September 23, 2025 • 33 mins
Tune in here to this Tuesday's edition of Breaking With Brett Jensen!
Breaking Brett Jensen kicks the show off by talking about the vigil held for Iryna Zarutska and the powerful community response that unfolded in Charlotte’s South End. Brett shares behind-the-scenes insights from the emotional event at the East/West Boulevard light rail station, where dozens of media members and a diverse crowd gathered to honor Arena’s life. He highlights moments such as a young woman laying flowers beneath Iryna's portrait, religious leaders from multiple faiths speaking, and police ultimately closing Camden Street due to the turnout.
Later, Brett Jensen shares the powerful and emotional speech delivered by Reverend James Bowers, a city council candidate for District 3, where Iryna Zarutska tragically lost her life. Bowers passionately called on the community to reflect, unite, and stand against senseless violence. Brett also highlighted a moving proposal made by event organizer Kyle Kirby, urging the city to rename the East/West light rail station after Arina, ensuring her legacy endures
Listen here for all of this and more on Breaking With Brett Jensen.
To be the first to hear about Breaking Brett Jensen's exclusives and more follow him on X @Brett_Jensen!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Hi oh, Let's go hi oh, Let's go hu oh,
Let's go oh, Let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
News Talk eleven ten and ninety nine three WBT Brett
Jensen here with you on this beautiful Tuesday night edition
of Breaking with Brett Jensen. As we go all the
way up until seven o'clock tonight, tell phone numbers to
get in on the show seven oh four five, seven
oh eleven ten. And that is the WBT text line,
which of course is driven by Liberty Buick GMC.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
And I say this all the time.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You really should be following me on at at Brent's
Underscore Jensen for all the latest and breaking news in
and around the Charlotte area. If you follow me on
X like you really really should, then you can be
like these several other thousands that do to get the
information first and like for instance, last night at the
Arena Zaruska vigil there in South End at the light
(01:20):
in the East West Boulevard, the East Boulevard West Boulevard
light rail station. I at the end, I took a
photo and a girl, a young lady, was putting a
flower up underneath where the other flowers were underneath the
portrait of arena Zaruska, the picture of Arena Zaruska. I
took the photo, I put it out there and now
(01:40):
we're I don't know, like fifty five thousand views, sixty
thousand views, and it's not even twenty four hours yet.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
So just more information.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I talked about the man that and you're going to
hear this later on last night before the vigil started,
and I met a man who drove all the way
up from Ville and he said he.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Drove eight hours.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
And people go, oh, my gosh, it's not an eight
hour drive, and blah blah, blah blah. I get that
it's not an eight hour drive, but he did it
over two days.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
But here's the other thing. You stop, you eat.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
How many of you have ever been on a road
trip with your children, or your girlfriend or your wife
or maybe even you. And I'm talking to men real
quick right now, but maybe I'm talking to the women
about their husbands that have bladder issues, that want to
stop and use the bathroom every two and a half
three hours. Hey, here's an idea. Don't drink that two
(02:34):
gallon bottle of water or coffee. Maybe that'll help you out.
But that always want to stop and use the bathroom
or get something to eat or whatever, right stretch their legs,
even after only two and a half hours.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I would lose my mind if.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
My significant other on the way to the beach or Charleston, whatever,
literally couldn't hold it three hours. You don't pee every
three hours when you're at home, so why do you
have to do it when you're in the car.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Nonetheless, I don't mean to get off on a tangent,
but you'll hear.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
About him, the man who drove all the way up
from Jacksonville, Florida because he wanted.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
To be part of this vigil.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And I asked him, have you ever done anything like
this before? Do you drive around to visuals? And you'll
hear his answers coming up in a little bit. But
last night, you know, it was many, many, many media
members there. Well over fifteen media members were there, as
well as many organizations. You know, so some media outlets
(03:34):
had two people, some had one. But there were a
lot of people there, a lot a lot of media.
And early on I spoke to an officer CMPD and
they were they were great last night. They were everywhere
and they were just really really good last night.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
And I saw like Sean.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Fire was there as well last night, just in case
something happened or whatever. You never know, and I don't
mean like tragedy, but I mean you never know. Someone
might have a heart attack.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Like who knows.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So but I spoke, but I spoke to a CMPD
officer last night and this was about the event started
at eight, So this was about seven fifteen, seven twenty,
and I said, are you guys going to close down
Camden Street? Are like you guys going to close us off?
And he said I don't know. I honestly don't know.
(04:23):
I said, okay, he goes, we haven't been told to yet.
He said, I think it's probably going to depend on
how many people show up. Well at seven forty seven
forty five, there weren't a lot of people, and I
was thinking to myself and some of the other media
people were thinking, oh, man, like we might only get
like fifty people here for this thing. And it's been
(04:45):
well publicized, like I said, all the Associated Press sent
two people. They sent a videoographer and a photographer. The
Associated Press, like many outlets, had multiple people there. And
then about seven five people started showing up. I guess,
you know, they didn't want to get there early or
too early or whatever, because it started right at eight o'clock.
(05:07):
Right at eight o'clock is when it started. And but
by the time it started, you know, like ten years
before it started, they the police officers announced that they
were closing down Camden Street so everyone could be in
the street safely as the visual and.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
The ceremonies were going on.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
You had five different people with religious background speak and
what I mean by that are either preachers or ministers
or priests.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
You know that you had a few.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
From like Orthodox churches, and you had somebody from a
Black church, somebody from West Boulevard Ministry which is white
and black, somebody that I believe was from a white church.
Then you had like Serbian Orthodox, and then you had
a couple of people from Serbian Orthodox. Then you had
like a Greek Orthodox, yeah, Greek Orthodox speak as well,
like you had and.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Then I believe somebody from the Ukrainian Church.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Like you had a lot of people there and they all,
you know, basically gave three to four to five minutes sermons.
One of the more moving speeches is something that you'll
hear later on tonight, because I recorded the entire event
is from James Bowers, the Reverend James Bowers, and he
is running for District three, which is where the light
(06:21):
that light rail district where we had the visual last night.
