CHARLOTTE — Police have not said what sparked the violence between two men in northeast Charlotte Saturday night.
It ended with 38-year-old John Perry getting stabbed to death.
“This neighborhood is very quiet, so to witness this with my own eyes, it’s kind of a lot,” said a neighbor who didn’t want her face shown. “I think I’m still in disbelief.”
She says she walked up on the scene and that the suspect begged for her help.
“He was, like, bawling crying,” she said. “As soon as I came out the door he was already distraught.”
Police arrested 31-year-old Baron Crawford. Court records show he lives in the area police responded to Saturday.
Perry was visiting him.
“When my neighbor was on the phone with the police telling me, like, I wanted to leave,” the neighbor said. “He wouldn’t leave, so I armed myself with a knife.”
She tells us the suspect tried to give medical aid to the man he had allegedly just stabbed. She says he called 911 and was asking what he could do to help the victim, adding he’s not a cold-blooded killer.
“He was like begging me, ‘Please help me, please help me,’ and he was on the phone with the 911 operator.”
Crawford has been charged with first-degree murder. He’s currently in jail under no bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
