as more details were disclosed, he stopped returning calls.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said none of their officers fired shots.
Police were back at the scene following the shooting looking at surveillance video from neighboring businesses.
There have only been a handful of cases across the country this year in which ICE agents pulled the trigger.
In February, an ICE agent in Virginia shot and killed a man wanted on felony arrest warrants. In May, an ICE agent in Texas killed a man while serving a warrant. Last month, an ICE agent fatally shot someone during a drug investigation.
This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.
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