That's in his district. He's running against Joy Mayo. Joy
Mayo beat Tijuana Brown and Isaac's upset about that. But
Joy Mayo beat Tijuana Brown, and so this will be
an election between James Bowers and Joy Mayo for Charlotte
(06:42):
City Council in District three. But Bowers gave a very
moving speech last night, a very moving speech last night.
A lot of people did, for instance, And you're gonna
hear bits and pieces of this coming up next in
the next segment. You're gonna hear or I took like
some highlights throughout the hour and put them together, so
you'll hear some of the highlights and some of the commentary,
(07:05):
and then later on you're gonna hear all of James
Bowers his i't wanna say it a sermon, but his speech,
I mean it was sort of a sermon, but not really. Again,
you had all these religious leaders speaking from all denominations
and colors.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I saw.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
The representatives of the Muslim community were there last night,
as well, and had it not been Russiashana, you probably
would have had members of the Jewish community, maybe a
rabbi as well.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
To speak.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
A lot of people spoke last night, and it had
nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats. I promise you
there were a lot of Democrats in that crowd last night,
or unaffiliated or people who don't care about politics. There
were a lot of them last night. A lot of
younger people were there last night, A lot of older
people were there last night.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
It was a grab bag.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
It was a mix too, because everyone had one thing
in common, to recognize what happened with Arena, and also
to try and ensure that it never ever happens again.
Of course, it's gonna happen again. There's almost nothing we
can do about it. But there are a lot of
things that you can do to try and slow it down.
For instance, having an officer on every single train. There
(08:11):
are ten trains, ten light rail trains, and each light
rail train has two cars that are separated, so you
can't walk between the two cars. So ten trains times
two cars equals twenty cars, which means all you need
is twenty law enforcement officials. And they said well, we're
(08:32):
not going to have our law enforcement officials check for tickets.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Somebody said to me last night, Brett, do you think
having security on the train would have prevented the murder?
And I said probably not, Probably not because they were
sitting in the.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Very very back of the car.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I said, but you know what would have prevented the murder,
security there checking for tickets before that person walked on
to the train. Guess what, he never would have been
on the train had someone been there checking tickets.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Said so, yes, yes, it could have been prevented.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I believe that with all my heart and all my soul,
every single bit of it. I truly believe that. But
last night's visual was supposed to last an hour. It
lasted one hour, one minute and eight seconds. I've never
seen anything with so many speakers and songs and prayers
actually get out right on time.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
It was.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
It was extremely well done. It was had nothing to
do with politics. Politics wasn't mentioned at all. Yes, the
NCGUP put it together with all these other churches, not
one mention of politics, zero point zero. That's the way
it should have been. So the mech GUP did a
really nice job. If I said NCGP, I meant mech GP.
(09:52):
The mech gup did a really nice job of putting
on all this together and had absolutely nothing to do
with politics.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Nothing.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
You had five people that are either currently in council,
city council or running for city council show up, and
you also had one Rique Hall show up who was
running for school board. That's it, No mayor, of our laws,
nobody else. Those were the members, five of them. And
when we come back, you're going to hear some of
(10:22):
the highlights that I put together from last night's visual,
and you're gonna hear a couple of people different, a
couple of people speaking, a little bit of music, a
little bit of everything. So you're gonna hear that, including
my interview with the man who drove all the way
from Jacksonville, all that when we return. Welcome back to
(10:45):
Breaking with Brett Jensen on this Tuesday night. So last
night at the vigil for Arena Zeruzka e Arena Zeruska,
I compiled a lot of the highlights and just put
a lot of things together. So I want you to
hear some of the things that were being said last night.
But first we're going to start off with my interview
from the man that drove all the way up from Jacksonville.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
So, Larry, you drove all the.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Way from Jacksonville, Florida for this event tonight?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Why is that?
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Because human life is important and she was twenty three
years old, she was just beginning her life. She's spent
I don't know how many years living in a bombshell
in Ukraine, and it's just disheartening, to say the least,
that that bombshelter was safer than a train here in Charlotte,
North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Did you leave this morning or did you leave yesterday?
I left yesterday.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
I left the ten fifteen, got here six fifteen. It
was an eight hour trip.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
So are you just in town for the night and
you'll head back to Jacksonville on Tuesday morning?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (11:46):
That is correct.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Have you done this before? You've drive around to other visuals.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
This is the first one.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
So this is the.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
First one, and you were compelled to drive eight hours
to a different state, through threes states to come to
the event tonight. What was it about this particular one
that you know made you want to drive up here.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
I'm not putting myself upon a pedestal, and I'm not
doing a friending glory or anything else. If I would
have been on that train that night, it would have
been a different story, because there's no way I could
live with myself. I just sit around and watch some
money to get stabbed. I just sit around and not
do anything. I can't. I couldn't do that even if
that means my life, then that means my life. As
long as she walks out that door on two feet,
(12:27):
that's what counts.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
And so, but this one was different for you with
you know, to make you drive eight hours. I'm just
curious what specifically was it that like stood out to you?
Was the fact that no one helped her? Was it
the fact that it was unprovoked? What was it that
stood out to you?
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Well, but you just mentioned the combination of number one.
It was it was unprovoked. You just sat in and
sat down. Imagine you go to work, you do you
do eight hours and you just get it, get on
a train. You want to come home, you're just tired,
and you just want to relapse. Instead, what happen and
you never make a home alive. Something's wrong about that?
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Is this?
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Something wrong about that? And it was totally unprovoked. Now
she would have proved. You know, if someone gets on
the trains, they start fighting. That's different. If you look
at the video. She just sat down and started texting
her boyfriend and she gets stabbed. I'm sorry. I can't
live with myself without doing something. I just can't.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Thank you for being here.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Thank you so much, sir, And I.
Speaker 6 (13:26):
Tell you it's an honor that we are out here,
not as black folk, not as white folk, not as
anything else other than American citizens who care about this.
Speaker 7 (13:34):
Country and who want to honor the life of.
