Wednesday night the Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather’s office released career criminal Charles Anthony Boatwright due to what they have characterized as a breakdown in communication.

Boatwright is wanted for murder by police in Baltimore, Maryland. Boatwright is accused of murdering Randolph Smith on July 13th, 2025 and on July 16th, 2025 Boatwright was arrested in Mecklenburg County where he had been held until this Wednesday night.

Boatwright initially was held without bond, which was modified a few days later to a $7.5 million bond. Now he is walking free without paying a dime to be released.

According to WSOC, Merriweather’s office said that the extradition to Maryland for the murder charge “…was voluntarily dismissed because ‘no governor’s warrant was received.’”

Merriweather’s office went on to tell WSOC: “After the original 30 day period, the case was continued twice over two months, as the law permits, but with no Governor’s Warrant ever filed and the next possible court date falling outside the legally permissible period of detention, the state was compelled to dismiss the extradition warrant.”

This raises several questions that must be answered.

Did District Attorney Spencer Merriweather’s office do their due diligence in reaching out to relevant authorities in Maryland? How have previous extraditions to other states been conducted, and what is the typical turnaround time for these cases? Did the Maryland judiciary system genuinely drop the ball on this and how did a wanted killer slip through the cracks?

Boatwright is no stranger to the Maryland justice system. In 2014 he pled guilty to a robbery of a diamond store, with charges for first- and second- degree assault dropped in the plea deal. Ultimately Boatwright was sentenced to prison for eight years, but was back on the streets within months.

Prior to that, Boatwright robbed a Baltimore bank multiple times in 1991. He was charged with Maim with Intent, Intent to Injure with a Deadly Weapon, Destruction of Property, and Assault in September of 1986. He was convicted of assault in November 1986, convicted of assault again in February 1992, and yet again one month later in March 1992.

And now he is walking free, wanted by the Baltimore Police due to what Merriweather’s office says is a communication breakdown.