‘Just want closure’: Family searches for justice after loved one killed in north Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — A family is desperate for justice after their loved one was gunned down at a north Charlotte apartment complex.

Police say 25-year-old Carlos Leiva’s SUV crashed and caught fire after he was shot along the 1100 block of Oaklawn Avenue on Wednesday.

His family is hoping police can make a quick arrest.

“He was such a great and happy person and to see him this way really hurts us completely,” his brother Daniel Davilla said.

Davilla says his brother had just started his shift as a Lyft driver around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday when police say he was shot.

His family worries someone tried to carjack him.

“I think just because he had a newer car, he was vulnerable, friendly, they took advantage and abused him and they tried to rob my bother at gunpoint,” Davilla said. “Knowing my brother and that the Tahoe was my mom’s and how protective he was of my mom, he wasn’t gonna give that up.”

Davilla says his brother tried to get away but in the process the suspect shot him in the chest.

“He pulled into a street that was a dead end and hit a car which led him to die in front of that car with his foot on the gas which made the tires spin and the car caught fire,” Davilla said.

He doesn’t understand why anyone would do this to his brother and he’s hoping for a quick arrest.

“We’re all suffering here. We just want closure and we want peace, and we just want justice for him. He was just such a great guy,” he said.

Divilla says his brother graduated from Independence High School in 2018 and played for the soccer team there.

If you have information that can help solve this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

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