Speaker 6 (13:36):
Such a beautiful young woman who died senselessly here in
our city. So with that, ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna
start our program and open up with a song. I
like to introduce Tatianathulian to give us our opening song.
Speaker 7 (13:48):
Tatiana.
Speaker 8 (14:11):
I shared with a young man today that I was
invited to attend this prayer vigil, and he asked me
what a vigil was. By definition, a vigil is a
period of keeping awake during a time that is usually
spent asleep, especially to keep watch and pray. Immediately, I
(14:34):
thought of a place in scripture that coincidentally was right
before Jesus was brutally murdered, where Jesus asked his disciples
to watch and pray, to have a vigil if you will.
The disciples kept falling asleep and Jesus would wake them
up and remind them to be watchful and to pray.
Speaker 7 (14:57):
Thank you, Pastor Rick.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
And at this time I would like to call up
to give prayers for the departed and reflections. Father Sabrinko Nakovich,
I said it right, and from Saint Simeon Serbian Orthodox
Church and Reverend Vasili Rudnitski from Church of New Hope.
Speaker 9 (15:13):
Give rest to her in the bosom of Hebrakham and
number her among the saints and have immersion. A says
good God, who loves mankind. Amen with the saints, give
rest the Lord to the soul of my departed. Canmaiden
Urina and Grand Curry turn on the.
Speaker 7 (15:31):
Me Marie, I want to say a few words in Ukrainians.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
There are Ukrainian people here g Koreans to pigmies with
Ruko Laska. Yeah yeah, the Vasa las le karand six Charlotte.
The course is vas just said Karine ulf burst stars
(16:35):
nas Sentry, Mista not of course.
Speaker 7 (16:38):
No is nas and I'm bullet.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Christian pastor means like this like trimky yes, there's Bible
starts on me bo bluesky la techto maya ros veta
serta you do yes, marmi serte and devins Pasaya to moves, pasaya,
(17:12):
postition ato, pokladaya, nagio mane miyamu liquis corn is nas
mass for Susan Christov metremam. Yeah, pro probras nadi in
(17:33):
aristos vinya nagiya vine kacho to virio mane ni.
Speaker 7 (17:41):
Vichna.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So that was highlights.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
So when we come back, you're going to hear the
really moving speech from the Reverend James Bauers again, who
is running for Charlotte City Council in District three, and
he'll be running against Joy Mayo, and that election is
in November. When we come back, all that and more,
(18:05):
welcome back to breaking with Brett Jensen going up until
seven o'clock. I guess that's about old twenty four minutes
from now. Okay, So James Bowers, a reverend running for
Charlot's City Council District three, which is where the tragedy
took place where she boarded the light rail. He gave
a stirring speech last night, and you're definitely gonna want
to hear it.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
And here it is.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
And gentlemen, before I bring up the next speaker, let's
let the Internet and everybody around the world know that
y'all all out here make some noise so the Internet
can hear the love for Tiger for Erna.
Speaker 7 (18:37):
Make some noise, y'all, so the.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Internet, y'all could do better than that. Make some noise.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (18:45):
We often hear people say say her name, So one
time for everybody, I want to hear it real loud.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
I want to hear Arena real loud.
Speaker 6 (18:52):
One two three, Amen. I'm gonna bring up our next speaker,
Minister James Bower, to give some work and reflections for
the powers.
Speaker 10 (19:02):
First, I'd like to again forward prayers and condolences to
Arena's family. I pray that they would vehemently hold on
to the plans, dreams, and hopes they believe could be
achieved in the Land of the Free and the Home
of the brave. Amen. I'm talking, of course about the
(19:27):
United States of America. Our dreams, aspirations, and hopes don't
just appear in a vacuum. They come from our deep
and long thought out plans, inspired from our experiences and
even through the experience of experiences of others, like our
parents and our nations. And because these dreams are so important,
(19:51):
we will fight it against all odds that are against us,
even if the odds ultimately will make us have to
leave our home country or even our home state. This
is one of the things that makes America unique. We
all have the same opportunity, yet nothing is promised. Today
(20:16):
we are seeing the glory of the American standard being
challenged through wrong ideologies and wrong thinking, which puts the
hopes and dreams of our families and children, oftentimes into
turmoil and chaos. And so we will not stand by anymore.
Speaker 7 (20:35):
We will fight for our city and our nation.
Speaker 10 (20:42):
Our country's long held beliefs and way of life was
fought for by revolution and war, and we fought so
that the government would be formed to be the servant
of the people and its citizens' interests, not its people
and other things becomes a servant of the government. Neighborhoods
(21:04):
today only feel safe inside their homes, but rarely do
we see neighbors outside the home because of the things
that happen like gangs, youth violence, and just not feeling
protected by our police department or our leaders. Yes, these
(21:25):
are perilous times, as the Bible has foretold. But the
Bible also tells us that the Lord has set up
a standard to guide us, to.
Speaker 11 (21:37):
Protect us, to prosper us, and as our paraphrase from
Jeremiah twenty nine to eleven, to give us a future
and a hope.
Speaker 7 (21:48):
But I believe that we have overlooked what has happened
to all of us.
Speaker 10 (21:53):
These unbelievable events with the killing of Arena and Charlie
are connected. These recent events truly applies and clarifies that
the world of good and evil are colliding and waiting
for our new leader to emerge, to speak up, to
step up, and we must take a stand. So what then,
(22:18):
do we choose good or evil? Are we going to
believe what our eyes and ears are telling us?
Speaker 7 (22:25):
Is anyone listening?
Speaker 9 (22:27):
Yes?
Speaker 10 (22:28):
Do we believe these terrible events just happened because someone
was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Are
you listening or are you afraid to say enough is enough?
Speaker 11 (22:45):
Listen carefully?
Speaker 10 (22:47):
We are truly at a reflection point to stop and
really think about these current events. Do we continue to
let these things happen? Or do we stand up and
say enough is enough? And just like our ancestors when
they said we want a better future for ourselves and
(23:07):
our children, we must fight.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
And that kind of.
