This episode is supported by Brex. Brex helps finance teams unlock their peak performance with the world's smartest corporate card, banking, expense management, and travel, all on one AI-powered platform. See why 30,000 companies across every stage of growth use Brex at Brex.com slash grow. It's 505 and welcome in to a Tuesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Stalk 1110-993 WBT. I'm Nick Craig.
Good morning to you.
Well, it was a busy Monday afternoon in Charlotte as the United States House's Judiciary Committee has held another field hearing. They've done a couple of those this year, focusing on the Queen City in Charlotte, North Carolina, the name of the hearing, Victims of Violent Crimes. This comes just about a month after the brutal murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Irina Zaruska on the Charlotte Lightrail. That has prompted a large amount of national outrage on both sides of the political aisle, and the House Judiciary Committee focused in on some of the systems that may have failed in the case that allowed the suspect, 34-year-old DeCarlos Brown Jr., to be out on the streets the fateful night that he decided to kill Irina on the Charlotte light rail. The chair of the House Judiciary Committee is Jefferson Van Drew.
He is a member of Congress, Republican, out of New Jersey. This is how he opened his comments at the hearing in Charlotte. The latest name we speak of. Is Irina Zarutska A young woman. with her whole life ahead of her.
One who fled an actual war zone to chase the American dream. She wanted to be here so badly. I think some of you may know that when she was murdered, Her parents requested that she be actually buried here in America 'cause she loved America so much. And what's perverse about all this, it wasn't in the battlefields of Ukraine where she lost her life. It was right here on an American street in an American city.
It's unacceptable. We're tired of it. We're sick of it. It's sickening. And you know, ladies and gentlemen, we don't have to accept it.
It doesn't have to be this way. Bad leaders let this happen, weak leaders. That's Congressman Van Drew out of New Jersey opening the hearing. He spoke more about the situation that happened back on August the 22nd in Charlotte with Irina Zaruska. Why are judges, elected officials, leftist nonprofits, and activist groups doing all they can to make our streets more dangerous?
I don't know how else to say it. It's purposeful, it's not accidental. Let's talk about why we're here. A magistrate judge. Let this killer walk free.
even after his own mother said he was dangerous, and that he was a real problem. and she was concerned. His own mother. The magistrate judge said, well, This is the 14th time he committed a crime. But you know, I think it'll be his last.
Because he signed a handwritten note that he's going to be good. Seriously? Are we serious about that? You're looking us straight in the face and saying that? You don't need a degree to know that it's absurd.
You don't need to be an attorney or a judge to know that it's wrong. You don't have to have a high ranking title to know that it doesn't make sense. All you need is common sense. and empathy and a hoard. And the desire to see this nation to be the best nation that it can possibly be.
But he was allowed to walk our streets. And now A young woman, and there's other stories. It's not the only story. But this young Beautiful woman with her entire future in front of her, working three jobs, living the American dream, believing in America. She's gone.
This hearing is not going to bring her back. Your testimony is not going to bring them back. The good people who are here watching is not going to bring her back. There's nothing we can do except to make sure. That her life has meaning, so if it has meaning, it means we stop doing this.
that we stop putting bad people back on the street. And you know, it's something we can relate to because millions of Americans around the country. Use transit every day. You know, in Charlotte, there's a great group of people who are really working here to make the transit even better and safer. and are doing wonderful things.
We have to allow them to do that. We need the laws, we need the judges, we need the attorneys, we need the attorneys general, we need the prosecutors and DAs to do the right thing, to do their damn job. That's Congressman Van Drew opening up the commentary yesterday at the Senate on remote Senate Judiciary or House Judiciary Committee, I should say, that did take place in Charlotte. The other ranking member included Representative of North Carolina Democrat Deborah Ross, who, well, in her opening comments incorrectly identified one of the victims. She pointed to a photo that one of the witnesses had brought and attributed that to the picture of Irena Zaruska.
However, that was a different individual, Logan Federico, who was murdered earlier this year at the University of South Carolina. And that caused this beginning of the committee hearing to immediately turn very heated. Take a listen. To be honest, and for our victims, this hearing is too little. too late.
