‘Took an amazing person’: Family mourns man shot, killed by 2 teens during home invasion

CHARLOTTE — A local family is picking up the pieces after their loved one was shot and killed during a home invasion.

Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department say that Cordarrell Houston was shot in his house on Toddville Road in west Charlotte on March 26.

On Saturday morning, police arrested Maiseo Caldwell, 19, and Quavon Strother, 18, in connection with the shooting and robbery.

“They took an amazing person for nothing, just for nothing, for nothing,” Annette Gee, Houston’s aunt, said.

Gee, and other family members spoke with veteran crime reporter Glenn Counts about the relief they felt after hearing about the arrest of Strother and Caldwell. Both are charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

“I got a phone call; I recognized the detective’s cell phone number, and I felt a certain kind of emotion,” Larry Houston, the victim’s father, told Counts, “but when I answered the phone, he told us to make sure I put it on speaker phone for my wife; he let us know they had made an arrest, two individuals in our son’s case, and I can’t explain the relief I felt.”

Houston’s family says he was a skilled entrepreneur who owned a small IT business. His life came to an abrupt end at just 36 years old when the two teens shot him in his home.

Detectives are still working to figure out if Houston knew the teens who took his life or not.

According to court documents, the teens stole multiple items valued at $500, including Houston’s laptop.

His mother, Carol Houston, is still coming to terms with the seemingly random act of violence that took her son; she says none of the items taken were worth losing her son.

“It wasn’t worth my son’s life; life is valuable,” she said.

Gee says this crime has caused a ripple effect in their family; not only did they take Houston’s life, they ruined the lives of everyone who loved him in the process.

Family members thought it may take years to get an arrest and are grateful to the detectives who helped track down those responsible.

Even though the alleged shooters are quite young, Houston’s family believes they should never be let out of jail if convicted.

“We lost an amazing person; Cordarrell was an amazing person,” Gee said.

Houston was laid to rest on Friday, which made his family even more grateful for the news of the arrest on Saturday.

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Suspected killer of mother, 2 kids extradited back to Charlotte

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