Speaker 10 (23:12):
Moment and cross road has come upon us. Let us
all agree enough is enough. Let us never forget the
name of Arena Zarutzka and what happened right here in Charlotte,
even right here in our district, District three, on August
twenty second, twenty twenty five. Your decision made today with
(23:35):
a new and holy spirit, a new heart, and new
leadership will help us usher in a new, refreshing and
glorious future for Charlotte and for the world watching this
city that is shining and sitting on a hill. I
leave you with this message of love, peace, joy, and
(23:58):
hope the Bibles and Proverbs three five and six. Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not
on your own understanding in all your ways. Acknowledge Him
and He shall direct your path. God bless the families
(24:19):
of Arina Zaruska, Charlie Kirk, and all those unnamed families
that have lost the loved one to these senseless kinds
of valid of violence. God bless Charlotte, God bless the
United States South America.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
This event tonight really is the vision of somebody I'm
honored to call a friend that worked really hard to
put this together. Y'all make some noise from my good
friend Kyle Kirby with the special announcement.
Speaker 12 (24:55):
Friends, thank you for joining us this evening. This is
truly heartwarm to see this outpouring of love in Charlotte
for Arena Zaruska.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
And it is my distinct.
Speaker 12 (25:06):
Honor and pleasure to announce to the City Council of
Charlotte and to the Cat's authority, that we asked that
this station, the East West Station, be immediately and as
soon as possible renamed the Arena Zeruska Station, so so
that her memory can be with future generations of Charlotte
(25:29):
Teans and her legacy can never be forgotten.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
So those are some of the highlights from last night.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
There were a lot of them, and obviously I couldn't
fit them all in here, but I just wanted to
take some of them from here and there and just
combine them together, just to give you a sense of
what was really going on last night over.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
The course of the hour.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Okay, so when we come back, speaking of Arena Zariska,
the irena bill has been introduced in Raleigh, and Representative.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Of Tricia Cotham right here out.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Of Charlotte stood up and talked about this particular bill
and the situation. So we'll talk about that when we returned.
Getting a lot of blowback from the Democrats. Shocker, I know,
God forbid they be against crime. But hey, we'll see
what happens. So that's coming up next one re return
(26:22):
News Talk eleven ten and ninety nine three WBT Brett
Jensen here with you for a few more minutes on
this beautiful Tuesday night of Breaking with Brett Jensen. Okay,
so we talked about all the arena stuff going on
with the visual last night, but now I want to
talk to you about what transpired in Raleigh today, and
actually it even started yesterday with you had a local
(26:44):
member of the state Senate, Woodson Bradley, who represents District
forty two, which is like Matthews, mint Hill, South Park
area as well as going down towards like South Charlotte,
and you know, Piper Glenn and you know the oboretum,
that whole area.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Well, Winson Bradley.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
In the middle of the as they're getting ready to
vote on the State Senate side about the death penalty,
she got up and walked out, just like she did
the first time when they were talking about making sheriffs
cooperate with Ice and also basically trying to define what
a woman is in actual legal terms. She decided not
to vote, she took a walk. Well, she did it
again yesterday, well, earlier today, Tricia Cotham and talking about
(27:26):
the Arena Zariska bill and holding people accountable and whatnot. Well,
guess what, she got up there and spoke, and there
was some blowback because some of the people on the
Democrats side didn't like her choice of language.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
So we'll talk about that.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
But here's Tricia Cotham earlier today in the House of
Representatives up in Raleigh.
Speaker 13 (27:44):
Mister Speaker and members, I know that everyone in this
room and all who are watching today back home, are
aware of the very tragic killing of Arena in Charlotte.
As you likely know, Arena escaped a war zone and
came to Charlotte for a better life and a better future,
(28:10):
and her future was going to be bright. She loved animals, children,
the arts, her friends, her boyfriend, and her family. She
worked at a local restaurant and was looking forward to
(28:33):
getting her driver's license in October. Since she didn't have
a vehicle, she had to rely on public transportation finishing
her late night shift. One terrible night, she got on
our light rail in Charlotte after long days of work,
(29:00):
and she was tragically murdered by a deranged monster. I'm
sure she was looking forward to going home just to
get up to go.
Speaker 14 (29:16):
To work the next day, but she never made it.
Speaker 13 (29:23):
This sweet and beautiful young woman was full of potential
who already had fourteen previous convictions, including and not limited to,
armed rawbery, felony, larceny, and the list goes on. A
diagnosed schizophrenic, he was released by a magistrate without a
(29:49):
secured bond, and the magistrate ignored all the very obvious
red flags.
Speaker 14 (29:59):
In his erratic behavior.
Speaker 13 (30:02):
Just recently before this event that the police brought forward,
he joined the city streets of Charlotte with nothing but
a piece of paper where he promised on his honor,
which he had none, to return back to court.
Speaker 14 (30:26):
You can guess how that turned out.
Speaker 13 (30:30):
He should have never been allowed out of the jail.
The catch and release practices for violent offenders will end today.
Speaker 14 (30:42):
With your support.
Speaker 13 (30:45):
This heineous act was preventable and is a direct result
of judicial officials being too soft on crime and allowing
too many criminals to have a revolving door that came
into our neighborhoods and into our communities. These violent offenders
(31:07):
are wreaking havoc, not just in Charlotte, but all over
our North Carolina and in everyone's district.
Speaker 14 (31:20):
From moms, from young women who are studying at UNC Charlotte,
from police officers, from business owners, and for those who
must rely on county transportation every day just to go
to work and provide for their family.
Speaker 13 (31:41):
They are distraught with what is happening in our city.
Speaker 14 (31:48):
They're scared. I'm scared. We want a state where families.
Speaker 13 (31:56):
Can grow, they can live, and they can thrive for generations.
