After Release, He Allegedly Killed Within 90 Minutes

A Charlotte man who allegedly opened fire over a long-simmering parking dispute is accused of doing so less than two hours after bonding out of jail on an unrelated case. Police say 29-year-old David Simpson left the Mecklenburg County lockup around 12:20am Wednesday; by about 1:45am, a shooting outside an east Charlotte apartment complex had left one person dead and another wounded, WCNC reports. He has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, and possession of a firearm by a felon, reports WBTV.

An affidavit says the violence followed long-running arguments over a specific parking spot, including two 911 calls earlier that night after the victims were confronted over parking in the spot. Surveillance video allegedly shows Simpson retrieving what appeared to be a heavy black bag before shots were fired and 7.62-caliber rifle casings were found. Simpson is now being held without bond; his girlfriend, Shakema Scott, is charged as an accessory. Records show that he was charged with first-degree murder in a 2013 shooting. He ended up pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was released on parole in 2020.

Records show that Simpson was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon multiple times after his release in 2020. He had a pending case from 2025 involving that charge plus resisting a public officer and misdemeanor larceny. Before he posted bond and was released early Wednesday, he was arrested for failing to appear in court on a 2024 charge of possession of a weapon by a prisoner. Defense attorney Tim Cannady, who isn't involved in the case, tells WCNC that the DA's office could have asked a judge to revoke Simpson's bond in other cases after he picked up new weapons charges.

• "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," former Charlotte City Council member Tariq Bokhari tells WBTV. "It feels like Groundhog Day, to be quite honest."