CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Republicans are calling for the ouster of Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, accusing her of endangering the public by releasing a repeat offender who is now charged with murdering a young Ukrainian refugee on Charlotte’s light rail system.
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In a joint letter, all ten Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation urged the North Carolina Judicial Branch to fire Stokes, saying her decision to release DeCarlos Brown Jr. on a written promise to appear in court amounted to a “willful failure” of judicial duty.
Today, I led a letter calling for the removal of Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes, who released a 14-time offender who went on to murder Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte.
This tragedy was preventable. There must be accountability. North Carolinians deserve better. pic.twitter.com/yqEGa873KJ
— Congressman Tim Moore (@RepTimMooreNC) September 9, 2025
Brown, 34, was arrested in January for misusing the 911 system. Despite a record of 14 prior arrests, including convictions for armed robbery, felony larceny, and threatening behavior, Stokes authorized his release without bond. Months later, police say Brown fatally stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a refugee from Ukraine, as she rode the Lynx Blue Line near Charlotte’s South End.
“This tragedy was preventable,” the lawmakers wrote. “By freeing a violent repeat offender, Magistrate Stokes undermined public trust in the courts and exposed our community to needless danger.”
National figures quickly weighed in. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Charlotte had “failed” Zarutska by not keeping Brown behind bars. Florida Rep. Randy Fine announced plans to introduce legislation holding judges accountable when offenders they release commit violent crimes. Billionaire Elon Musk went further, calling on the public to “name and shame” judges and prosecutors who, in his view, enable repeat offenders.
Legal experts remain divided. Former prosecutor Matthew Mangino said judges must weigh both public safety and a defendant’s mental health needs, noting Brown’s schizophrenia diagnosis. Attorney Bradley Moss countered that Stokes acted within the law, as she could not detain someone indefinitely over a low-level charge like 911 misuse.
Brown is currently being held without bond at the Mecklenburg County Jail. A judge has ordered a competency evaluation, and his next court hearing is set for September 19.
Throw out Alvin Bragg and Letitia James from New York while you’re at it.
Execute the murderer
The judge with no law degree
She learnt its illegal to profile
Send judge ( not aaron judge) to siberia
what was a white girl doing on a black train?? her fellow riders just sat there doing nuthin
This Murderer should get the Death Penalty Immediately!
Putting aside the fact that she failed the bar exam 4 times, shouldn’t just plain simple common sense have told her that releasing someone like that DeCarlos Brown, given his lengthy rap sheet, would put the public in danger, and that he should never be allowed to breathe free air ever again!? I don’t have a law degree, but I do have enough common sense to know that it is very unwise to allow someone like him to ever be free again.
FIRED? Teresa Stokes should be in jail!!!!