CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – The man who police said shot and killed a Charlotte bus driver was arrested more than a thousand miles away from the Queen City.
Police arrested Darian Dru Thavychith in Shawnee, Kansas after more than two weeks on the run.
He’s charged with murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle in connection to the death of CATS Bus Operator Ethan Rivera on February 11, 2022.
Thavychith’s arrest comes after a multi-state manhunt involving multiple agencies.
“We are one step closer to justice for Ethan Rivera,” said CATS CEO John Lewis.
After a long two and a half weeks of wondering and waiting, family and friends of CATS Bus Operator Ethan Rivera are one step closer to some kind of closure.
“I was confident they were going to pick him up and they were going to find him,” said Ethan Rivera’s Close Long-Time Friend, Clifford Jean-Baptiste. “I feel relief now that he was taken off the streets and caught.”
Thavychith is now charged with murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle in connection with the death of Ethan Rivera on February 11, stemming from a road rage incident in Uptown.
“We pray this apprehension brings some solace and some peace to the Rivera family this morning,” said CMPD Captain Joel McNelly.
“It is great news he was brought in,” said Jean-Baptiste. “But it doesn’t change the fact that Ethan isn’t here with us. But, the good thing is, this murderer was taken off the streets, so he can’t cause this suffering to any other family.”
According to the Shawnee, Kansas Police Department, officers were summoned to a QuikTrip gas station around 11 p.m. Monday night. There, they learned the person they were contacting had an active felony warrant here in Charlotte.
“It felt like a late birthday gift,” said Jean-Baptiste. “You know, my birthday was this past Friday and I felt Ethan gave me a gift by bringing this guy in. But, he needs to be punished for this senseless act he committed.”
Now, Thavychith is behind bars after two weeks on the run as he awaits extradition back to Charlotte.
As CATS CEO John Lewis addressed the arrest in a press conference Tuesday, he had a word for anyone else who tries to harm his operators.
“We see you, we will identify you, and what you’ve seen today — is you will be apprehended and brought to justice.”
CMPD said this is still an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Crimestoppers at 704-334-1600.
