On July 8, 2024, at about 5:30 a.m., Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police found 36-year-old Derrick Byas dead of a gunshot wound near his disabled vehicle on Rea Road in south Charlotte. The vehicle’s hazard lights were on. Investigators say surveillance footage shows Byas at a bar minutes earlier, speaking on the phone about meeting someone, then being shot in the head roughly 15 minutes after leaving the bar.

License plate reader and cellphone data led detectives to 41-year-old Eric Watson, who was placed at the scene. On July 17, 2024, CMPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, with help from SLED and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Watson in South Carolina; he was charged with murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon and extradited to Mecklenburg County, held without bond. Byas’ brother Dwan described Derrick as intelligent, respectful, joyful and an honorable military veteran; the family says they still want to know the motive.

Anyone with information about Derrick’s death is asked to contact CMPD’s Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers.