Teen was killed by man out of prison for assault with deadly weapon, CMPD says

Union County high school student Joseph Samuel was killed by a man who previously served time in prison for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, Charlotte investigators say.

Taquawn Lewis, 28, is now charged with first degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, Charlotte-Mecklenburg jail records show.

Sixteen-year-old Samuel was pistol whipped and fatally shot around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, near the intersection of Tom Hunter Road and North Tryon Street in North Charlotte, police say.

A witness met officers at the scene and reported he was standing with Samuel when someone approached on foot and pulled a rifle out of a book bag, officials said.

“The victim advised hearing a gunshot and watching the suspect flee on foot away from the scene,” a warrant reports. “Video footage was located at a neighboring business corroborating this statement.”

Details of a motive have not been released, but the shooting was done with “malice aforethought,” court documents say.

Samuel was a student at Sun Valley High School near Monroe, the Union County Public Schools reports.

A fundraising campaign for funeral expenses describes the teen as “a bright and kind-hearted young man who was full of life and one of the sweetest you would ever meet.”

Investigators say they identified a suspect with the help of surveillance video and police arrest records.

Lewis was 21 when he pleaded guilty in 2019 to felony of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill-inflicting serious injury, court records show. He was sentenced to between 73 and 100 months in prison, investigators say.

Lewis lives in west Charlotte, but was arrested May 21 in Bostic, North Carolina, with assistance from the Rutherfordton County Sheriff’s Office, CMPD said. Bostic is about a 65-mile drive west from uptown Charlotte.

This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Teen was killed by man out of prison for assault with deadly weapon, CMPD says."