Suspect denied bond in shooting death of CATS bus driver in Uptown Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — A judge denied bond Thursday for a man accused of shooting and killing a CATS bus driver on Feb. 11 in Uptown Charlotte.

Darian Thavychith has been held without bond here at the Mecklenburg County Jail since he was arrested for the shooting death of Ethan Rivera.

Rivera’s mother and fiancé pleaded to the judge to keep Thavychith behind bars and not give him a bond.

The judge agreed to keep the murder suspect locked up.

More than two dozen of Thavychith’s family were at the courthouse to try and change that outcome.

Thavychith’s family was disappointed in the decision.

A family spokesperson urged the community to keep an open mind about the case.

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“Darian is a great young man who has done a lot of work in the community,” said Tai Little, community activist. “So again, we apologize for any hurt, any pain but again, we don’t know what happened that night. We cannot speak to what happened and all we ask for is a fair time in the future.”

Thursday was the first time the family has spoken with Channel 9 about the crime.

“I’ve been asked to just make it very clear that we understand the grief and the pain of everybody involved, the family and all impacted people,” Little said. “And we are sorry for your loss. The only thing we can ask for moving forward is a fair and just day in court.”

Little said that Thavychith volunteered with her at the Southeast Asian Coalition.

“He has helped us out through time for youth program work, for community food drives and citizens fairs as well,” Little said.

Police said that Thavychith and Rivera got into an argument that night and the 22-year-old fired a shot into Rivera’s bus.

The family didn’t address that narrative but clearly, they believe Thavychith.

“Is the family mentally prepared for the possibility that he may go away for a very, very long time?” Little said. “We stand firm in the fact that Darian has not yet been convicted and until that day happens, we believe in innocence and his right to return. However, we are surrounded by love and a great family and community support.”

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