CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A tragic story is spotlighting potential gaps in the criminal justice system.
The NBC Charlotte Defenders team is uncovering the case of a convicted murderer who is now accused of killing again. Police say an innocent man, 47-year-old John Songer was hit by a stray bullet outside a local bar.
The suspect, Jamie Harris, previously spent 10 years in prison for a different murder. After his parole ended, Harris was arrested multiple times in just a few months.
However, jail records show Harris was let out on bond time and time again. During one of those times, he's accused of knocking an 80-year-old woman to the ground, leaving her bruised from head to toe.
Friends say John Songer loved supporting the local music scene, which is what he was doing when he was shot and killed outside Smokey Joe’s Cafe in December. After learning more about the suspect, Songer’s friends say the system failed him.
“He was always bringing a good vibe,” said Anthony Smith, a longtime friend of John Songer. “It's a sad, sad thing."
The suspected gunman spent ten years in prison for second-degree murder. State records show his parole ended just five months before he was accused of targeting 80-year-old Elizabeth Malcolm.
Malcolm told NBC Charlotte she was dragged to the ground when Harris grabbed her purse. Malcolm had significant bruising to her eye, after hitting her head during the incident.
“I would like for him to be stopped because I don't think this was his first rodeo,” Malcolm previously told NBC Charlotte.
Harris was stopped but not for long, according to jail records. After his arrest in September, he was released on a $5,000 bond just one day later, only to be arrested again the next month on charges of robbery and financial card theft.
Once again, he was out on bond the next day. It was yet another chance for Harris, but two months later, John Songer did not stand a chance.
“The magistrates are a big part of the problem in Mecklenburg County,” says Marcus Philemon, executive director of CharMeck Court Watch, which tracks repeat offenders in the court system.
Philemon says Harris’ case is a symptom of a bigger problem of violent offenders granted low bonds.
“As long as they make ridiculous decisions like this at the magistrate's office, Mecklenburg County citizens are in danger,” Philemon told NBC Charlotte.
NBC Charlotte reached out to two of the magistrates who set Harris’ bond, but a court spokesperson said they are not able to comment on pending cases.
“The system really failed him,” said Smith. “With all that history, he should not have been out here and able to kill my friend.”
The Mecklenburg County District Attorney is now calling for a statewide change to the justice system.
In a statement, D.A. Spencer Merriweather wrote in part, "State law remains insufficient as long as it continues to allow the possibility for our most dangerous and violent repeat offenders to buy their way out of pretrial custody."
Under current North Carolina law, defendants generally have the right to a bond, except for a first-degree murder charge.
The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office says new legislation could expand that to other crimes if the suspect is deemed to be a significant safety risk to the community.
“He'd (John Songer) still be out doing his thing,” says Smith. “No one ever had a bad word to say about him at all.”
Smith says friends will remember the man, the music scene he loved, and the life he lived.
“I'm sure on the anniversary of his death, it will be celebrated, there will be bands, there will be people celebrating his life,” Smith said.