Gun, Taser, knives and bulletproof vest

A convicted felon who was critically injured by officers Thursday night may be the only one who knows why he was in a van with a gun, a Taser, two folding knives and a bulletproof vest.

Where Donald Oakes was headed at 8:36 p.m. Thursday night is still a mystery. He never got there.

Instead, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Rodney Monroe said, Oakes wouldn't stop for the officers who tried to pull him over for an expired tag. Oakes, they said, wove in and out of parking lots along North Tryon Street near Sugar Creek Road before pulling into a Texaco station, getting out of the passenger side of the van and opening fire.

Monroe said Friday that Oakes fired at least five shots, pinning one officer in a police car while four other officers fired at least 20 shots. Oakes has been charged with six counts of attempted murder.

Oakes' family could not be reached for comment.

The officers are on paid administrative leave pending criminal and internal investigations, which is normal procedure. Oakes has been in critical condition since he went to Carolinas Medical Center Thursday night.

In 1991, Oakes pleaded guilty to robbery with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 14 years in jail. That came a year after he was sentenced to two years of probation for attempted common law robbery.