That's what makes North Carolina great. Unfortunately, growing and surging
crime impacts all of us in our state. Irena left
(32:19):
war torn Ukraine for new opportunities to come to the
greatest country there is.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
You heard her call the man a monster. Well, a
Democrat took offense to that guy being called a monster,
and then another Republican stood up and basically shut down
that Democrat. But again, leave it to the Democrats. It's
all it's victim blaming. Whatever you want to say. It's
never anyone's fault. It's from the Viylyles playbook. The mayor
(32:51):
of Charlotte, North Carolina. So anyways, so I hope to
have Trisha on in the next day or so, so
hopefully that will work out well and we can discuss
this bill.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
At greater length.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
All right, everyone, that's going to do it for us
tonight again, Thanks for everyone joining, and I look forward
to doing this all over again tomorrow with many, many
more news and updates. My name is Brett Jensen, and
you have been listening to Breaking with Brett Jenson.
Hi oh, Let's go hi oh, Let's go hu oh,
Let's go oh, Let's go.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
News Talk eleven ten and ninety nine three WBT Brett
Jensen here with you on this beautiful Tuesday night edition
of Breaking with Brett Jensen. As we go all the
way up until seven o'clock tonight, tell phone numbers to
get in on the show seven oh four five, seven
oh eleven ten. And that is the WBT text line,
which of course is driven by Liberty Buick GMC.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
And I say this all the time.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You really should be following me on at at Brent's
Underscore Jensen for all the latest and breaking news in
and around the Charlotte area. If you follow me on
X like you really really should, then you can be
like these several other thousands that do to get the
information first and like for instance, last night at the
Arena Zaruska vigil there in South End at the light
(01:20):
in the East West Boulevard, the East Boulevard West Boulevard
light rail station. I at the end, I took a
photo and a girl, a young lady, was putting a
flower up underneath where the other flowers were underneath the
portrait of arena Zaruska, the picture of Arena Zaruska. I
took the photo, I put it out there and now
(01:40):
we're I don't know, like fifty five thousand views, sixty
thousand views, and it's not even twenty four hours yet.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
So just more information.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
I talked about the man that and you're going to
hear this later on last night before the vigil started,
and I met a man who drove all the way
up from Ville and he said he.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Drove eight hours.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
And people go, oh, my gosh, it's not an eight
hour drive, and blah blah, blah blah. I get that
it's not an eight hour drive, but he did it
over two days.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
But here's the other thing. You stop, you eat.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
How many of you have ever been on a road
trip with your children, or your girlfriend or your wife
or maybe even you. And I'm talking to men real
quick right now, but maybe I'm talking to the women
about their husbands that have bladder issues, that want to
stop and use the bathroom every two and a half
three hours. Hey, here's an idea. Don't drink that two
(02:34):
gallon bottle of water or coffee. Maybe that'll help you out.
But that always want to stop and use the bathroom
or get something to eat or whatever, right stretch their legs,
even after only two and a half hours.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I would lose my mind if.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
My significant other on the way to the beach or Charleston, whatever,
literally couldn't hold it three hours. You don't pee every
three hours when you're at home, so why do you
have to do it when you're in the car.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Nonetheless, I don't mean to get off on a tangent,
but you'll hear.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
About him, the man who drove all the way up
from Jacksonville, Florida because he wanted.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
To be part of this vigil.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And I asked him, have you ever done anything like
this before? Do you drive around to visuals? And you'll
hear his answers coming up in a little bit. But
last night, you know, it was many, many, many media
members there. Well over fifteen media members were there, as
well as many organizations. You know, so some media outlets
(03:34):
had two people, some had one. But there were a
lot of people there, a lot a lot of media.
And early on I spoke to an officer CMPD and
they were they were great last night. They were everywhere
and they were just really really good last night.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
And I saw like Sean.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Fire was there as well last night, just in case
something happened or whatever. You never know, and I don't
mean like tragedy, but I mean you never know. Someone
might have a heart attack.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Like who knows.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
So but I spoke, but I spoke to a CMPD
officer last night and this was about the event started
at eight, So this was about seven fifteen, seven twenty,
and I said, are you guys going to close down
Camden Street? Are like you guys going to close us off?
And he said I don't know. I honestly don't know.
(04:23):
I said, okay, he goes, we haven't been told to yet.
He said, I think it's probably going to depend on
how many people show up. Well at seven forty seven
forty five, there weren't a lot of people, and I
was thinking to myself and some of the other media
people were thinking, oh, man, like we might only get
like fifty people here for this thing. And it's been
(04:45):
well publicized, like I said, all the Associated Press sent
two people. They sent a videoographer and a photographer. The
Associated Press, like many outlets, had multiple people there. And
then about seven five people started showing up. I guess,
you know, they didn't want to get there early or
too early or whatever, because it started right at eight o'clock.
(05:07):
Right at eight o'clock is when it started. And but
by the time it started, you know, like ten years
before it started, they the police officers announced that they
were closing down Camden Street so everyone could be in
the street safely as the visual and.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
The ceremonies were going on.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
You had five different people with religious background speak and
what I mean by that are either preachers or ministers
or priests.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
You know that you had a few.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
From like Orthodox churches, and you had somebody from a
Black church, somebody from West Boulevard Ministry which is white
and black, somebody that I believe was from a white church.
Then you had like Serbian Orthodox, and then you had
a couple of people from Serbian Orthodox. Then you had
like a Greek Orthodox, yeah, Greek Orthodox speak as well,
like you had and.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Then I believe somebody from the Ukrainian Church.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Like you had a lot of people there and they all,
you know, basically gave three to four to five minutes sermons.
One of the more moving speeches is something that you'll
hear later on tonight, because I recorded the entire event
is from James Bowers, the Reverend James Bowers, and he
is running for District three, which is where the light
(06:21):
that light rail district where we had the visual last night.
That's in his district. He's running against Joy Mayo. Joy
Mayo beat Tijuana Brown and Isaac's upset about that. But
Joy Mayo beat Tijuana Brown, and so this will be
an election between James Bowers and Joy Mayo for Charlotte
(06:42):
City Council in District three. But Bowers gave a very
moving speech last night, a very moving speech last night.
