Gang suspects in Fort Mill shooting released in Charlotte before York County arrests

Two alleged Bloods gang member suspected in a September shooting near Fort Mill were released on bond from a Charlotte jail before York County deputies could arrest them, according to York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson and court records.

The release by a Charlotte judge infuriated Tolson. He said his detectives now must find the suspects in order to arrest them.

“These are not Boy and Girl Scouts,” Tolson said. “They need to be incarcerated for the public safety of our society.”

Police in York County have to find both suspects or wait for them to turn themselves in to police in South Carolina, Tolson said.

The release did not involve any errors by Charlotte law enforcement, prosecutors or the Charlotte jail, Tolson said. The problem is simply that a judge in North Carolina granted bond before South Carolina could serve the warrants, Tolson said..

The issue lies in the state line.

York County police do not have the authority to make arrests in North Carolina. York County police and prosecutors had attempted to force the extradition of both suspects, but the process hadn’t had time to work its way through the legal systems in both Carolinas before both were released on bond.

Ten people, whom police say are affiliated with the Bloods gang, were charged after the Sept. 19 York County incident, next to apartments on U.S. 21 at the intersection of Gold Hill Road.

Only two suspects were caught in York County the day of the incident. The rest were taken into custody in Charlotte in the days after the crime.

Andrae Smith, 18, of Charlotte, is charged by York County deputies with two counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in the shooting of Isaiah Kersey and Makayla Moyker, according to arrest warrants and police records. Smith was arrested in Charlotte Sept. 21 on a charge of being a fugitive from South Carolina, then was released on $100,000 bond Oct. 4, Charlotte jail records show.

Smith is due in court in North Carolina on Oct. 25 in the fugitive case, court records show.

The other man released in Charlotte, whom police in York County are seeking, is Isaiah Kersey. He was shot in the face during the incident. Kersey, 18, of Charlotte, is charged by York County deputies with two counts of unlawful carrying of a weapon and two counts of possession of a stolen pistol.

Kersey was taken into custody Sept. 20 in Charlotte on a charge of being a fugitive from South Carolina. He was given a $200,000 unsecured bond on Oct. 6, Charlotte jail records show.

Kersey is due in court again in North Carolina on Thursday in the fugitive case, court documents show.

Kersey and Smith had a right to a bond hearing and a judge had the authority to set a bond, North Carolina court officials said.

“Bond amounts are set in the discretion of a judge,” said Meghan McDonald, a spokesperson for the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s office. “Unless a defendant is charged with first-degree murder, a judge may set a bond amount. If a defendant posts bail, he or she must be released.”

Police and prosecutors applied for a governor’s warrant to force extradition of both suspects on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, said York County Sheriff’s Office Det. Joey Wallace, the lead investigator in the Fort Mill case. However, that warrant takes at least three weeks to complete. Both Kersey and Smith were released before the warrant was issued, Wallace said.

Tolson said a deputy was driving by at the time of the Sept. 19 shooting and the patrol car was hit by a bullet.

“That’s how close it was to an officer being hurt,” Tolson said. “This happened in public, near where families live. The public was in danger by this shooting. This is violence that cannot be tolerated.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2018 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Gang suspects in Fort Mill shooting released in Charlotte before York County arrests."