Teen accused of shooting off-duty officer smiled as charges read in court

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A teenager charged with shooting an off-duty police officer in Charlotte smiled while the charges against him were read in court Tuesday.

Kevin McClary, 19, faces attempted murder, robbery and a laundry list of other charges after police said he burst into the apartment of Officer Jon Dunham in the Emerald Bay apartment complex early Sunday morning. 

Neighbors in that complex said McClary was seen regularly in the area and was well known for criminal activity. 

Shirley Davis, though, was shocked to hear the latest charges.

"The things they say he has done now is very surprising," Davis said.  "He might have stolen or something but shooting a police officer and breaking and entering?  That's surprising.  Kevin?  How could Kevin do this?"

McClary wasn't the only suspect in the case who made a court appearance. 

Mauricio Salazar, 17, was teary-eyed as he appeared before a judge, who read court papers indicating police claim Salazar hid the gun McClary allegedly used in the shooting. 

Salazar's family denies he was involved, saying he was asleep at 6 a.m. when the shooting occurred and insisted Salazar had only agreed to charge a cellphone for Kevin McClary. 

"He didn't hide the gun.  What they found on him, it was the iPhone," said Belkis Salazar, the suspect's sister.

Both men remain in jail for now. 

Shirley Davis said it's a sad chapter in McClary's troubled life. 

"If he's out shooting police officers, I mean, you got to pay for the crime, you know?  I feel real sorry for him that it ended up like this," she said.

WSOC