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Blog and Media Roundup - Wednesday, March 10, 2010; News Roundup
Topic Started: Mar 10 2010, 05:30 AM (869 Views)
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http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1268202050192800.xml&coll=1

2nd ex-cop pleads guilty to cover-up
Now cooperating with feds, he also led probe into slaying of 5
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
By Laura Maggi
and Brendan McCarthy%%par%%Staff writers

A second former New Orleans police officer has been charged in federal court in the alleged police cover-up of the Danziger Bridge shootings and appears to be cooperating with investigators in the federal probe into the deadly shootings in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

Jeffrey Lehrmann, 38, was charged late last month with misprision of a felony -- or knowing about a crime and failing to report it, according to a bill of information unsealed Tuesday.
Defendants who are charged by bill of information, rather than grand jury indictment, have typically signed plea agreements with the federal government requiring them to cooperate.

Lehrmann, now an agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona, is at least the second former officer to cooperate with prosecutors, adding steam to a probe that is certain to include additional indictments of NOPD officers.

Lehrmann's role in the incident was after the fact: He was one of two detectives who supposedly interviewed and took statements from the civilians wounded in the police shooting.

While the recent charge strengthens the government's case, it also could have an extraordinary impact in another high-profile case.

Lehrmann was the lead investigator in a 2006 quintuple killing in Central City, a massacre that resulted in a death sentence for Michael Anderson last year. That verdict was overturned Monday and sent back to state court for a new trial, a development that had nothing to do with Lehrmann's legal troubles.

A New Orleans police spokesman said he could not comment on the charge because of the ongoing investigations.

"However, the NOPD will cooperate with federal investigators and assist when called upon," said Bob Young, the department spokesman.

Mayor Ray Nagin's press office did not respond to a request for comment on the charge Tuesday afternoon.

Lehrmann is the second former officer to be charged in an alleged cover-up at Danziger. Lt. Michael Lohman pleaded guilty Feb. 24 to conspiring to obstruct justice. In doing so, Lohman confessed to arriving at the scene shortly after the shooting and determining it was a "bad shoot."

Lohman admitted to knowing that one officer planted a gun, coached officers in their interviews and altered witness statements to make it appear that the shooting of six people, two fatally, was justified.

According to court documents, Lehrmann knew of the conspiracy among his fellow officers to obstruct justice and participated in the "creation of false reports and the provision of false information to investigating agents." He is scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday at 8 a.m. The misprision of a felony charge, one often applied to cooperating witnesses, carries a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison.

Lehrmann's attorney, Davidson Ehle III, declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.

It's unclear when Lehrmann began his cooperation with federal investigators, but the bill of information notes that his concealment of the cover-up ended in October 2009.

Interviewing the injured

The NOPD's own report of the incident, written by Sgt. Arthur Kaufman, notes that Lehrmann rode from Danziger Bridge to West Jefferson Medical Center with paramedics from Northeast Louisiana Ambulance Service. The group transported four people with gunshot wounds: Jose Holmes, then 19; Leonard Bartholomew III, 44; Susan Bartholomew, 38, and Lesha Bartholomew, 17.

Those in the group have said they were walking on the bridge to get supplies at the Winn-Dixie supermarket in Gentilly. A friend traveling with the group, James Brissette, 19, died. Another man, 40-year-old Ronald Madison, who was not related to the Bartholomews, was killed on the other end of the bridge.

Four days later, on Sept. 8, 2005, Lehrmann and Kaufman allegedly spoke with Leonard and Susan Bartholomew at West Jefferson's intensive care unit. The validity of these interviews was questioned in documents associated with Lohman's guilty plea.

The police report says Leonard Bartholomew told them "his nephew started shooting at military vehicles that pulled up behind them" and that he remembered nothing after that.

Kaufman's report also states that Susan Bartholomew said that although she and her family were on the bridge, Holmes and "some of his friends" started shooting. She also allegedly stated she thought gunfire from a military helicopter wounded her and that she remembered nothing beyond that point. Holmes and Lesha Bartholomew were not interviewed.

According to the police report, Lehrmann and Kaufman returned to the hospital two weeks later, this time interviewing Susan, Leonard and Lesha Bartholomew.

In the second interview, the report notes, Susan Bartholomew "recalls her nephew was shooting at the police officers as they approached on the Danziger Bridge." Lesha Bartholomew remembered nothing, the report says.

Leonard Bartholomew allegedly told the two officers that a military truck pulled up on the bridge and opened fire on his family. He says his nephew was shooting at the military, according to the report.

The NOPD's investigation found the officers' actions on the bridge justified.

But prosecutors have called that investigation a whitewash. In court filings tied to Lohman's guilty plea, the prosecutors bluntly noted that Lohman concluded that the shooting victims were all unarmed.

For example, Lohman's guilty plea acknowledges that the Sept. 8 interviews with Susan and Leonard Bartholomew were fabricated because the "civilians did not actually have guns."

More dominoes may fall

The case against the NOPD officers has thus far centered on those involved in the alleged cover-up, not the shooting itself. But Lohman's guilty plea casts a cloud over numerous other officers. Sources close to the case anticipate the investigation will soon ensnare more cops.

Attorneys for Kaufman and another officer, Sgt. Robert Gisevius, have acknowledged receiving target letters from the FBI. Both attorneys have said their clients were not interested in cooperating with the federal government.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday how Lehrmann's charge would affect his employment with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. A spokesman for ICE's Phoenix field office confirmed that Lehrmann is an agent but would say nothing further. Lehrmann had a brief tenure with the NOPD, leaving in September 2006. He joined the force in March 2005 after working more than eight years at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

While with NOPD, Lehrmann worked under Lohman as a detective in the 7th District in eastern New Orleans, investigating shootings and other nonfatal crimes.

Lehrmann, who eventually was transferred to the homicide unit, was the lead detective in the investigation of the 2006 Central City massacre, writing the police report and interviewing the sole eyewitness to the crime. Defense attorneys for Michael Anderson, the man convicted of killing the five teenagers, have questioned the truthfulness of that witness.

Anderson's conviction was overturned this week after the trial judge concluded that a videotape in which prosecutors interviewed that witness, Torrie Williams, should have been turned over to the defense before trial.

Richard Bourke, Anderson's attorney, said Lehrmann did the initial police interview of Williams and also rejected tips that might have pointed to another suspect.

A spokesman for the Orleans Parish district attorney's office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. A day earlier, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro held a news conference in which he vowed to retry Anderson.

. . . . . . .

Laura Maggi can be reached at lmaggi@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3316. Brendan McCarthy can be reached at bmccarthy@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3301.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/6622418/article-Warrant--Ex-DA-stashed-dismissals?instance=homethirdleft


Warrant: Ex-DA stashed dismissals
03.09.10 - 10:50 pm
Person's Brewer accused of using them to campaign, posing as law enforcement

By KEITH UPCHURCH

kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612

DURHAM -- Former Person-Caswell County District Attorney Joel Brewer kept a secret file of citations he had dismissed and used it to remind people "of what he did, and asked them for their vote and/or for their help while working the polls," according to a search warrant affidavit made public Tuesday.

The search warrant is part of an ongoing investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation that began last fall.

The affidavit quotes a witness as saying that Brewer, who retired recently as district attorney, was overheard promising to dismiss a charge against a woman "while asking for the female's phone number, which he then wrote on the pink copy of the citation."

The affidavit also alleges that Brewer carried a gold badge and misrepresented himself as a law enforcement officer when he pulled a female driver over in his Corvette and threatened to cite her for traffic violations.

The search warrant, with two paragraphs sealed, was released to the Clerk of Superior Court's Office at the Person County Courthouse in Roxboro Tuesday afternoon.

In an affidavit signed by SBI agent W.R. Myers, an unnamed resident "who is familiar with the workings of the district attorney's office" and has known Brewer for years says Brewer "would routinely dismiss minor citations and traffic charges for people and then save the pink copy of the citations, which [Brewer] has kept in a manila folder in his office."

Myers said he learned that "during past elections, [Brewer] has referred to the manila file folder, called some of those for whom he has dismissed charges, reminding them of what he did, and asked them for their vote and/or for their help while working the polls."

"On one occasion in the recent past, [the witness] heard [Brewer] agree to dismiss a charge for a female while asking for the female's phone numbers, which he then wrote on the pink copy of the citation. Within the past few weeks, [the witness] saw the manila file folder containing the pink copies of the citations on a table in [Brewer's] personal office."

The witness also said Brewer wears a gold badge "which resembles those carried by law enforcement officers. The badge bears [Brewer's] name and words relating to the district attorney's office."

"In the past, [the witness] has heard [Brewer] tell an individual that he was a law enforcement officer, when in fact that was not true," according to the affidavit.

The SBI agent quotes a second person as saying he also knew of the manila folder and gold badge.

A third witness reported seeing Brewer once "stop a motorist by use of a badge."

"The motorist was stopped because [Brewer] thought the motorist had committed some traffic violation." The witness said Brewer talked to the driver and then "sent the motorist on the way."

A fourth witness, a woman, said that "one day within the past five months, [she] was stopped by a male driving a Corvette who flashed a gold badge and who represented himself as a law enforcement officer. "The man wanted to know if [she] wanted a citation, a warning ticket for illegally passing him. When she protested that she had not passed him, he then wanted to know if she wanted a citation or warning ticket for following too close. When [she] challenged the man, he got back into the Corvette and left."

The woman got the license plate number and it was traced to Brewer's Corvette, the affidavit states.

Myers states in the search warrant that he believes "there is probable cause to show that [Brewer] violated the law by impersonating a law enforcement officer and by misuse of his authority."

He said there is "no legitimate reason for [Brewer] to secretly maintain a file of the pink copies of citations he has dismissed or to contact those individuals after their cases have been dismissed."

SBI agents seized the manila folder and badge from Brewer's office at the Person County Courthouse about two weeks ago.

Reached at his home Tuesday afternoon, Brewer said: "You know it would be inappropriate for me [to respond] at this time. I've got confidence in the attorney general and the SBI and the attorneys representing me. And it will be sorted out in the proper way and the proper time. And doing it in The Herald-Sun is not the way to do it."

Brewer has not been charged with a crime.

His attorney, George Daniel, could not be reached for comment.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/6621974/article-Deputy-on-thin-ice-after-bust?instance=homesixthleft


Deputy on thin ice after bust
03.09.10 - 09:56 pm
By KEITH UPCHURCH

kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612

DURHAM -- A lieutenant with the Durham County Sheriff's Office is on administrative leave during an investigation into allegations that fake handbags and cologne were being sold at a restaurant he owns.

Sheriff Worth Hill said he learned of the investigation by the N.C. Secretary of State Office Monday and placed the deputy, George McClain, who is assigned to the patrol division, on leave with pay pending the outcome of the probe.

Undercover investigators searched La Fondita restaurant on Avondale Drive in Durham late Monday. A search warrant says an undercover agent bought a designer handbag at the restaurant.

Hill said he placed McClain on leave with pay "because we're not certain what the situation is."

He said his own internal affairs investigators are also looking into the allegations.

"We've got to find out if he knew [the merchandise] was fake," Hill said. "As soon as we find out what the situation is, we'll make a decision."

McClain joined the force in 1995. No criminal charges have been filed, and the investigations by the Secretary of State's Office and the Sheriff's Office are ongoing.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/6622130/article-Judge-accepts-time-served-plea-deal-for-accused-in-Duke-robbery?instance=main_article


Judge accepts time-served plea deal for accused in Duke robbery
03.09.10 - 10:11 pm
By John McCann

jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601

DURHAM -- While some Duke University students who were robbed this year are OK with Keith Jennings not getting the book thrown at him, the judge in his case on Tuesday made it clear he couldn't care less how the victims believed justice should be administered.

"The crime isn't against the two victims," Superior Court Judge Robert F. Johnson said. What Jennings did was against the people of North Carolina, the judge insisted.

Jennings pleaded guilty to two counts of common-law robbery, one count of attempted common-law robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit common-law robbery. The judge sentenced him to a minimum of 12 months in the N.C. Department of Correction and a maximum of 15 months behind bars. But Johnson suspended that sentence in favor of 36 months of probation -- something he was very reluctant to do.

