Charlotte bus stabbing suspect was jailed twice, released in October

FIRST ON FOX: The man charged in a Charlotte bus stabbing last week was in and out of jail twice this year — most recently freed on bond in October — before allegedly knifing another man in the chest during a city bus ride, jail records show.

James Calvin Bennett, 57, was booked into the Mecklenburg County Jail twice this year before his latest arrest on Nov. 7 on charges of attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and indecent exposure.

The victim, identified as Jose “Frenchie” Mulongo, nearly died from multiple stab wounds, including one just to the left of his heart, according to a police affidavit.

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The bus driver recognized Bennett as a homeless man who frequented shelters along her route and told police he stalked Mulongo up and down the bus before allegedly stabbing him — a claim detectives said was corroborated by surveillance video.

Other witnesses said they heard an argument and saw Mulongo trying to get away before the attack.

Another passenger told police he saw Bennett with an open container of alcohol and a large kitchen knife with a black blade.

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After the stabbing, at least one bystander intervened and separated the victim from his attacker. Bennett allegedly fled on foot, but police caught him hours later wearing the same bloody clothes, according to court documents.

“Bennett has a lengthy criminal history to include being charged with assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury with intent to kill [and] inflicting serious injury,” a detective wrote in the affidavit. “He pled guilty to a lesser offense, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.”

Upon his arrest, Bennett invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, according to the affidavit, but then allegedly told the detective, “You’ve got to have a knife if you can keep me here, you got to have one.”

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About 20 minutes later, the detective overheard him sobbing.

After his arrest in the stabbing case, a detective recognized him from an incident four days earlier in which a woman reported a man masturbating while staring at her on another bus.

Bennett was charged with larceny in May and released a day later on $5,000 bond.

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In September, police picked him up again on charges of robbery, domestic violence and making threats. He posted $25,000 bond and was released on Oct. 21.

A deeper examination of court records found 15 cases against him in the Mecklenburg, Robeson and Wake District Courts going back to 2022.

He is now being held without bail on the attempted murder charge.

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The city has faced intense scrutiny over low bail for repeat offenders in the wake of another public transit stabbing, the August murder of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old pizzeria worker stabbed in the neck from behind on a commuter train.

On Aug. 22, a mentally ill suspect with a history of more than a dozen prior charges named Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, allegedly killed Zarutska in an unprovoked attack caught on video.