Overview
- Hours after his release on a $10,000 bond, investigators say 29-year-old David Simpson allegedly shot two men outside an east Charlotte apartment complex on July 29, leaving one dead and another seriously injured.
- Police and court documents cite surveillance video that appears to show Simpson return with a weighted black bag shortly before two gunshots are heard and officers recovered two spent 7.62-caliber rifle casings at the scene.
- Simpson 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, and a judge has ordered him held without bond; his girlfriend, Shakema Scott, faces an accessory-after-the-fact charge.
- Court records show Simpson pleaded to voluntary manslaughter in a 2015 case, served about five years, was paroled in 2020, and has since faced multiple arrests including weapons-related charges and pending counts earlier in 2026.
- Local defense attorneys and former officials are questioning why Simpson was released, prosecutors are reviewing the evidence ahead of an Aug. 21 hearing, and the case may prompt changes to how judges and prosecutors set bond for repeat violent offenders.