Police charge suspect month after deadly north Charlotte shooting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said it has charged a suspect a month after a deadly shooting in north Charlotte.

Police said they will serve 27-year-old Jerome Sonny Davis, Jr. warrants for murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied property inflicting serious bodily injury related to the death of 23-year-old Khira Bernetta Denise Ruth McKinley.

(Davis)

Detectives said McKinley was found shot to death inside a car in a cul-de-sac on July 4.

Police responded to a shooting call just before 9 a.m. on Oakwinds Court near Old Statesville Road.

MEDIC confirmed that McKinley was pronounced dead on the scene.

"Honestly we don't know at this point, we're not sure how she sustained an injury. We do know there is some blood and that she was pronounced deceased by MEDIC," CMPD Maj. Lisa Goeltz said the day of the shooting.

Channel 9 crews could see crime scene investigators and dozens of officers on Oakwinds Court.

Neighbors were leaving a home that morning and noticed their car had been hit by the victim's car. They walked over to see what happened and discovered her body.

Sources told Channel 9 McKinley did not live in the neighborhood, but residents said it is always quiet.

"It's a relatively quiet neighborhood. Like I said, we've never had anything to happen out of the ordinary like this. This is very shocking to all of us,” she said.

It was Charlotte's 60th homicide in 2019, compared to 26 at the same time last year.

The increase in homicides is a top priority for police and city leaders.

CMPD has said most of this year's homicides are because people are getting into arguments and turning to violence.

CMPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team worked with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to find Davis in Spartanburg.

Police said he’s being held in South Carolina until he can be extradited back to Charlotte to face the charges.

McKinley's body was found days after her brother was shot and killed outside a southeast Charlotte pool. Police said the two murders aren't related.

Cox Media Group