© 2024 WFAE
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An in-depth look at our region's emerging economic, social, political and cultural identity.

Angelo Smith Arrives In Charlotte, Held By CMPD

Angelo Grayson Smith Jr., the boyfriend of missing teacher Bianca Tanner and the last one to see her before she disappeared, arrived at Charlotte-Mecklenburg police headquarters early Tuesday and was questioned by detectives, authorities say.

Smith will be taken to the Mecklenburg County Jail, charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to police.

Smith arrived in Charlotte overnight after waiving an extradition hearing in Illinois. He was captured in the Chicago area last Thursday, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Smith spent the weekend in the Cook County Jail and had an extradition hearing Monday morning.

An extradition hearing is held when a person wanted for a crime in one state is arrested in another. A judge can rule that a suspect be returned to the state where the alleged crime was committed, or the person can waive an extradition hearing and go voluntarily.

Smith’s attorney, Kenneth Snow, told reporters that Smith was not on the run but was in Chicago because he had received threats.

No one has been arrested or charged in connection with Tanner’s disappearance. Smith has not been named a suspect. The case has been deemed a homicide by police.

Smith was the last person to see Tanner, who moved to Charlotte from Greensboro last month, looking to be in a bigger city. She had a lead on a job with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ Project LIFT, which seeks to improve educational opportunities for students at West Charlotte High and its eight feeder schools.

Smith told police that Tanner walked out of their apartment just north of uptown after an argument on June 7. Two days later, police searched the apartment for evidence that Tanner had been assaulted by Smith.

Police obtained the search warrant after interviewing Tanner’s 3-year-old son. The boy told investigators Smith had struck Tanner with a belt and “hurt Mommy in the face.”

“Mommy got a spanking with the belt,” the search warrant quotes the child as saying. “Angelo kicked Mommy’s butt and made her cry. … Angelo is mean to Mommy.”

Staff writer Steve Lyttle and staff researcher Maria David contributed.

CharlotteObserver.com