Violent repeat offender accused in Charlotte knife attack was free despite decade-long rap sheet

A North Carolina man accused of stabbing another individual in broad daylight has faced more than 18 criminal charges over the past decade, including assault-related cases and a domestic-violence conviction, before the latest violent incident, court records show.

Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury after a Feb. 28 altercation in east Charlotte.

According to police, officers responded to a 911 call reporting an assault involving a knife. When they arrived, they found a man with a stab wound to a knee. Investigators say the suspect discarded a bag and the knife into a nearby creek and then boarded a city bus as it left the area.

Authorities later located the bus and identified Ragin as the suspect after reviewing transit security footage. Officers recovered a kitchen knife from the creek in the area shown on video. During an interview, police said Ragin admitted to being involved in a physical altercation but did not acknowledge the stabbing.

A review of North Carolina court records shows Ragin’s interactions with law enforcement date back to at least 2015 and span multiple counties.

In 2016, he pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order, receiving a 24-day jail sentence and a court-ordered no-contact condition.

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In prior years, he was charged in separate cases with assault on a female, assault on a campus police officer, communicating threats and resisting a public officer. Several of those cases were ultimately dismissed, including multiple charges in 2019 that court records state were “unable to prosecute due to COVID-19 court closures.”

Records also show misdemeanor drug and trespass convictions.

Altogether, court records indicate Ragin has faced more than 18 charges in several counties over multiple years before the current felony accusation.

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The alleged stabbing comes months after the fatal killing of a young woman aboard a Charlotte light rail train, a case that drew national attention and intensified debate over repeat offenders and pandemic-era criminal justice policies.

That earlier case involved a defendant who was under state supervision at the time of the attack and prompted scrutiny of a 2021 COVID-era prison settlement negotiated during former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration. The agreement authorized the early release or transition of approximately 3,500 incarcerated individuals. Republican officials claimed the agreement released dangerous offenders, while state officials have said the settlement primarily targeted medically vulnerable and nonviolent inmates. 

State corrections officials have also said the light rail defendant was not released early as a result of that settlement and had completed his mandatory minimum sentence, though his name appeared on a settlement-related list due to retroactive eligibility criteria.

Republican officials have argued the cases reflect broader concerns about repeat offenders cycling through the system, while Democrats have defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures.

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“Micah Ragin was arrested and let back onto the streets 18 times too many — including under then-Governor Roy Cooper’s COVID mass inmate release,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“Have Charlotte’s pro-crime Democrats learned nothing from Iryna’s tragic murder? How many victims will it take to finally keep criminals behind bars? The Queen City has been stained by crimes that are preventable — they are lucky this wasn’t the next Iryna Zarutska.”

Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, echoed similar criticism.

“Yet again, Roy Cooper’s soft-on-crime policies allowed a violent career criminal to roam free, resulting in a vicious attack. Cooper coddles criminals and North Carolinians pay the price,” Puglia said.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley criticized what he described as “soft-on-crime” policies.

“Criminals belong behind bars. As a senator, I will always back the blue and fight to keep our communities safe,” Whatley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Cooper, who previously served two terms as North Carolina’s governor and is now running for the U.S. Senate, has defended his record on public safety and pushed back on Republican criticism.

“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must keep North Carolinians safe,” a spokesperson for Cooper’s campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These Republican attacks are false – Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough-on-crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor.”

Cooper’s campaign has previously defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures and has denied that COVID-related policies led to the early release of dangerous offenders.

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Ragin’s felony case is pending, and officials have not announced a trial date.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to [email protected].

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