"We're talking about a robbery here -- two of them," Johnson said.

The judged asked someone to explain why he ought to accept the plea arrangement.

Jennings' criminal record is clean, defense lawyer Dan Read said. Plus Jennings has a fiancee and some babies to look after, Read said.

Assistant District Attorney Phyllis Turner said she wouldn't have pushed for the plea if the victims hadn't been on board with it.

But the judge was angry because the case involved a gun. And even though the gun was inoperable, the matter is nothing to take lightly, he said. Johnson told Jennings that if one of the victims been armed and blown him away in self defense, the law would have been on the victim's side.

On Jan. 11, Jennings and a co-defendant described by Duke University Police as a juvenile approached some Duke students on and near Central Campus. Jennings and the co-defendant -- Jennings' cousin, in fact -- thought the students were drunk, and the gun was flashed to scare them into giving up their goods, the assistant district attorney explained. The crooks made off with at least one cell phone and some cash.

The plea deal also entailed a 60-day stint in county jail. Jennings gets credit for time already served, and his lawyer said he'd already served 56 days there.


Jennings must pay $578 in restitution to the victims, and he owes the state $847.50 for Read's court-appointed legal services.

The judge also put Jennings on a curfew. When the 21-year-old gets out of jail, a portion of his probation will require him to be off the streets between 7:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. unless he's at work or in school, Johnson said.

Jennings' cousin hasn't been sentenced, Turner said.

After granting the plea, Johnson asked Jennings if he had anything to say.

"I just want to apologize for my actions," said Jennings, who thanked the judge for his leniency. "I was just being foolish."

The judge told Jennings the person he needed to thank was his lawyer, because Read cut the plea deal; and Turner -- Jennings needed to thank the assistant district attorney, too, the judge said.

"Thank you," Jennings told Turner.

She nodded.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/6621880/article-Judge-mulls-jail--but-gives-Young-more-time?instance=main_article


Judge mulls jail, but gives Young more time
03.09.10 - 09:50 pm
Edwards_2.JPG
BY BETH VELLIQUETTE

bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 419-6632

PITTSBORO -- A judge was moments away from sending Andrew Young to jail Tuesday for contempt of court but a last second argument by Young's attorney changed the judge's mind.

Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones had ordered Young to be taken into custody after he was unable to account for a flash drive he made containing photographs of Rielle Hunter, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards and their baby and after a writer claimed Young showed him the Edwards sex tape at Young's home in March 2009.

But after appearing to change his mind numerous times, Jones finally said he'd give Andrew Young one more chance to convince him he's not in contempt. That will come at a 2 p.m. Friday court appearance.

In a hearing at the Chatham County Courthouse that started in the morning and went into the evening, attorneys for Rielle Hunter argued that the Young and his wife, Cheri, have not been truthful with the judge and have not turned over an accurate list of people they showed the sex tape to or explained what happened to a flash drive containing about 150 photographs taken by Hunter.

The attorneys for the Youngs in turn argued that the Youngs have done their best to turn over every piece of material that may be associated with Hunter, including newspapers, receipts and utility bills.

But what they didn't turn over to the court was one of two flash drives that Andrew Young made of Hunter's personal photographs that he claims she uploaded to their computer while they were all living together in California while on the run from the media.

Young testified that when Edwards went to California to appear on a TV show with Jay Leno, Edwards spent two days with Hunter and her baby in a Hollywood hotel. Hunter, he said, was nervous about Edward's reaction to meeting the baby, but when she returned to home she was ecstatic because Edwards was happy about the baby.

In her excitement, Hunter showed Andrew and Cheri Young the photographs in her camera of Edwards holding the baby and sleeping next to it, Andrew Young testified.

Later, because Hunter was having problems with her computer, she uploaded the photographs to a laptop owned by the Youngs, Young said. He added that the computer was kept in a common area at the house the three people shared. He said the laptop was used by Hunter and the Youngs.

When Young discovered the photographs on the laptop, he said he downloaded copies to two flash drives and to a disc that he labeled "hmn copy 2 pix."