A lot of people did, for instance, And you're gonna
hear bits and pieces of this coming up next in
the next segment. You're gonna hear or I took like
some highlights throughout the hour and put them together, so
you'll hear some of the highlights and some of the commentary,
(07:05):
and then later on you're gonna hear all of James
Bowers his i't wanna say it a sermon, but his speech,
I mean it was sort of a sermon, but not really. Again,
you had all these religious leaders speaking from all denominations
and colors.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I saw.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
The representatives of the Muslim community were there last night,
as well, and had it not been Russiashana, you probably
would have had members of the Jewish community, maybe a
rabbi as well.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
To speak.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
A lot of people spoke last night, and it had
nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats. I promise you
there were a lot of Democrats in that crowd last night,
or unaffiliated or people who don't care about politics. There
were a lot of them last night. A lot of
younger people were there last night, A lot of older
people were there last night.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
It was a grab bag.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
It was a mix too, because everyone had one thing
in common, to recognize what happened with Arena, and also
to try and ensure that it never ever happens again.
Of course, it's gonna happen again. There's almost nothing we
can do about it. But there are a lot of
things that you can do to try and slow it down.
For instance, having an officer on every single train. There
(08:11):
are ten trains, ten light rail trains, and each light
rail train has two cars that are separated, so you
can't walk between the two cars. So ten trains times
two cars equals twenty cars, which means all you need
is twenty law enforcement officials. And they said well, we're
(08:32):
not going to have our law enforcement officials check for tickets.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Why not?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Somebody said to me last night, Brett, do you think
having security on the train would have prevented the murder?
And I said probably not, Probably not because they were
sitting in the.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Very very back of the car.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I said, but you know what would have prevented the murder,
security there checking for tickets before that person walked on
to the train. Guess what, he never would have been
on the train had someone been there checking tickets.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Said so, yes, yes, it could have been prevented.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I believe that with all my heart and all my soul,
every single bit of it. I truly believe that. But
last night's visual was supposed to last an hour. It
lasted one hour, one minute and eight seconds. I've never
seen anything with so many speakers and songs and prayers
actually get out right on time.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
It was.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
It was extremely well done. It was had nothing to
do with politics. Politics wasn't mentioned at all. Yes, the
NCGUP put it together with all these other churches, not
one mention of politics, zero point zero. That's the way
it should have been. So the mech GUP did a
really nice job. If I said NCGP, I meant mech GP.
(09:52):
The mech gup did a really nice job of putting
on all this together and had absolutely nothing to do
with politics.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Nothing.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
You had five people that are either currently in council,
city council or running for city council show up, and
you also had one Rique Hall show up who was
running for school board. That's it, No mayor, of our laws,
nobody else. Those were the members, five of them. And
when we come back, you're going to hear some of
(10:22):
the highlights that I put together from last night's visual,
and you're gonna hear a couple of people different, a
couple of people speaking, a little bit of music, a
little bit of everything. So you're gonna hear that, including
my interview with the man who drove all the way
from Jacksonville, all that when we return. Welcome back to
(10:45):
Breaking with Brett Jensen on this Tuesday night. So last
night at the vigil for Arena Zeruzka e Arena Zeruska,
I compiled a lot of the highlights and just put
a lot of things together. So I want you to
hear some of the things that were being said last night.
But first we're going to start off with my interview
from the man that drove all the way up from Jacksonville.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
So, Larry, you drove all the.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Way from Jacksonville, Florida for this event tonight?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Why is that?
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Because human life is important and she was twenty three
years old, she was just beginning her life. She's spent
I don't know how many years living in a bombshell
in Ukraine, and it's just disheartening, to say the least,
that that bombshelter was safer than a train here in Charlotte,
North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Did you leave this morning or did you leave yesterday?
I left yesterday.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
I left the ten fifteen, got here six fifteen. It
was an eight hour trip.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
So are you just in town for the night and
you'll head back to Jacksonville on Tuesday morning?
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (11:46):
That is correct.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
Have you done this before? You've drive around to other visuals.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
This is the first one.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
So this is the.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
First one, and you were compelled to drive eight hours
to a different state, through threes states to come to
the event tonight. What was it about this particular one
that you know made you want to drive up here.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
I'm not putting myself upon a pedestal, and I'm not
doing a friending glory or anything else. If I would
have been on that train that night, it would have
been a different story, because there's no way I could
live with myself. I just sit around and watch some
money to get stabbed. I just sit around and not
do anything. I can't. I couldn't do that even if
that means my life, then that means my life. As
long as she walks out that door on two feet,
(12:27):
that's what counts.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
And so, but this one was different for you with
you know, to make you drive eight hours. I'm just
curious what specifically was it that like stood out to you?
Was the fact that no one helped her? Was it
the fact that it was unprovoked? What was it that
stood out to you?
Speaker 4 (12:45):
Well, but you just mentioned the combination of number one.
It was it was unprovoked. You just sat in and
sat down. Imagine you go to work, you do you
do eight hours and you just get it, get on
a train. You want to come home, you're just tired,
and you just want to relapse. Instead, what happen and
you never make a home alive. Something's wrong about that?
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Is this?
Speaker 4 (13:04):
Something wrong about that? And it was totally unprovoked. Now
she would have proved. You know, if someone gets on
the trains, they start fighting. That's different. If you look
at the video. She just sat down and started texting
her boyfriend and she gets stabbed. I'm sorry. I can't
live with myself without doing something. I just can't.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Thank you for being here.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Thank you so much, sir, And I.
Speaker 6 (13:26):
Tell you it's an honor that we are out here,
not as black folk, not as white folk, not as
anything else other than American citizens who care about this.
Speaker 7 (13:34):
Country and who want to honor the life of.
Speaker 6 (13:36):
Such a beautiful young woman who died senselessly here in
our city. So with that, ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna
start our program and open up with a song. I
like to introduce Tatianathulian to give us our opening song.
Speaker 7 (13:48):
Tatiana.
Speaker 8 (14:11):
I shared with a young man today that I was
invited to attend this prayer vigil, and he asked me
what a vigil was. By definition, a vigil is a
period of keeping awake during a time that is usually
spent asleep, especially to keep watch and pray. Immediately, I
(14:34):
thought of a place in scripture that coincidentally was right
before Jesus was brutally murdered, where Jesus asked his disciples
to watch and pray, to have a vigil if you will.
