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Police Make Arrest In East Charlotte Shooting

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

Charlotte police have arrested and charged a 19-year-old man in the shooting death of a woman at an east Charlotte apartment complex Tuesday.

Antonio Darnell Shine was taken into custody early Wednesday and is accused of being one of two people involved in the death of 36-year-old Maria Echeverria de Gomez. Police believe Tuesday's shooting stemmed from an armed robbery. The second suspect is still at large.

At a press briefing today, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said the quick arrest was thanks in large part to tips from Latino residents of the apartment complex on Barringer Drive.

"Everybody talks about, you know, blacks and Latinos trust us less," Putney said. "We see that in aggregate surveys. We haven’t had any recently, but I’ll tell you this - the witnesses, many of whom were Latino, gave us information to do what we needed to do."

Putney said the community's trust in the police department is imperative to deal with any threats of retaliation.

"I think the only way to address this fear of retaliation is to make sure these people who are committing crimes is off the streets," Putney said. "The only way to do that is to collaboratively work with your police department. All we ask is give us an opportunity. This trust worked. Our detectives worked. This is a good example."

Putney also added that the police department does not ask people for their immigration status or take people to jail for being immigrants. The Sheriff’s office is the only local entity that shares people’s immigration status with the federal government.

Nick de la Canal is an on air host and reporter covering breaking news, arts and culture, and general assignment stories. His work frequently appears on air and online. Periodically, he tweets: @nickdelacanal