That raised the question of whether there was a "copy 1 of the disc," and the attorneys argued about that as well. Young testified he doesn't recall making a first copy and didn't think there was one.

Young testified that the reason he made copies of the photographs was to protect himself and his wife.

"My thought at that time because we were very, very scared of some very, very powerful people," Young testified. "My thought was to put them in lockboxes in case something happened to us."

He testified that he kept the two identical flash drives in a black gym bag that he carried with him as he, his wife and Hunter fled the media by driving up and down the coast of California staying at different hotels after photos were published of Edwards holding the baby in a hotel room.

The last time he saw the two flash drives in the bag was in California, he said.

The other issue, which caused Jones to hit his head with his hand and let out a groan, came when Hunter's attorney, Wade Barber, presented an affidavit from a writer named Robert Draper.

In the affidavit, Draper wrote that he was friends with the Youngs and was at their home on March 31, 2009 when Young offered to show him the sex tape.

Draper wrote that Young showed him the tape and that it was about 10 to 15 minutes long.

"As we watched the recording, Andrew Young said that the woman was pregnant. My impression was that Andrew Young sought to paint a picture of John Edwards and Rielle Hunter who is the woman he said was in the video, as despicable individuals and that he thought the pregnancy angle was important to his depiction.

"I did not believe then and do not believe now that the woman in the recording was pregnant or that the recording depicts a pregnant woman."

As afternoon turned into evening, Jones appeared to have trouble making up his mind about whether to put Andrew Young in jail. The attorneys for Hunter and the Youngs went back and forth and back and forth for hours arguing that yes, the Young should go to jail, and no, the Young shouldn't go to jail.

Just as Jones appeared to be ready to make a decision, he allowed the attorneys to continue their arguments. At one point, it appeared he was going to jail both Andrew and Cheri Young, but later said he wasn't going to put Cheri Young in jail, only Andrew Young.

Young's attorney, Robert Elliot, argued that Andrew Young has done everything he could do to find the items and if he was jailed, there was nothing else he could do to find them.

But in the end, Jones suddenly changed his mind and allowed Andrew Young to walk from the courthouse and go home.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/6621378/article-Judge--Young-team-may-view-the--sex-tape--?instance=main_article

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Judge: Young team may view the 'sex tape'
03.09.10 - 08:50 pm
BY BETH VELLIQUETTE

bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 419-6632

PITTSBORO -- A judge Tuesday ruled that attorneys for Andrew and Cheri Young may watch the "private and personal" videotape that Rielle Hunter claims belongs to her.

Despite arguments from one of Hunter's attorneys, Allison Van Laningham, that it didn't matter what was on the videotape, only whether the Youngs took a videotape that didn't belong to them, Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones ruled that attorneys Robert Elliot and David Pishko can watch the videotape in order to prepare for the lawsuit that will eventually decide who owns the videotape and other items.

Hunter, who was former U.S. John Edwards' mistress as he began his Democratic presidential campaign in 2006, claims she left the videotape in a hatbox along with other personal items in the home she lived in at Governor's Club.

The Youngs claim she left the videotape, which they refer to as the Edwards sex tape, in a box of trash at the home they lived in at Governor's Club.

The videotape and a copy of it have been turned over to the court and are in the custody of the Orange County Clerk of Court.

The issue of who is the rightful owner of the tape will be decided in a jury trial, but the Youngs' attorney said the lawyers will need to watch the tape in order to prepare for the trial.

Van Lanningham argued that would be one more invasion of Hunter's privacy since the Youngs have already shown the tape or portions of it to news producers, book agents and other attorneys.

The issue is whether Hunter abandoned the videotape, who owns it and did the Youngs convert it to their own use, not what's on the tape, Van Lanningham said.

"The plaintiff's privacy doesn't need to be invaded yet again because they hired a new set of attorneys," she argued. Jones, however, ruled against Hunter saying that attorneys must have access to evidence while preparing for a trial. He told Van Lanningham she could write an order with protections in it that would limit the tape to the eyes of the attorneys only.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/6618866/article-Define--diverse-?instance=editorial


Define 'diverse'
03.09.10 - 04:28 pm
County Commissioner Brenda Howerton wants to foster diversity by replacing a white member of the Durham Planning Commission with an Asian applicant. We ardently disagree.

