A domestic dispute in a Matthews parking lot turned into a serious crime scene Wednesday night after police say a man was hit by a vehicle and badly hurt. Emergency crews had the victim airlifted to a regional trauma center, where officials later listed him in stable condition. Matthews Police say detectives have launched a criminal investigation and a suspect is now in custody.
According to a post on the Matthews Police Department's Facebook page, officers were alerted around 8:25 p.m. after the Union County Sheriff's Office found an injured man lying in the parking lot at 9330 E. Independence Blvd. The man was flown out for treatment and stabilized, the post states. Police identified the driver as 28-year-old Anna Luree Lippincott and said the incident grew out of a domestic dispute between Lippincott and the victim.
Investigation and arrest
Detectives with the Matthews Police Criminal Investigations Division were assigned to dig into what happened, and a Mecklenburg County magistrate later found probable cause to charge Lippincott with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. An arrest warrant was issued, and Lippincott was ultimately taken into custody by the Stallings Police Department, then booked into the Union County Jail, according to WSOC-TV.
Charges and what they mean
Lippincott faces a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Under North Carolina law, the penalties can shift depending on whether prosecutors prove serious injury or intent to kill. The state statute on felonious assault, N.C.G.S. 14-32, lays out different punishment ranges in separate subsections. Court hearings, bond decisions and any future trial will move forward through local magistrates and the county courts as investigators keep working the case.
Matthews Police publicly thanked the Union County Sheriff's Office, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and Stallings Police for backing them up, and asked anyone who might have information or video from the scene to contact the department's Criminal Investigations Division, according to the department's Facebook post. Detectives say the investigation is still active and are urging witnesses to come forward.
