James Calvin Rothwell Jr., 55, faces first-degree murder and three counts of shooting into occupied vehicles after the February 19 road-rage shooting that killed 38-year-old Sean Brandon Mason outside the Food Lion at 7400 The Plaza in northeast Charlotte.
Incident sequence
Road rage escalated around 4:30 p.m. when Rothwell and Mason clashed after a near-miss on the road. Court docs say Rothwell dropped off his girlfriend, but Mason followed into the lot, taunting “What’s up now, fat boy?” with a shoulder gesture Rothwell took as reaching for a gun (though he admitted not seeing one). Rothwell then fired multiple shots into Mason’s car and two nearby occupied vehicles.
911 chaos
Callers—shoppers, Food Lion staff, All Care…..