A look at the Charlotte light rail stabbing suspect’s criminal history

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The light rail stabbing is gaining national attention, leading many people to ask questions about Decarlos Brown’s criminal history.

Brown, now charged in the deadly stabbing on the Blue Line train on August 22, was free that night on a written promise to appear in a nonviolent misdemeanor case involving misuse of 911.

Officers arrested Brown in January after he told them someone gave him a man-made material that controlled when he ate, walked, and talked. Court documents show he got upset with officers when they said they couldn’t help him. In July, a judge in that case ordered a psych evaluation, which had not happened by August 22.

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Brown’s criminal record shows three misdemeanors between 2007 and 2009 for simple assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting a public officer. He’s served time for two violent felonies.

In 2014, Brown was convicted of felony breaking and entering, and he served 30 days in jail followed by 24 months of supervised probation. While on probation, he was convicted of assaulting and stealing from a man using a handgun. Brown served a little more than five years in state prison, got out in September of 2020, and was on parole for one year.

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Fast forward to now, Brown is being held in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center, charged with murder while awaiting transfer to Central Regional Hospital, a state-run psychiatric facility where experts will evaluate his mental capacity.

A spokesperson with the sheriff’s office told Queen City News she doesn’t know when he’ll be moved there.