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Man charged in 1991 slaying of Charlotte mother to make first court appearance

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man accused of murdering his girlfriend in 1991 will make his first court appearance Wednesday.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department charged Louis Samuels, 60, with murdering his girlfriend, Yulanda Hoey.

Channel 9 has been reporting on the case for months after Samuels was released from federal prison, where he was serving time for his conviction on federal weapons charges.

“He was always known to have weapons.  Everyone downtown was scared of him,” said Sgt. Darrell Price, with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

[PAST COVERAGE: Evidence destroyed in 1991 cold case murder, documents say]

Police said they identified Samuels as a suspect in Hoey’s slaying 28 years ago but were not able to pull together enough evidence before he was sentenced to 45 years behind bars on the federal charges.

Hoey was reported missing by her family on Feb. 3, 1991. She was found shot to death in her vehicle seven days later in the Hidden Valley neighborhood.

Police said before she was killed, Hoey told her sister that if something happened to her, she was with Samuels, her boyfriend.

[PAST COVERAGE: Son hopes justice will be served in Charlotte mother's 1991 slaying]

Channel 9 reported cold case detectives presented the case to a grand jury on Jan. 28, which indicted Samuels on a charge of first-degree murder.

Police said this is welcome news for Hoey’s sister and son, who both live in the Charlotte area.

"I know they have questions as to why it took so long. That’s always the first question we have. I know they are relieved and pleased that something has finally happened," Price said

He was released June 18, but was arrested again Tuesday by Mecklenburg County deputies.

Hoey‘s son said he is ready to let the system work and to find closure for a part of his life that will never be whole.

“That's in the past,” said Exzavier Hoey. “I'm living with my mother right here and my grandmother right here, and I'm living with my two children.”