We should have been doing more to prevent crime and address the lack of mental health care. Long before this hearing. This isn't Irina. Oh, I'm sorry. This is my daughter.
I am so sorry. I am so sorry. This is Logan Federico. Thank you so much for bringing that. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. I am so sorry for you. It's used before I read it. I am so sorry for your loss, and my heart goes out to you. My heart goes out to you.
How dare you not know her?
So we should have been doing things to prevent Logan's death. and Irina's death, and I am so sorry. To my Republican friends, This is not Democrats' fault. This is the fault. of Congress and our legislature to not do enough.
They want you to believe that tough on crime and saying law and order is going to solve the problem. And they want to believe that a slogan will make America safe again. But if that is the case, Why Is the Congress cutting aid to local law enforcement by $100 million next year? You can hear that heated exchange there between the father of Logan Federico and Democrat Representative of North Carolina, Deborah Ross, right at the beginning. This was just a couple of minutes into the committee hearing that took place in Charlotte on Monday.
As is typical with a hearing like this, all of the witnesses have an opportunity to explain why they are there and provide some testimony to the House Oversight Committee on Judiciary. And we heard some of that testimony from the father of Logan Federico, and very heated commentary from him as well. Laying down, going to sleep. Feeling somebody come in the room and wake them. and drag her out of bed.
Naked. forced on her knees Where there are hands Over her head. Begging for her life. Thank you for a hero. Her father.
Me? That couldn't be there. She was five foot three. She weighed 115 pounds. Bang.
Dead. Gone. Why? Because Alexander Devonte Dickey Who was arrested 39? Times.
25. Felonies. was on the street. How about that? How good are we doing for our family?
How good you doing for your kids? He should have been in jail for over 140 years for all the crimes he committed. You know how much time he spent in prison? A little over 600 days in ten years. He's only thirty years old.
He was committing 2.65 crimes a year. Since he was 15 years old, but nobody could figure out. that he couldn't be rehabilitated.
Well, you'd have to put him in prison. To see if he could be rehabilitated. Isn't that the idea of prison? But no. My daughter wanted to be a teacher.
She finally figured it out. two weeks before She was executed.
Some touching commentary from Steve Federico, his daughter. They live in North Carolina, his daughter visiting friends at the University of South Carolina earlier this year when he described the gruesome scene and situation that led to his daughter's death and the ongoing theme of this committee meeting, which was repeat offenders, violent criminals back out on the streets. We'll hear from some additional individuals, including more members of North Carolina's congressional delegations, and some very interesting commentary from Officer Justin Campbell, who is a police officer with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. He didn't hold back much during his commentary as well. We'll continue the coverage right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now 5:15, News Talk 11:10, 99.3 WBT.
It's 521. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110, 99.3 WBT. Continuing our coverage of what was a busy Monday in Charlotte. As the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight held a field hearing where they took the committee on the road to Charlotte, the field hearing's titled Victims of Violent Crime. We've already heard from some members of Congress and some of the witnesses, including Steve Federico, his daughter Logan Federico, members of North Carolina, residents of the greater Charlotte metro area, who dealt with violent crime at the hands of a 34-time repeat offender that ended up taking his daughter's life.
Listening to more comments from some of the witnesses, Officer Justin Campbell, who is a police officer with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, didn't hold much back during the committee hearing yesterday. April twenty-ninth of twenty twenty four, the Marshal Service was serving a warrant. for a convicted felon for possession of a firearm again. While serving that warrant, Four members of that, or three members of that task force, and one member of the Charlotte-Medburgh Police Department, were gunned down and murdered that day, along with five others, including myself, that were injured. That day was chaos.
Responding to that call. Multiple officers not only dead but injured, We're taking gunfire from an elevated position by a known convicted felon, During the process of extracting The officers I end up breaking my foot. Which resulted in me being diagnosed with regional complex pain syndrome. It's a miserable diagnosis which led to the amputation of my right foot. I'll no longer ever be where I was prior to that day.
