CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A bail bondsman is in the hospital recovering after a shooting Monday in Charlotte's Steele Creek neighborhood.
Two people were taken into custody after the shooting between the bondsmen and the suspect occurred around 5 p.m. on Superior Street near Walker Branch Road.
A bondsman, who has not been publically identified, was attempting to serve outstanding warrants on a suspect when the person began shooting at them, according to police. The bondsman returned fire toward the suspect.
Upon arrival, officers found both the bondsman and the suspect, later identified as Jalen Johnson, suffering from gunshot wounds.
Johnson was charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill or Inflict Serious Injury, Attempted Murder, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and two counts of Shooting into an Occupied Dwelling.
A second person, identified by police as Chance Logan, was also arrested and is charged with Carrying a Concealed Weapon and Simple Assault.
A neighbor's ring camera caught it all on video.
During the course of the shootout, multiple nearby homes were hit by gunfire. An adult bystander was grazed by a bullet. The bystander was not transported to a hospital.
Tim Murphy told WCNC Charlotte's Richard Devayne it was his wife who was grazed by the bullet. She was sitting in the front room of their house talking with family when it happened. He said she is physically okay but the entire family is traumatized.
"I got a two-year-old baby in the home it was just a very, very, very traumatic situation trying to figure out what’s going on," he said.
Murphy said it was very unusual for the neighborhood.
CMPD said nobody else suffered any injuries. Police are working to learn which of the people involved shot the homes.
What is a bail bondsman
The incident is raising a lot of questions about bail bondsmen.
A bail bond company will put up the money to get someone out of jail, but it then becomes their responsibility to make sure that person appears in court.
“We’re dealing with criminals. We’re dealing with people that don’t obey the laws,” Donna Jowers, the owner of In N Out Bail Bonds said. Her company was not involved in this case.
It’s still not clear what company employed the bondsmen or why Johnson had outstanding warrants.
“We don’t need a warrant. If we see them go into a house or into a building, we have the right to go an apprehend that person,” Jowers said.
Bail bonds must be licensed with the state. Jowers said there’s even more training involved for those who go out to physically apprehend suspects, and the job comes with inherent dangers.
“You need real training gun training law enforcement training because we run into these situations all the time,” she said.
Anyone with any information on this shooting is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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