CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 18-year-old accused of killing a 4-year-old boy during a botched car theft in southwest Charlotte last month had a lengthy criminal history involving stolen cars and reckless behavior, according to court records released this week.
Police say Anthony Abel Jr. — who was arrested in the Sept. 17 incident that left 4-year-old Jayce Edwards dead — had been linked to at least eight stolen vehicles over the past year.
A Stolen Car and a Stray Bullet
The fatal shooting occurred as Abel and three others allegedly attempted to steal a neighbor’s Dodge Charger outside a home on Cigar Court in the Steele Creek area.
According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), one of the suspects fired a gun “directly and intentionally” into a nearby home, striking Jayce while he was in bed at his grandmother’s house…