2 men accused of stealing firearms from gun shop; tied to previous murder

CHARLOTTE — Two men who were arrested for breaking into a south Charlotte gun shop and taking off with 20 firearms were once tied to a homicide in 2023.

Cori Meadows and Reginald Moses were two of five suspects arrested after officers say someone drove a stolen car into the door of Carolina Sporting Arms on South Boulevard on Feb. 20.

At the time, employees at the gun shop told Channel 9′s Evan Donovan the alleged thieves got away with 20 firearms.

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CMPD said after the break in, officers followed the driver in a short police chase that ended when four people jumped out and ran away. Authorities caught up with them and arrested them, three of whom were juveniles.

Detectives then worked with Concord police who pulled over another vehicle in Cabarrus County, arresting three suspects.

Channel 9 has learned two of those suspects were Cori Meadows and Reginald Moses. They were booked in the Cabarrus County jail.

Court records obtained by Channel 9 confirm both Moses and Meadows were once charged with the murder and attempted robbery of Savion Lockhart, 17, in Charlotte in 2023.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Simpson told Channel 9′s crime reporter Hunter Sáenz Thursday after telling him about the connection.

“They’re a menace to society,” Simpson added.

Earlier this year, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges against Moses and Meadows, citing insufficient evidence.

In the prosecutor’s voluntary dismissal motion, he gave a narrative of what allegedly took place, describing a shootout in 2023 in which Lockhart died.

However, with no overwhelming evidence, the prosecutor noted, “the available evidence does not indicate which individuals were entitled to self-defense, and which individuals were not and the State cannot disprove self-defense beyond reasonable.”

Simpson believes it’s a failure of the justice system knowing they both are now arrested again in the burglary case at the gun shop.

“I don’t understand why judges and prosecutors don’t prosecute people to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. “They need to do their jobs.”

CMPD said eight of the 20 stolen guns were seized in their investigation.

Meadows, Moses and the other suspects arrested face a list of charges including possession of a stolen vehicle, breaking and entering, possession of a stolen firearm and more.

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