The disciples kept falling asleep and Jesus would wake them
up and remind them to be watchful and to pray.
Speaker 7 (14:57):
Thank you, Pastor Rick.
Speaker 6 (14:58):
And at this time I would like to call up
to give prayers for the departed and reflections. Father Sabrinko Nakovich,
I said it right, and from Saint Simeon Serbian Orthodox
Church and Reverend Vasili Rudnitski from Church of New Hope.
Speaker 9 (15:13):
Give rest to her in the bosom of Hebrakham and
number her among the saints and have immersion. A says
good God, who loves mankind. Amen with the saints, give
rest the Lord to the soul of my departed. Canmaiden
Urina and Grand Curry turn on the.
Speaker 7 (15:31):
Me Marie, I want to say a few words in Ukrainians.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
There are Ukrainian people here g Koreans to pigmies with
Ruko Laska. Yeah yeah, the Vasa las le karand six Charlotte.
The course is vas just said Karine ulf burst stars
(16:35):
nas Sentry, Mista not of course.
Speaker 7 (16:38):
No is nas and I'm bullet.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Christian pastor means like this like trimky yes, there's Bible
starts on me bo bluesky la techto maya ros veta
serta you do yes, marmi serte and devins Pasaya to moves, pasaya,
(17:12):
postition ato, pokladaya, nagio mane miyamu liquis corn is nas
mass for Susan Christov metremam. Yeah, pro probras nadi in
(17:33):
aristos vinya nagiya vine kacho to virio mane ni.
Speaker 7 (17:41):
Vichna.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
So that was highlights.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
So when we come back, you're going to hear the
really moving speech from the Reverend James Bauers again, who
is running for Charlotte City Council in District three, and
he'll be running against Joy Mayo, and that election is
in November. When we come back, all that and more,
(18:05):
welcome back to breaking with Brett Jensen going up until
seven o'clock. I guess that's about old twenty four minutes
from now. Okay, So James Bowers, a reverend running for
Charlot's City Council District three, which is where the tragedy
took place where she boarded the light rail. He gave
a stirring speech last night, and you're definitely gonna want
to hear it.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
And here it is.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
And gentlemen, before I bring up the next speaker, let's
let the Internet and everybody around the world know that
y'all all out here make some noise so the Internet
can hear the love for Tiger for Erna.
Speaker 7 (18:37):
Make some noise, y'all, so the.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Internet, y'all could do better than that. Make some noise.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (18:45):
We often hear people say say her name, So one
time for everybody, I want to hear it real loud.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
I want to hear Arena real loud.
Speaker 6 (18:52):
One two three, Amen. I'm gonna bring up our next speaker,
Minister James Bower, to give some work and reflections for
the powers.
Speaker 10 (19:02):
First, I'd like to again forward prayers and condolences to
Arena's family. I pray that they would vehemently hold on
to the plans, dreams, and hopes they believe could be
achieved in the Land of the Free and the Home
of the brave. Amen. I'm talking, of course about the
(19:27):
United States of America. Our dreams, aspirations, and hopes don't
just appear in a vacuum. They come from our deep
and long thought out plans, inspired from our experiences and
even through the experience of experiences of others, like our
parents and our nations. And because these dreams are so important,
(19:51):
we will fight it against all odds that are against us,
even if the odds ultimately will make us have to
leave our home country or even our home state. This
is one of the things that makes America unique. We
all have the same opportunity, yet nothing is promised. Today
(20:16):
we are seeing the glory of the American standard being
challenged through wrong ideologies and wrong thinking, which puts the
hopes and dreams of our families and children, oftentimes into
turmoil and chaos. And so we will not stand by anymore.
Speaker 7 (20:35):
We will fight for our city and our nation.
Speaker 10 (20:42):
Our country's long held beliefs and way of life was
fought for by revolution and war, and we fought so
that the government would be formed to be the servant
of the people and its citizens' interests, not its people
and other things becomes a servant of the government. Neighborhoods
(21:04):
today only feel safe inside their homes, but rarely do
we see neighbors outside the home because of the things
that happen like gangs, youth violence, and just not feeling
protected by our police department or our leaders. Yes, these
(21:25):
are perilous times, as the Bible has foretold. But the
Bible also tells us that the Lord has set up
a standard to guide us, to.
Speaker 11 (21:37):
Protect us, to prosper us, and as our paraphrase from
Jeremiah twenty nine to eleven, to give us a future
and a hope.
Speaker 7 (21:48):
But I believe that we have overlooked what has happened
to all of us.
Speaker 10 (21:53):
These unbelievable events with the killing of Arena and Charlie
are connected. These recent events truly applies and clarifies that
the world of good and evil are colliding and waiting
for our new leader to emerge, to speak up, to
step up, and we must take a stand. So what then,
(22:18):
do we choose good or evil? Are we going to
believe what our eyes and ears are telling us?
Speaker 7 (22:25):
Is anyone listening?
Speaker 9 (22:27):
Yes?
Speaker 10 (22:28):
Do we believe these terrible events just happened because someone
was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Are
you listening or are you afraid to say enough is enough?
Speaker 11 (22:45):
Listen carefully?
Speaker 10 (22:47):
We are truly at a reflection point to stop and
really think about these current events. Do we continue to
let these things happen? Or do we stand up and
say enough is enough? And just like our ancestors when
they said we want a better future for ourselves and
(23:07):
our children, we must fight.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
And that kind of.
Speaker 10 (23:12):
Moment and cross road has come upon us. Let us
all agree enough is enough. Let us never forget the
name of Arena Zarutzka and what happened right here in Charlotte,
even right here in our district, District three, on August
twenty second, twenty twenty five. Your decision made today with
(23:35):
a new and holy spirit, a new heart, and new
leadership will help us usher in a new, refreshing and
glorious future for Charlotte and for the world watching this
city that is shining and sitting on a hill. I
leave you with this message of love, peace, joy, and
(23:58):
hope the Bibles and Proverbs three five and six. Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not
on your own understanding in all your ways. Acknowledge Him
and He shall direct your path. God bless the families
(24:19):
of Arina Zaruska, Charlie Kirk, and all those unnamed families
that have lost the loved one to these senseless kinds
of valid of violence. God bless Charlotte, God bless the
United States South America.