Still, Howerton deserves credit and thanks for opening such a sticky subject. Durham needs to have this conversation.

A quick primer: The Durham County Board of Commissioners appoints seven of the 14 members of the Durham Planning Commission. The board includes four white men, four white women, four black men and one black woman. (One of the county’s seats, representing Oak Grove/Carr Township, is vacant.) The county’s portion is made up of two white men, three white women and a black man.

Linda Huff-Smith, a liberal, white artist from Rougemont, is finishing her first term as the county’s representative from Mangum Township.

During her tenure, Huff-Smith has made a few waves. The city government asked the Planning Commission to designate the Rolling Hills and Southside neighborhoods as blighted sections of the city. (A blight designation would make the area eligible for low-income housing tax credits.) Huff-Smith went out to the area and talked to residents and business owners, then voted against the city’s request.

We disagreed with Huff-Smith’s vote, but it’s important to note that she does her homework and — since we’re talking about diversity in terms of ethnicity — consulted with and stuck up for black residents.

Teiji Kimball, a business and IT consultant for TDS Consulting, filed an application to be appointed to the Mangum Township seat on the Planning Commission. He is, as Howerton noted, Asian and, to be fair, Kimball and Parixit Joshi, an Indian resident of Chapel Hill who applied for one of the city’s seats, were the only applicants who were not white or black.

Howerton, who is black, argued that she “is not for anyone else or against anyone else, except that we’ve got to represent Durham County. We need to represent all the people and not just some.”

That’s a laudable goal, but what does diversity mean to this community? Is it skin color? Interest groups? Country of origin? Socio-economic level? Education level?

In other words: Who are “all” the people, and how far are we willing to go to make sure they’re represented?

In the South of the 1960s and ’70s, when people of different races were guaranteed to have such completely different experiences and opportunities that they essentially lived in different countries, race was a useful starting point to ensure a diverse conversation.

To an extent, that continues. Black Americans and white Americans still experience different worlds — but so do poor Americans and rich Americans, college professors and high school dropouts, men, women, recent immigrants and those whose lives began and will end within 100 square miles.

This recently was illustrated when the chairwoman of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People suggested a proposed new school was a vehicle for white flight. Black residents of the wealthy Treyburn subdivision disagreed.

Is it time for Durham to abandon race as the best way to define “diverse”?

Yes. We can’t afford to appoint our planning commission as if we are casting a Benetton ad. There is a reason why “ethnic background” is only the second question on the application, not the last.
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http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=138638&catid=57

Former Caswell DA Accused Of Impersonating Officer
Matt McKinney Created: 3/9/2010 6:04:29 PM Updated: 3/9/2010 8:28:15 PM

Roxboro, NC -- The former district attorney for Caswell and Person Counties is under investigation by the state for allegedly impersonating a police officer and dismissing minor charges for election favors.

Joel Brewer served as District Attorney for the two counties until retiring on March 5. He does not face any criminal charges at this time.

2 Wants To Know has obtained copies of the search warrant filed by the SBI investigator in the case.

WEB EXTRA: Search Warrant In Joel Brewer Investigation

According to the warrant the agent reports "there is probable cause to show District Attorney Brewere has violated the law by impersonating a law enforcement officer and by misuse of his authority."

The warrant states that an agent seized a gold-colored badge with Brewer's first initials and last name on it.

In addition the search warrant says that investigators learned from a source that "District Attorney Brewer would routinely dismiss minor citations and traffic charges for people and then save the pink copy of the citations which District Attorney Brewer has kept in a manila file folder in his office."

"During past elections district attorney brewer has referred to the manila file folder.. called some of those for whom he has dismissed charges, reminded them of what he did and asked them for their vote or their help with working the polls."

Brewer has not been charged with any crimes.

