A neighbor's call to 911 led Charlotte-Mecklenburg police to an apartment in the 4900 block of Round Pond Road shortly after 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, where they found 38-year-old John Joseph Perry suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, inside the Zora University Apartments complex in the city's University City area. Police arrested 31-year-old Baron Deshawn Crawford, who is now being held without bond on a charge of first-degree murder.
According to The Charlotte Observer, officers responded to what was initially classified as an “Assist Medic” call before discovering the scope of the attack. Court documents cited by the paper indicate Crawford lives at an apartment in the same 4900 block of Round Pond Road where the stabbing occurred. A second man at the scene was taken to a hospital as a precaution and has since been named a suspect; police identified Crawford in that role.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has assigned Detective Murphy as lead investigator on the case, filed under report number 20260926-1919-01, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Anyone with information is asked to call CMPD directly at 704-432-8477, or submit an anonymous tip through Charlotte Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or the P3 Tips app.
Inside the Build-to-Rent Community Where Perry Died
Zora University is a $23 million, 108-unit build-to-rent gated development from Suncrest Real Estate that opened for pre-leasing in early 2024, according to Multifamily Dive. The community is made up of single-story, ranch-style duplex units with private walk-up entrances, individual fenced yards, and no overhead neighbors, per Apartment Finder. A neighbor called 911.
The charge Crawford now faces carries some of the harshest penalties on the books in North Carolina. Under North Carolina General Statutes § 14-17, first-degree murder is a Class A felony punishable by either life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty upon conviction, according to FindLaw. Prosecutors would still need to prove premeditation and deliberation beyond a reasonable doubt to secure a conviction on that charge.
A Citywide Pattern of Rising Homicides
The Zora University stabbing lands amid a year in which Charlotte's homicide numbers have crept upward even as broader violent crime has fallen. CMPD's 2026 midyear public safety update reported 40 homicides between January and June, a 3% increase over the 39 recorded during the same span in 2025, even as overall violent crime dropped 8% citywide. The department's Homicide Unit still closed 75% of its cases during that period, a clearance rate the agency has pointed to as a baseline for its investigative effectiveness.
Those midyear figures followed an even sharper spike earlier in the year: Charlotte saw a 38% jump in homicides during the first quarter of 2026, with 22 killings compared to 16 during the same period in 2025, according to WCNC. That surge prompted police to lean harder into conflict-resolution outreach and high-visibility patrols.
Investigators have not said whether Crawford and Perry knew each other or what may have led to the confrontation that ended in Perry's death, and the exact circumstances surrounding the second person briefly hospitalized at the scene remain unclear.
