CPMD said that at the time of Monday’s incident, Hughes was wanted for possession of a firearm by felon and felony flee to elude out of Lincoln County, North Carolina.
On 24 April, he had failed to appear in court related to charges of possession of firearm by felon and marijuana possession, according to the department.
Also listed on his sprawling rap sheet were crimes spread across North Carolina counties including Mecklenburg, Alamance, Chatham and Rowan.
Back in 2012, Hughes was incarcerated for four months after being convicted of traffic offences, breaking and entering and multiple weapons law violations.
In April 2010 he was arrested for aggravated assault against a female in Charlotte.
One year prior in 2009, he had been charged with the same offence as well as possessing a stolen firearm.
In 2006 Hughes was twice charged with carrying a concealed gun and jailed again later that year in December on further charges of weapons law violations.
Shots were fired from overhead, as he was apparently shooting from the second floor of his home, CMPD said.
Before the intense gunfight in Charlotte, North Carolina, that left four law enforcement officers dead and numerous others injured, Terry Clark Hughes Jr., 39, was the target of a police attempt to serve felony warrants.
Hughes, who also perished in the gunfight, was arrested numerous times; nearly fifty of his arrest records are available online. These cases included accusations of drug manufacturing, possessing a firearm, and aggravated assault.
The charges against him date back more than 20 years and are from several counties in North Carolina. One of the earlier ones, from 2001, concerned him making threats against Terry Clark Hughes Sr., his own father.
Hughes Jr. had previously spent a “significant amount of time” behind bars, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CPMD) chief Johnny Jennings.
Hughes was wanted at the time of the incident on Monday, according to the CPMD, for felon in possession of a firearm and fleeing from Lincoln County, North Carolina.
According to the department, on April 24, he had neglected to show up for court regarding charges of felon in possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana.
The Independent was able to access Hughes’ 2021 charges online, which included possession of drug paraphernalia and manufacturing and possessing marijuana with the intention of selling or delivering it.
In addition, he was accused of maintaining a “shop, residence, building, or some other place” with the intent to use, store, or sell a controlled substance. He was also accused of running away to avoid being arrested in that same year.
Crimes from several North Carolina counties, including Mecklenburg, Alamance, Chatham, and Rowan, were also included on his extensive rap sheet.
Hughes spent four months in prison in 2012 after being found guilty of numerous weapons laws violations, traffic offenses, and break-ins. According to the records, he was also accused of eluding arrest with two aggravating circumstances—driving recklessly enough to endanger others and driving while his license was revoked.
Hughes allegedly turned around to avoid a checkpoint, which prompted police to pursue him through Alamance County at speeds of up to 100 mph, according to WCNC.
He was taken into custody in Charlotte in April 2010 on suspicion of aggravated assault against a woman. He was found guilty of breaking and entering in Person County, which is north of Raleigh-Durham, that same year. He was imprisoned for about six months before being allowed to leave in May of 2011.
He had been charged with both the same offense and having a stolen firearm in 2009, the year before.
Hughes was arrested twice for carrying a concealed handgun in 2006, and he was incarcerated once more in December of the same year on additional charges of breaking weapons laws.
In his last act on Monday, he is believed to have shot and killed four police officers before being shot by police while trying to flee a house on Charlotte’s Galway Drive.
He was reportedly shooting from the second floor of his house when shots were fired from above, according to CMPD.
The force posted on X, “Preliminary information indicates that the suspect was ambushing officers while firing from an elevated position inside the residence, making it extremely difficult for officers to seek cover.”.
According to the CMPD, two females who were inside the house were brought in for interviews with detectives and were helping with the current probe. The department stated, “At this time, there are no additional suspects or persons of interest.”.
