More teen suspects identified in conspiracy that killed a 4-year-old, CMPD says
The teen conspiracy that ended with a 4-year-old boy fatally shot as he slept has grown by two more suspects, both of them just 17, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
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Khamari Gregory Jeffries and Rodney Sowell Jr. have been arrested and charged with murder and conspiracy in connection with the killing of 4-year-old Caleb Flax, CMPD said in an Oct. 26 update.
The boy died around 3 a.m. on Sept. 20, when two groups of teens drove to the 900 block of Grassy Patch Lane and indiscriminately fired dozens of rounds into homes, police say. A woman in another of the homes was wounded, court records say.
Caleb was not an intended target, officials say.
“He was laying beside me when it happened and I tried to cover his body, but I guess he had already got hit,” Caleb’s mother, Bryanna Flax told WCCB. “It broke my heart. I’m just, I’m just numb right now.”
An investigation has revealed the accused shooters were attending a party at an Airbnb when they decided to retaliate for a similar shooting that occurred Sept. 19 on Silver Birch Drive in Charlotte, CMPD said. One of the suspects lives on Silver Birch Drive, court records show.
Seven teens left the party in two stolen vehicles (a Mercedes-Benz and an Infiniti) and drove seven miles to Grassy Patch Lane, police say. All were armed, and they stood outside the vehicles and fired “at least 84 shots” into four homes and three unoccupied parked vehicles, officials said.
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When it was over, the teens “dumped” the stolen cars and returned to the party, an affidavit reports.
In addition to Khamari Gregory Jeffries and Rodney Sowell Jr., the suspects include:
All are charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit a felony, and multiple counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling, CMPD says.
Terrance Jackson, 22, of Charlotte has been charged with being an accessory after the fact in the case, police say.
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