Man Charged In Stabbing, Crash That Set House On Fire

CHARLOTTE, NC — A 26-year-old man was charged Thursday after police said he was an occupant of a car linked to a pre-dawn stabbing at a Charlotte gas station earlier this week. The suspect was one of two taken into custody when the vehicle he was in fled police and crashed into a car and utility pole, sparking a house fire.

According to a police report, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers responded to an emergency call at a Shell Station located in the 1100 block of Sugar Creek Road around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning and found a man who had been stabbed in the parking lot. The victim was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, CMPD said.

A witness on the scene told responding officers that the suspects involved in the stabbing fled the gas station in a white Nissan sedan. Minutes later, a CMPD officer located on Eastway Drive spotted a white Nissan Altima and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

SEE ALSO: Fleeing Stabbing Suspects Hit Power Pole, Start House Fire

"The Altima refused to stop and the officer did not pursue the vehicle as it was not clear at that time if the occupants were in fact the suspects who had stabbed the victim at the Shell Station," a CMPD report said.

At 4:15 a.m., the Altima crashed into a parked car and a power pole in the 2700 block of Eastway Drive, sparking a fire at a nearby house a few minutes later, police said.

Nearly two dozen Charlotte firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the fire in 10 minutes, according to fire officials. While no one inside the home was injured, the power surge that caused the electrical fire in the attic caused an estimated $10,000 loss and displaced two adults and a child.

Santaurus Neely, 26, was identified by CMPD as one of the two suspects inside the car transported to an area hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Neely was released from the hospital Wednesday, and was taken to CMPD headquarters for questioning. Following the interview with detectives, he was take to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and charged with attempted common law robbery, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and assault on a female.

CMPD asks that anyone with information about this incident call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a homicide unit detective or call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)