CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte teenager is charged with four murders -- including one at a motel in Matthews and three at a home in north Charlotte -- in what appears to have been a sudden burst of violence fueled by the drug trade.
Police in Charlotte and Matthews announced Wednesday morning that they had charged Emmanuel Rangel, 19, with the murders that spanned three nights. Among his alleged victims is a young Charlotte model who had been a contestant on the reality show, "America's Next Top Model."
IMAGES: 3 dead in homicide not a random act, police say
Police said Mirjana Puhar, 19, was among three people found dead in the home on Norris Avenue Tuesday night. Jonathan Alvarado, 23, and Jusmar Gonzaga-Garcia, 21, were also found in that house which is off of North Graham Street. Police said all three had been shot.
Police in Matthews have charged Rangel with a murder there early Sunday morning. Officers responding to a call of shots fired at the Microtel Hotel on Independence Boulevard found two people shot in a car.
Rosool Jaleel Harrell, 22, was dead and the second victim had life-threatening injuries but did survive. Matthews Police have also charged two other suspects in that murder -- Edward Sanchez, 19 and Emily Isaacs, 18 -- were arrested early Wednesday after a traffic stop in Houston Texas.
Matthews authorities investigate weekend homicide at hotel parking lot
Police said drugs were involved in the shootings and that the victims and suspects knew each other.
Rangel is in the Mecklenburg County Jail and is expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday.
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