Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, the Charlotte man praised for his heroism after stepping in to protect passengers during a stabbing on the CATS Blue Line, was served with an outstanding arrest warrant while recovering in the hospital, and is now being held on a $2 million secured bond on unrelated violent charges, court records show.
Dobie, 24, was critically injured on Dec. 5 when police say 33-year-old Oscar Solarzano stabbed him aboard the light rail near NoDa of the Charlotte Area Transit System. From his hospital bed, Dobie told WRAL News that he intervened after seeing Solarzano threaten an older woman.
He said Solarzano handed his bike to another passenger and declared, “I’m about to show you who I really am,” before attacking. Dobie said he tried to shield others, later telling WRAL, “I guess it’s better off that it happened to me and not an older person.” Donations have poured into a GoFundMe created for his recovery, topping $115,000 by Dec. 11.
Outstanding Warrant Served in Hospital
According to Mecklenburg County court documents, an arrest warrant for Dobie had been issued nearly a month earlier, on Nov. 18. Unrelated to the Blue Line attack, the warrant was tied to an alleged October assault involving a pregnant woman. The warrant remained unserved until Dec. 10, when deputies located Dobie following his hospitalization after the stabbing.
Later that night, the court entered a series of routine release-order entries tied to his booking. Dobie made his first appearance in court the next morning, Dec. 11, at 9 a.m. A public defender was appointed, and the judge set a $2 million secured bond, ordered electronic monitoring, and issued a no-contact order involving the alleged victim. His next court date is Dec. 23.
Dobie is charged with felony assault inflicting serious bodily injury, assault on a pregnant woman, assault on a female, domestic-violence-related assault, and communicating threats. Arrest warrants allege Dobie punched a pregnant woman he was dating, causing a facial fracture, and threatened to kill her children and others.
Separate court records with Mecklenburg County show Dobie was previously booked in February on domestic violence and assault on a female, with a $5,000 bond. Additional filings indicate he has at least one child, child support enforcement orders, and a prior eviction.
Praise for Dobie’s Heroic Act on Light Rail
Amid uncountable headlines of violence and tragedy, what Dobie did on the light rail has stood out as a good deed in the face of danger. Coworkers at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery have also praised Dobie’s intervention on the train. “He’s a very good person to have in your corner,” executive chef James Brokaw told WSOC-TV, calling his decision to step in a noble act.
Business author Christopher Lochhead, moved by the news, promoted Dobie’s GoFundMe to his followers. “Meet 24 year old American hero Kenyon Dobie. How just showed real courage. (The kind you don’t see every day),” Lochead posted. “When an intoxicated, violent, evil man on the Charlotte light rail began threatening passengers. (including an older woman) Mr. Dobie stepped up. To protect people he didn’t even know. He took a knife to the chest for it.”
The largest donation to Dobie’s GoFundMe is $10,000 from a donor named William Ackman.
Blue Line Stabbing
Witnesses told WSOC-TV that Solarzano appeared intoxicated and disruptive before the attack. Dobie was stabbed in the chest and hospitalized with serious injuries.
Solarzano was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, breaking and entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon, and intoxication while disruptive. ICE has issued a detainer, noting Solarzano, who is from Honduras, is in the country illegally. He has been deported from the country twice before.