Now in my hand I will gladly submit this for your records. Is his entire arrest report. And in this report, it starts in 2009, where he burglarized. a residence with a stolen firearm. After he was taken to jail, he was released.
Where you can Great. where he committed multiple other offenses. prior to him going to prison. He was released from prison. And again, continuously committed violent crimes.
with firearms.
Now I ask you Why is it that we take people Who commit these heinous crimes, and we do not hold them accountable for their actions. We sit there and we try to give it a reason as a mental health issue or some other type of issues that realistically doesn't take blame.
Now The judicial system here in Mecklenburg County, I can speak firsthand, is trash. And I'll say it again, over and over again. And I'll take the repercussions, what comes next after me saying that. But the magistrate system here has no idea what they are doing. This cashless bail system is a joke.
I believe in my heart that if you commit a crime against another person violently You should not have a bond. You should sit in jail until your time comes.
Now there's a lot more that I could say angrily. But I'm trying to swallow my emotions. Because I've seen multiple committees such as this one, and words are exchanged. but action never comes to it.
So I'm going to ask you guys. All of you. to at some point look at us and look at the future victims because there will be more. And say, at what point do we hold them accountable for their actions and stop playing this political circus game? That's Officer Justin Campbell, a police officer with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, describing a situation that took him out of the line of duty, even to the point where he had to have his right foot amputated.
One of his quotes, making some national news, calling the judicial system in Mecklenburg County, quote, trash. We'll hear more from him when back and forth between members of Congress and witness testimony comes up.
However, we also heard from Michael Woody, who is the owner and CEO of 828 Bail Bonds. He is also North Carolina's representative to the National Association of Bail Agents. He provided his expert testimony as well. Her killer was DeCarlos Brown. He was a repeat offender.
With fourteen prior arrests, and released unsecured bail, cashless bail, on his own recognizance. Earlier this year, Yeah. Despite concerns about his mental stability and his chronic diagnosis of schizophrenia, he was still released. with cashless bail. The Department of Justice filed a federal complaint on September 9th, charging Brown with causing death on a mass transportation system.
They've amp they've elevated his charges to the federal level. Irina fled the horrors of war only to lose her life to an offender who should have been held accountable through secured bail. This wasn't random violence. It was a preventable tragedy. enabled by the requisite policies that prioritize offender convenience over public safety.
Here in Mucklenburg County, courts have embraced what they call reform. Unsecured bonds and taxpayer-funded pretrial release programs. While studies show mixed results on appearance rate, the fundamental problem remains. Unsecured release removes the accountability of that comes when families and communities have financial stakes in ensuring compliance.
Meanwhile, stakeholders report ongoing cycles of missed court appearances and rearrests. When offenders fail to appear in court, The courts must continue their cases in absence. and even sentence them and sent you. costing taxpayers enormous resources while denying victims their right to provide impact statements. such as you've heard today.
And offenders with serious mental health issues. Such as Brown. are released without the evaluation But and treatment. that could prevent these tragedies. These policies aren't just dangerous, they're expensive.
Mecklenburg County alone has spent $345,000 in local taxpayer funds for a new pretrial staff. They've wasted over $1.6 million in federal grants. And at least $3.3 million in a private foundation money. The county now reports $3.87 million total. They spent totally.
put these offenders back on the street with no accountability. That's over $5 million to operate a system parallel to Secure Bail. which worked effectively and cost taxpayers nothing. and provided more security for families. This is the definition of government waste.
Multiple bureaucracies and millions in expenses to avoid using the system that required no taxpayer investment. That's Michael Woody, owner and CEO of 828 Bail Bonds. He also serves as North Carolina's state representative to the National Association of Bail Agents, describing not only the Personal risk of having violent offenders back out on the streets through systems of cashless bail, but also talking about the enormous over $5 million cost to taxpayers, not only through the Charlotte Mecklenburg greater metropolitan area, but federal and state money also that pays for some of those programs. We'll continue our coverage of this House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight coming up here in just a couple of minutes. From unsolved mysteries to unexplained phenomena.
