Repeat offender freed on bail after midnight, charged with another murder before sunrise

BS BULLETIN:

Charlotte police say a repeat violent offender is now charged with murder less than two hours after being released from jail on bond, reigniting scrutiny of North Carolina’s bail system.
David Simpson, 29, was ordered held without bond Friday after prosecutors accused him of killing one man and seriously wounding another in what investigators say began as a dispute over a parking space.

RELEASED AFTER MIDNIGHT, CHARGED WITH MURDER BEFORE DAWN

A Charlotte man with a violent criminal history was back behind bars before sunrise last week—but not before police say he killed one man and nearly killed another.

According to court records and investigators, 29-year-old David Simpson walked out of the Mecklenburg County Jail at 12:20 a.m. on July 29 after posting a $10,000 bond on an unrelated charge of possession of a weapon by a prisoner.

Less than two hours later, police say he opened fire during a confrontation outside an east Charlotte apartment complex. One man died at the scene. A second victim was critically wounded after managing to stagger inside an apartment before collapsing.

Simpson is now charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and possession of a firearm by a felon. A judge has ordered him held without bond.

According to investigators, the shooting grew out of an ongoing dispute over parking at the apartment complex. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police had already responded twice that evening to arguments involving the same group.

Surveillance video cited in court documents allegedly shows Simpson standing outside with his girlfriend before going inside an apartment, returning carrying what investigators described as a weighted black bag, and running toward the victims.

Roughly ten minutes later, gunshots rang out.

Police recovered two spent 7.62-caliber rifle casings at the scene. Detectives say Simpson was later seen on video jogging back toward his apartment while handling the same bag before driving away.

The timeline has stunned even veteran defense attorneys.

“If you look at his history, it seems like this gentleman has picked up just about every year up to this point some kind of a violent crime,” Charlotte attorney Tim Cannady, who is not connected to the case, told WCNC. “So you kind of have to ask the question: Why wasn’t he already in jail?“

Court records show Simpson was originally charged with first-degree murder in a 2013 fatal shooting but later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in 2015. After serving roughly five years in prison, he was released on parole in 2020.

Since then, prosecutors say he accumulated additional arrests, including multiple charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, resisting a public officer and misdemeanor larceny.

Former Charlotte City Council member Tariq Bokhari said the latest case reflects a familiar pattern.

“We know what these top 1% of repeat offenders are going to do, and for some reason, we just don’t have the appetite to take action,” Bokhari told WBTV. “It feels like ‘Groundhog Day,’ to be quite honest.”

The case also arrives as North Carolina continues debating tougher pretrial detention rules for repeat violent offenders. In recent months, several high-profile Charlotte cases have prompted renewed questions about whether judges have sufficient authority—or are exercising it—to keep dangerous defendants behind bars while awaiting trial.

Investigators say Simpson initially refused to leave his jail cell for his first scheduled court appearance, forcing a judge to delay the hearing before ordering him into court later that day. His girlfriend, Shakema Scott, has been charged as an accessory after the fact. Simpson’s next court appearance is scheduled for August 21.