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