Republicans Call for Magistrate Judge’s Removal as Outrage Intensifies over Charlotte Train Stabbing

North Carolina Republicans are demanding the removal of Mecklenburg County Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes after she presided over DeCarlos Brown Jr.’s January release despite his well-documented history of mental illness and criminal, violent behavior.

Stokes’s decision to release Brown was made only months before the heinous stabbing of Iryna Zarutska. Stokes is facing immense backlash online and from North Carolina Republicans for her part in releasing Brown back in January, after he was charged with misuse of 911. The charge stemmed from an incident at a local hospital in which Brown was behaving erratically and bystanders called the police. When officers arrived, Brown informed them that a “man-made substance” was controlling his body from within. Unhappy with the officers’ response, Brown called 911 and promptly hung up, resulting in the misuse of 911 charge.

But the behavior that led to that January arrest wasn’t all Stokes had to go on: Before Brown was caught in a now viral video fatally stabbing the 23-year-old Ukrainian immigrant in the neck, he had been arrested 33 times and criminally charged on 14 of those occasions, according to court records reviewed by National Review. Brown’s rap sheet begins in 2011 and includes several serious offenses, such as robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, and felony larceny, alongside a slew of lesser misdemeanors.

Stokes, however, released Brown on the condition that he sign a written promise that he would return to appear in court.

The entire North Carolina Republican congressional delegation signed a letter Tuesday, addressed to Chief District Court Judge Roy Wiggins, calling specifically for Stokes’s removal. Wiggins has the authority to initiate formal removal proceedings.

Wiggins responded to the congressional delegation in a letter Wednesday, emailed to National Review after a request for comment.

“In response to this crime, I am reviewing our local bond policy and evaluating all aspects to ensure that the procedures were properly followed,” Wiggins wrote. “Furthermore, I, along with other leaders in our system, intend to continue to educate our magistrates on the impact of their decisions regarding pretrial conditions of release as set out in NCGS 15A-535.”

Wiggins said his office is reviewing the situation, and because it is a matter of personnel, details remain confidential.

“North Carolina’s justice system failed Iryna Zarutska. She came to Charlotte looking for safety and a better life, but instead, she was brutally murdered by a repeat offender who never should’ve been let back on the streets,” Representative Tim Moore (R., N.C.), said in a statement. “Judge Stokes had the chance to protect the public and chose not to. It’s clear that she’s unfit to hold this consequential position and should be removed from the bench immediately.”

Brown’s lengthy criminal history is accompanied by a well-documented record of mental illness, which Stokes also would have been aware of when she released him.

After her son committed the stabbing, Brown’s own mother blamed the justice system for failing to contain him, describing her struggle to have him committed in an interview with a local news outlet. When her son was released from prison in 2020 after serving a six-year sentence for armed robbery, he came home to live with her. When his behavior became violent and erratic, she requested that Brown be evaluated. After two weeks of psychiatric monitoring, in which Brown was diagnosed with schizophrenia, his mother sought out an involuntary commitment order — meaning Brown was sent to a psychiatric facility against his will.

But under North Carolina law, mentally ill or drug addicted individuals can only be held against their will for a maximum of ten days without appearing before a judge. It’s unclear whether Brown appeared before a judge before he was released. Following his stay, Brown’s mother told WSOC-TV that he continued to display extreme behavior, so she kicked him out. He has been homeless since.

“Brown’s mom says the court should have never let her son be out in the community knowing he had mental health issues and previous arrests,” Joe Bruno of WSOC-TV wrote.

The same paranoid delusion described by the officers who confronted brown at the hospital in January appears to have contributed to the stabbing. In a recently released audio recording, Brown tells a police officer that there was “material used in my body to stab the lady.” Brown insists, “you know, that’s not me,” and adds, “since they did that, now they gotta investigate the material my body was exposed to.”

Magistrate judges in North Carolina, like many states, are not required to be attorneys to be nominated for the position. In North Carolina, for example, at a minimum a magistrate is required to have a two-year associate degree with four years of related work experience. Stokes’s name does not appear in a database of registered North Carolina lawyers, which suggests she never passed the state bar exam.

North Carolina Republicans said in their press conference Wednesday that reforming qualifications for magistrate judges in the state is not out of the picture following the attack. Brown has also been charged federally for committing a terrorist attack on a mass transit system.

“What the Democrats call restorative justice looks like Iryna Zarutska’s murder. Iryna Zarutska died because of the Democrat policies in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, woke politicians that perpetuate cashless bail and refuse to prioritize public safety over appearances,” Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby said at Wednesday’s press conference.

Brown’s next court date is currently set for September 19.