CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The fiancée of a man who was shot and killed by U.S. Marshals at a Plaza Midwood gas station in March is speaking out.
Frankie Jennings was shot and killed by federal agents on March 23 while they were trying to execute an arrest warrant out of Wilmington, North Carolina. None of the U.S. Marshals involved were wearing body cameras the day Jennings was killed.
Jennings' girlfriend and her attorney say that's why it's very important that surveillance video from the store be released to the public. She says she still can't sleep at night over what she saw happen outside a Citgo store on The Plaza in late March.
"I just feel like I don't have a heart no more," she said. "Like, I don't know, it's gone."
U.S. Marshals were attempting to serve a warrant on Jennings when one of the officers shot and killed the 32-year-old. A gun was recovered at the scene but detectives did not say if Jennings was holding it when he was shot.
“There was a gun recovered, but because of the position of this investigation right now, we’re not prepared to discuss the exact details on condition or location,” CMPD Captain Joel McNelly said.
The store's owner, who wasn't there at the time of the shooting, has watched the surveillance video of Jennings' last moments multiple times.
"The police parked behind his car," the man said. "When he saw them, he tried to drive. Police were blocking him and then he crashed the car."
Jennings' fiancée said he wasn't threatening anyone when they tried to arrest him and that U.S. Marshals shot him without provocation.
"He was innocent and his hands were up," she said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police is leading the investigation but Johnson's lawyer says he's yet to hear when that investigation will wrap up. The family is asking that District Attorney Spencer Merriweather conduct an unbiased and thorough investigation of the shooting.
A CMPD spokesperson told WCNC Charlotte the store surveillance video is part of the ongoing investigation and they are not releasing it at this time.
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.