From comedy goal to relationship fails, Amazon Music's got the most ad-free top podcasts. Included with Prime. Download the Amazon Music app today. It's 5:36. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour.
News Talk 1110-993 WBT, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight held a field hearing in Charlotte on Monday. As a lot of national attention has been put on the Queen City after the horrific and brutal murder of 23-year-old Irina Zaruska on the Charlotte light rail back on August the 22nd. One of the reasons that this story is getting so much national attention is due to the fact that her alleged killer into Carlos Brown Jr. was a 14-time repeat offender, a violent criminal with a lengthy criminal rap sheet, as well as a severe documented mental illness, even so far that his mother said that he should not have been released from jail. That was part of the discussion in the Charlotte, Greater Charlotte region on Monday as this House Judiciary Committee did meet and multiple members of North Carolina's congressional delegation were on the panel discussing this.
We'll now turn it over to Congressman from North Carolina, Brad Knott. There's been a lot of discussion about partisanship and how the Democratic Party is not soft on crime. And there are some Democrats who are not soft on crime, but in terms of... Defunding the police, a clarion call for the Democratic Party. Does that make us more or less safe?
I would say that makes us less safe. What about working feverishly against long-term incarceration? Is that more or less safe? Less safe. Mr.
Woody, what about cashless bail? Again, that's a uniquely partisan initiative. funded by Democrats nationally, locally, and state level. Does that make us more or less safe? Cash and spell makes us less safe.
Mr. Campbell, in regards to the complete disregard of our borders, our immigration laws, does that make us more or less safe? Less safe. What about decriminalizing all drugs? That's a partisan initiative in some parts of the country, more or less safe.
Less safe. What about funding NGOs tens of billions? We talk about funding, we talk about mental health, we talk about victims funding, tens of billions of dollars over the last four years. That was handed directly to people who were here illegally. Does that make us more or less safe?
So it seems to me that we have an ideology problem. not a funding problem. And would you say s would you say it's a coincidence that the top 10 most dangerous cities in the country. are led locally by Democrats. Is that a coincidence?
No.
Now Mr. Frederica, I want to ask you, there's been a lot of discussion about you cannot incarcerate your way to public safety. Do you agree with that?
Well, how can we find out if we don't do it? Right. I mean, there's percentages out there that after three years of release, 68% of them are rearrested. Right. So We've got to figure it out first.
Put them there first. Then let's do the math. Right. If someone has 39 arrests, 25 felonies. You think they've earned the right to be in a jail cell?
He is probably one of the best resumes of a criminal. You think he deserves mental health or does he deserve to be in jail? I think he deserves to be dead. Yeah. That was the back and forth from North Carolina Congressman Brad Knott and multiple of the witnesses.
You heard from Steve Federico, Officer Justin Campbell, and Michael Woody, some of the witnesses testifying in front of this House Judiciary Committee meeting in Charlotte on Monday. Congressman Mark Harris talked about one of the large issues at discussions here: the magistrate system, not only across the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area, but across the country. But in the case of Irina Zarutska, DeCarlos Brown Jr., we know had a long criminal history. And despite this, In his last encounter with the law, Professor Prior to murdering Irina, Magistrate Teresa Stokes released him back into the community with only a simple, and I quote, written promise for his trial.
Now, sadly, it's all too common for a criminal to be let off easy by a judge, only to have him turn around and commit even worse crime. And you know and I know. This is unacceptable. Officer Campbell, I want to turn to you quickly. Have you encountered situations where individuals with a history of violent crime were released and you saw later reoffended?
That would be the majority of the people I arrested. The majority. Thank you, sir. In your view, how do lenient bail policies impact crime in Charlotte? It would increase it because they know they're not going to be held accountable.
And how do you as a police officer feel when these criminals are arrested and are shortly released immediately back into the public? I feel like the majority of the work that I've done was pointless. because they'll be out on the streets while I'm still writing the report.
Well, in my view, lenient bell policies are not working in the city of Charlotte. Or cities across this nation. Criminals need to know that when they get arrested, They will not be immediately released on just an unsecured bond or written promise to appear. In fact, I want to share a story that former Union County DA John Snyder shared with me years back. A man was arrested just over the Charlotte border in Union County that I represent.
