(Ken Silva, Headline USA) CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA—Decarlos Brown Jr., who allegedly stabbed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a Charlotte train on Aug. 22, had his first appearance in federal court on Thursday in a case that carries the death penalty.
Brown is in state custody and faces a murder charge in North Carolina. The Justice Department has also charged him with the offence of “Violence Against a Railroad Carrier and Mass Transportation System Resulting in Death”—and a judge ordered U.S. Marshals to transport him from county jail to her court for the first hearing in that federal matter.
Thursday’s hearing took only about 10 minutes. U.S. District Judge Susan C. Rodriguez read the charges against Brown, who looked around the courtroom, seemingly not paying attention—even when she said he “may be sentenced to death.”
Brown did not enter a plea, and Rodriguez sent him back into state custody after reading the charges. His lawyers filed a flurry of motions before the hearing that will be argued at a later date.
Among those motions is one seeking to deem Brown incompetent to stand trial.
Not much to report from the hearing. A judge just read the charges. Brown was looking around the courtroom when she did, seemingly not paying attention.
But his lawyers have filed a few interesting motions, starting with one seeking to declare him incompetent to stand trial 🧵 https://t.co/PiDEmH4UxG pic.twitter.com/pZ98RzfZXk
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) December 11, 2025
“Based on their meetings with Mr. Brown and their review of the available limited records and information, counsel have serious concerns about Mr. Brown’s ability to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense,” the defense lawyers said in their motion, referring to the fact that he’s reportedly a schizophrenic person.
“They therefore move this Court to order a psychological evaluation to determine whether Mr. Brown has the mental competency required to stand trial on the charges against him and to possibly face the death penalty.”
A state judge has already ordered Brown to undergo an evaluation at a local mental hospital. His lawyers said that evaluation should be finished by January. In a separate motion, they asked Judge Rodriguez to postpone his arraignment until his evaluation is complete.
Additionally, Brown’s lawyers filed a motion signaling that they will ask for the case to be moved to another jurisdiction due to the publicity he’s received in Charlotte.
“A search for “Decarlos Brown” in the Charlotte Observer, for example, returned 141 results as of todays’ date. The case has been a consistent presence on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Truth Social, etc,” they said. “The President, Attorney General, local United States Attorney, Congress, and North Carolina Legislature have weighed in.”
The DOJ has until next Wednesday to respond to the motions.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