Speaker 6 (24:41):
This event tonight really is the vision of somebody I'm
honored to call a friend that worked really hard to
put this together. Y'all make some noise from my good
friend Kyle Kirby with the special announcement.
Speaker 12 (24:55):
Friends, thank you for joining us this evening. This is
truly heartwarm to see this outpouring of love in Charlotte
for Arena Zaruska.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
And it is my distinct.
Speaker 12 (25:06):
Honor and pleasure to announce to the City Council of
Charlotte and to the Cat's authority, that we asked that
this station, the East West Station, be immediately and as
soon as possible renamed the Arena Zeruska Station, so so
that her memory can be with future generations of Charlotte
(25:29):
Teans and her legacy can never be forgotten.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
So those are some of the highlights from last night.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
There were a lot of them, and obviously I couldn't
fit them all in here, but I just wanted to
take some of them from here and there and just
combine them together, just to give you a sense of
what was really going on last night over.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
The course of the hour.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Okay, so when we come back, speaking of Arena Zariska,
the irena bill has been introduced in Raleigh, and Representative.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Of Tricia Cotham right here out.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Of Charlotte stood up and talked about this particular bill
and the situation. So we'll talk about that when we returned.
Getting a lot of blowback from the Democrats. Shocker, I know,
God forbid they be against crime. But hey, we'll see
what happens. So that's coming up next one re return
(26:22):
News Talk eleven ten and ninety nine three WBT Brett
Jensen here with you for a few more minutes on
this beautiful Tuesday night of Breaking with Brett Jensen. Okay,
so we talked about all the arena stuff going on
with the visual last night, but now I want to
talk to you about what transpired in Raleigh today, and
actually it even started yesterday with you had a local
(26:44):
member of the state Senate, Woodson Bradley, who represents District
forty two, which is like Matthews, mint Hill, South Park
area as well as going down towards like South Charlotte,
and you know, Piper Glenn and you know the oboretum,
that whole area.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Well, Winson Bradley.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
In the middle of the as they're getting ready to
vote on the State Senate side about the death penalty,
she got up and walked out, just like she did
the first time when they were talking about making sheriffs
cooperate with Ice and also basically trying to define what
a woman is in actual legal terms. She decided not
to vote, she took a walk. Well, she did it
again yesterday, well, earlier today, Tricia Cotham and talking about
(27:26):
the Arena Zariska bill and holding people accountable and whatnot. Well,
guess what, she got up there and spoke, and there
was some blowback because some of the people on the
Democrats side didn't like her choice of language.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
So we'll talk about that.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
But here's Tricia Cotham earlier today in the House of
Representatives up in Raleigh.
Speaker 13 (27:44):
Mister Speaker and members, I know that everyone in this
room and all who are watching today back home, are
aware of the very tragic killing of Arena in Charlotte.
As you likely know, Arena escaped a war zone and
came to Charlotte for a better life and a better future,
(28:10):
and her future was going to be bright. She loved animals, children,
the arts, her friends, her boyfriend, and her family. She
worked at a local restaurant and was looking forward to
(28:33):
getting her driver's license in October. Since she didn't have
a vehicle, she had to rely on public transportation finishing
her late night shift. One terrible night, she got on
our light rail in Charlotte after long days of work,
(29:00):
and she was tragically murdered by a deranged monster. I'm
sure she was looking forward to going home just to
get up to go.
Speaker 14 (29:16):
To work the next day, but she never made it.
Speaker 13 (29:23):
This sweet and beautiful young woman was full of potential
who already had fourteen previous convictions, including and not limited to,
armed rawbery, felony, larceny, and the list goes on. A
diagnosed schizophrenic, he was released by a magistrate without a
(29:49):
secured bond, and the magistrate ignored all the very obvious
red flags.
Speaker 14 (29:59):
In his erratic behavior.
Speaker 13 (30:02):
Just recently before this event that the police brought forward,
he joined the city streets of Charlotte with nothing but
a piece of paper where he promised on his honor,
which he had none, to return back to court.
Speaker 14 (30:26):
You can guess how that turned out.
Speaker 13 (30:30):
He should have never been allowed out of the jail.
The catch and release practices for violent offenders will end today.
Speaker 14 (30:42):
With your support.
Speaker 13 (30:45):
This heineous act was preventable and is a direct result
of judicial officials being too soft on crime and allowing
too many criminals to have a revolving door that came
into our neighborhoods and into our communities. These violent offenders
(31:07):
are wreaking havoc, not just in Charlotte, but all over
our North Carolina and in everyone's district.
Speaker 14 (31:20):
From moms, from young women who are studying at UNC Charlotte,
from police officers, from business owners, and for those who
must rely on county transportation every day just to go
to work and provide for their family.
Speaker 13 (31:41):
They are distraught with what is happening in our city.
Speaker 14 (31:48):
They're scared. I'm scared. We want a state where families.
Speaker 13 (31:56):
Can grow, they can live, and they can thrive for generations.
That's what makes North Carolina great. Unfortunately, growing and surging
crime impacts all of us in our state. Irena left
(32:19):
war torn Ukraine for new opportunities to come to the
greatest country there is.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
You heard her call the man a monster. Well, a
Democrat took offense to that guy being called a monster,
and then another Republican stood up and basically shut down
that Democrat. But again, leave it to the Democrats. It's
all it's victim blaming. Whatever you want to say. It's
never anyone's fault. It's from the Viylyles playbook. The mayor
(32:51):
of Charlotte, North Carolina. So anyways, so I hope to
have Trisha on in the next day or so, so
hopefully that will work out well and we can discuss
this bill.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
At greater length.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
All right, everyone, that's going to do it for us
tonight again, Thanks for everyone joining, and I look forward
to doing this all over again tomorrow with many, many
more news and updates. My name is Brett Jensen, and
you have been listening to Breaking with Brett Jenson.
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