Being a repeat offender in Charlotte, he suddenly noticed that the police car was headed in the opposite direction of Mecklenburg County Jail. After raising this concern with the police officer, he was informed he had been arrested in Union County, not Mecklenburg. And upon hearing this, the man began sobbing because he knew he was going to jail that night and would spend the night in jail. Jurisdictions across the state should strive to send a similar message wherever you are. Many of those issues need to be dealt with by our North Carolina General Assembly, as we've heard today.
And I'm glad to see that they're already doing so with the passage of ARENA's law. And I'm certainly praying, and I hope all of you are urging Governor Stein to find the courage to sign it into law. And Mr. Woody, turning to you, could you please describe for all of us the changes that ARENA's law would make to North Carolina's system for bail? In accompanying with the Pretrial Integrity Act, an offender who reoffends is automatically held 48 hours or until they see a judge in front of a first appearance.
In addition to that, it would release, it would. Recuse the people from having an unsecured bail. They'd be required to post a cash bail, secured bail through a bail bondsman, or a family member with property or assets through an accommodation.
Well, and thank you for sharing that. And I believe Congress has got to take action as well. We cannot sit by and allow these mismanaged cities to put Americans in danger. In fact, I'm going to be introducing two bills in the next week: one for accountability, the other for transparency, as one of them is going to ensure jurisdictions that get federal grants for public safety do not defund their police or implement cashless bail lest they lose any of those government funds and one to require the Department of Justice to publicly identify every jurisdiction in this country that implements these cashless bail policies. And I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee to deal with these important matters.
That's Congressman Mark Harris, the Back and Forth Exchange. You heard Officer Justin Campbell of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and Michael Woody, who is the owner and CEO of 828 Bail Bonds, as well as North Carolina's representative for the National Association of Bail Agents. Continuing with our coverage, Congressman Tim Moore, former Speaker of the North Carolina House, also chimed in on some of the issues with the magistrate system across the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. Frankly, here in Mecklenburg, the criticism has not been with the district attorney. It's been more with the magistrates and the judges, just letting these criminals come in and go right out the door.
I mean, Officer Campbell, you just testified there are times when you're still doing the paperwork. and the criminal is walking back out on the street. Is that correct? That would be correct. And just curious, I mean, how is that like?
Is that more often than not or is that just kind of a rare thing? No, it it happens quite frequently. I mean, that should shock everyone. And that should drive the point home that this is not about money or programs or whatever else and some of these feel-good programs that get kicked around out there to try to divert people from jail. There are people who are dangerous and they need to be incarcerated.
And I'll tell you the other problem that we have, and that is the lawsuit a couple decades ago, I think the ACLU filed at wanting to get folks out deinstitutionalize folks with serious mental issues.
Well, guess what you have now? You have people out on the streets. Your homeless problem has gone through the roof. You know, you can't go anywhere without seeing homeless encampments, even in my small town of Kings Mountain. where this is happening.
It's happening all over the country. And it's because of these leftist policies of trying to get people deinstitutionalized who have mental issues. And guess what?
Some people need to be in the community, but guess what? There are dangerous people who should not have been in the community. And I point to the situation with Irina Zarutzka. Not only should this guy have not been out on bond from previous things, but why didn't somebody involuntarily commit this guy, right? I mean, this guy, you know, whatever you want to say, this guy should not have been on the streets.
And these policies have to change. But guess what? It's a question of what's happened when it comes to judicial officials around because you don't hear this as much in some of the other counties. I mean, you've got a data pool that you can look at. That's Congressman Tim Moore, former Speaker of the North Carolina House, now a member of Congress, really honing in on some of the issues with the magistrate and judicial systems that exist in the Charlotte Mecklenburg area that he and many others say led to the death of 23-year-old Irina Zaruska at the hands of DeCarlos Brown Jr.
on the Charlotte light rail back on August the 22nd. 551, welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT as we continue our coverage this morning of the House Judiciary Subcommittee meeting on oversight. That took place in Charlotte on Monday, bringing witnesses and members of Congress together to discuss victims of violent crime. One of the precipice events that allowed this to take place was, of course, the murder of Irina Zaruska on the Charlotte Light Rail back on August the 22nd. And one of the discussions with that murder was that DeCarlos Brown Jr., the alleged killer, did not pay his fare to get on the Charlotte Light Rail system, which in the weeks and days following that we have learned is a much larger issue.
