Charlotte bus stabbing black suspect arrested 15 times in 3 years, freed weeks before attack

FIRST ON FOX: The man charged in a Charlotte bus stabbing last week was
in and out of jail twice this year — most recently freed on bond in
October — before allegedly knifing another man in the chest during a
city bus ride, jail records show. 

James Calvin Bennett, 57, was booked into the Mecklenburg County Jail
twice this year before his latest arrest on Nov. 7 on charges of
attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and indecent
exposure. 

The victim, identified as Jose "Frenchie" Mulongo, nearly died from
multiple stab wounds, including one just to the left of his heart,
according to a police affidavit. 

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The bus driver recognized Bennett as a homeless man who frequented
shelters along her route and told police he stalked Mulongo up and down
the bus before allegedly stabbing him — a claim detectives said was
corroborated by surveillance video. 

Other witnesses said they heard an argument and saw Mulongo trying to
get away before the attack. 

Another passenger told police he saw Bennett with an open container of
alcohol and a large kitchen knife with a black blade. 

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CITY: REPORT 

After the stabbing, at least one bystander intervened and separated the
victim from his attacker. Bennett allegedly fled on foot, but police
caught him hours later wearing the same bloody clothes, according to
court documents. 

"Bennett has a lengthy criminal history to include being charged with
assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury with intent to
kill [and] inflicting serious injury," a detective wrote in the
affidavit. "He pled guilty to a lesser offense, assault with a deadly
weapon inflicting serious injury." 

Upon his arrest, Bennett invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain
silent, according to the affidavit, but then allegedly told the
detective, "You've got to have a knife if you can keep me here, you got
to have one." 

SEE IT: VIDEO SHOWS CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING SUSPECT BEFORE ATTACK AND
MINUTES BEFORE ARREST 

About 20 minutes later, the detective overheard him sobbing.

After his arrest in the stabbing case, a detective recognized him from
an incident four days earlier in which a woman reported a man
masturbating while staring at her on another bus. 

Bennett was charged with larceny in May and released a day later on
$5,000 bond. 

BLUE CITY CRIME CRISIS: REPEAT OFFENDER STRIKES AGAIN AFTER CHARLOTTE
TRAIN MURDER 

In September, police picked him up again on charges of robbery, domestic
violence and making threats. He posted $25,000 bond and was released on
Oct. 21. 

A deeper examination of court records found 15 cases against him in the
Mecklenburg, Robeson and Wake District Courts going back to 2022. 

He is now being held without bail on the attempted murder charge.

The city has faced intense scrutiny over low bail for repeat offenders
in the wake of another public transit stabbing, the August murder of
Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old pizzeria worker stabbed in the neck from
behind on a commuter train. 

On Aug. 22, a mentally ill suspect with a history of more than a dozen
prior charges named Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, allegedly killed Zarutska in
an unprovoked attack caught on video. 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/charlotte-bus-stabbing-suspect-arrested-15-tim
es-3-years-freed-weeks-before-attack