Man accused of stabbing cab driver faked name

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The man accused of stabbing a cab driver in South Charlotte went by another name, and has a long criminal history spanning several states over the past 15 years.

Police identified the man as Brian Chandler, but working on a tip, Channel 9 has confirmed that Chandler has spent most of his life as Brian Irons.

It appears that Irons assumed the name Chandler from his wife whom he lived with in Charlotte.

Chandler was wearing an ankle bracelet, out on-bond for a domestic violence charge when police say he stabbed a cab driver on Friday.

A search of court documents for the name Brian Irons, reveals a criminal past dating back more than 15 years including two stints in federal prison.

In 1996 in Ohio, Irons pleaded guilty to charges of harassing his ex-girlfriend and sending her a "video cassette tape that contained violent threats."

Irons also pleaded guilty to breaking into her parents' home where the woman said under her pillow she found a hand-written note that said 'freak me baby' and under her covers a picture of her son with a red silk rose on top of the picture.

Irons spent less than two years in an Ohio prison and was released in late 1999.

Then, in 2003 Irons was again charged with harassment, but this time in Missouri.

There an indictment showing he made more than 600 calls from telephones in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio to his victim in Missouri.

In some of those calls, Irons said he was sending someone to kill her and that he would close her casket.

The document also quotes Iron's telling the victim, "You're (expletive) done. Get a body bag."

For that, Irons spent more than four years in prisons in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Around the time of his release in 2008, one court document reads, "He has been ordained a minister ... religiously attends services at First Baptist Church in Lake Wylie."

Irons had been living in South Carolina under supervision, which was one of the terms of his release.

It is unclear when he moved to Charlotte, but he first listed an Uptown home address when he was arrested on unrelated charges earlier this year.

WSOC