Congressman David Rauser, who sits on the House Transportation Committee, is actually the chairman of TNI's Public Transportation Committee, talked about the importance of public transit systems, making sure that individuals are paying their fare to use the system. Given my role on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where I'm Chairman of Highways and Transit. We're in the process of writing a Highway bill. Uh for lack of a better way to put it. And that's going to include an opportunity to make modifications to our transit programs.
And one of the things that I've observed through my research that is really interesting to me and quite appalling. Uh Fair avoidance. Uh you know, folks get on these uh on these light rails and they're not paying any fare whatsoever. That was the case with the murder here in Charlotte a few weeks ago. And mister Campbell, if I can ask you Is that something that you personally witnessed a good little bit?
Is it lack of resources or lack of commitment to police these light rail cars and make sure people are paying their fares?
Well, the light rail system is controlled by cats, and they employ their own security. Right. More cops to me would not be the answer. I mean cats can control their own fares. But there's never been a a system That you know, checks to see if they paid their fare or not in the first place.
Yeah. Well, you know, one of the fundamental principles is you get more whatever you incentivize. And if people do bad and they're not reprimanded, if there's no consequence, they're going to continue. uh to uh to avoid uh paying any fare. I think that's definitely an issue that we'll look at in the context of our highway bill.
That's Congressman David Rauser of North Carolina's 7th Congressional District and Officer Justin Campbell, a police officer with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. We also heard from Congressman Chuck Edwards. I want to apologize to you, first of all. Um I find it interesting that we've heard In many situations, from the folks that have talked today, efforts to distract us from what the actual issues are. Efforts to create diversions The horrible stories that we've heard from our witnesses here today.
Uh we've heard This issue politicized. With documents that have been entered that have absolutely nothing to do. with the relevance of your stories. And I apologize to you for that. Uh Frankly, I'm embarrassed that way too many times this is the way Congress operates.
But I can promise you. that while this behavior might be taking place up here at uh with this panel, your stories have resonated. with every member that's up here. And we will remember these when we get back to Washington, D.C. That's Congressman Chuck Edwards jumping in on the back and forth exchange during the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight that held their meeting in Charlotte on Monday.
Also got some commentary in from Congressman Pat Harrigan as well. Uh I find it personally discussing that members of this committee have suggested that this is political theater for the purpose. of negotiating an open seat. While distracting from the fact that violent repeat offenders are continually let free from our judicial system. That is the problem that we have.
And that is the only problem. that we have, period. We've had a lot of talk about money today. I will actually give D.A. Merriweather some credit.
He got together. with local business leaders and local government officials. To decide, okay, hey, what is the minimum amount that we actually really need in order to get the job done? Because from his words, he said, I don't want to throw money at this problem. Because the problem really isn't money.
And out of the 10 additional DAs that he needs with five additional staff assistants, that's exactly what the state legislature has authorized. And it's just waiting on Governor Stein's signature to be put into law. That's happening. But we've got to understand that the lack of 10 DAs in a system that has 84 DAs already. is not the problem and it's mutually exclusive.
from the problem. of judicial posture. With respect to judges and magistrates, simply allowing violent repeat. criminals back on our streets. as well as trial delays.
That's Congressman Pat Harrigan at the committee meeting in Charlotte. We will have continued coverage of this over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. The full committee hearing was also made available by the House Judiciary Subcommittee group that is available on their YouTube channel. It was a lengthy hearing, about two and a half, three hours, but definitely worth a watch as many of the conversations and discussions surrounded Charlotte and here in North Carolina. That's going to do it for a Tuesday edition.
WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 11.10 and 99.3, WBT.
