After Decarlos Brown Jr. was arrested for the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee aboard a North Carolina commuter train, he was quickly sent to a state mental hospital for an evaluation. It was a sharp contrast from a January misdemeanor arrest, where it took more than six months for a court to order a mental evaluation after Brown told officers that he had been given a man-made substance that controlled when he ate, talked or walked.
The Justice Department on Tuesday charged Brown, 34, with causing death on a mass transportation system last month when he allegedly killed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in what has become the latest flashpoint for the White House’s efforts to paint Democratic-led cities as havens for violent criminals.
The January arrest was just one of the missed opportunities in Brown’s criminal history, according to experts. He had cycled through the criminal justice system for more than a decade, according to court records.
“I think there are multiple failed opportunities here, in the mental health space and in the criminal justice space,” said Kenneth Corey, a former department chief for the New York City Police Department who now teaches at the University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Policing Leadership Academy.
Court records also show Brown was initially charged in 2014 with being a felon in possession of a firearm, which is sometimes used by federal prosecutors to pull cases into the federal system where there are often stiffer penalties. Federal prosecutors did not take the case at the time, and the state charge was dropped in exchange for a guilty plea on a charge of robbery using a deadly weapon, North Carolina court records show.
The Justice Department filing Tuesday was Brown’s first charge in federal court, according to a search of federal records.
Brown also is now charged with first-degree murder in state court, where records show he was sent a week after his arrest to a state mental hospital for an evaluation to determine his capacity to proceed with trial. Both the federal charge and the state charge could carry the death penalty.
Calls to the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office were not answered Wednesday.
Video released Friday shows Zarutska entering a light-rail train on Aug. 22 and taking a seat in front of Brown. Minutes later, without any apparent interaction, he pulls out a pocketknife, stands and slashes her in the neck, investigators said.
Corey said many federal prosecutors offices tell police and local officials they lack financial resources to try more cases of felons in possession of a firearm. But he believes it could be used better as a tool to help take some of the small percentage of people responsible for repeated violent offenses off the street.
“The federal charge carries up to 10 years in prison. And we aren’t talking about using this for someone where it’s been 30 or 40 years since they were last arrested. We’re talking about for someone who is repeatedly involved in violent criminal activity,” Corey said.
“They prosecute some of these cases, but it’s a ridiculously small percentage. They end up taking only the worst of the worst because they don’t have the resources. And to be clear, despite multiple previous arrests, I’m not sure this man’s case rose to anywhere near that threshold.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly blamed Democrats for what they say is out-of-control crime and violence in blue cities. The White House has highlighted Brown’s case and Trump has repeatedly referred to the killing, saying in one social media post: “Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP.”