Brewer told WFMY News 2 in a message, "It is best that these matters be sorted out between the attorney general and attorneys, and I'm sure that it'll be handled appropriately. I don't have any comment to you and I shouldn't at this point."
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Search Warrant

http://www.digtriad.com/news/pdf/brewer-search-warrants.pdf
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http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7199300/

Warrant: Ex-Person DA impersonated officer
Posted: 3:40 p.m. yesterday
Updated: 6:00 p.m. yesterday

The former district attorney for Person and Caswell counties stopped drivers by flashing a gold badge and tried to use dismissed cases to win re-election, according to a search warrant filed Tuesday.

The State Bureau of Investigation has been investigating Joel Brewer since last fall, officials said, but the reason for the probe hadn't previously been disclosed. Brewer, who retired last month, has said he is cooperating fully with the investigation.

SBI agents searched Brewer's office at the Person County Courthouse two weeks ago, seizing two folders containing pink copies of citations, notes, phone messages and letters, according to the search warrant. One file was for male defendants, and the other was for female defendants, the warrant states.

Agents also seized a gold-colored badge with "District Attorney" and "J.H. Brewer" engraved on the shield, according to the warrant.

Two people told investigators that Brewer would keep the pink copies in his office after dismissing charges and would call the defendants up during a campaign to remind them of the cases. He wanted the defendants to vote for him and to work at the polls for him on Election Day, the people told investigators.

One of the witnesses told investigators that Brewer asked a female defendant for her phone number while dismissing a charge against her, and he wrote it on the pink copy of the citation, according to the warrant.

A woman told investigators that a man driving a dark-colored Corvette stopped her on the road, flashed a badge and threatened to cite her for various traffic offenses. When she protested, he got back into his car and left. She gave the license plate number of the Corvette to investigators, who traced it to Brewer, according to the warrant.

Another witness also reported seeing Brewer stop a driver by flashing the badge, according to the warrant.

SBI Special Agent W.R. Myers stated in his affidavit for the search warrant that there was probable cause to show Brewer impersonated a law enforcement officer and abused his authority.

Brewer tried to keep the search warrant sealed, but a Superior Court judge ruled Monday that all but two paragraphs of the warrant and affidavit should be filed as public record. If criminal charges are filed in the case, an unedited version of the documents will become public record, the judge ruled.

The two missing paragraphs involved information provided by a woman referred to in the affidavit as "Female #1."

Gov. Beverly Perdue's office is reviewing candidates to name someone to fill the remainder of Brewer's term.
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http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/special_agents_probe_ex-caswell_county_da/18780/

Special agents probe ex-Caswell County DA
By Matt Tomsic
Published: March 9, 2010

ROXBORO, N.C. — North Carolina special agents are investigating the former Caswell County district attorney for dismissing minor citations for people and then asking them for favors during elections — and for impersonating a law enforcement officer — according to a February search warrant, which gives the first public details of the nearly four-month-long investigation.

Joel Brewer, the former district attorney, has been the subject of a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation probe since November. A bureau spokeswoman has not commented on the specif-ics of the probe since it began.

Brewer retired March 1, with eight months left in his term. He was the top prosecutor for District 9A, which included Caswell and Person counties. Brewer has not been charged with any-thing.

The specific allegations come from a search warrant that cites SBI interviews with six people, who were not named in the affidavit.

According to the search warrant’s affidavit, Brewer routinely dismissed minor citations and traffic charges for people and kept pink copies of the citations in a manila folder. Brewer then called those people during election years, reminding them of the dismissal and asking them to vote for him or work the polls, the affidavit said.

Investigators also learned that Brewer carried a gold badge, which looked like a police shield. “District Attorney” and “J. H. Brewer” were engraved on the badge, according to an inventory of items seized from the search.

Brewer used the badge during traffic stops he conducted. The affidavit cites an incident that happened during the last five months when Brewer stopped a woman and flashed his badge. Brewer asked if she wanted a citation or a warning for passing him illegally. The woman said that she didn’t pass him, and Brewer asked if she wanted a citation or warning for following too closely.

The woman challenged Brewer again, and he got back into his car and left. The woman wrote down the car’s license plate number, and investigators found that the car was registered to Brewer.

Search and sealing

Using the interviews as cause, the SBI searched Brewer and his Person County office at 3:15 p.m. Feb. 23 Special agents seized two folders, which had pink copies of citations, defendant’s copies of electronic citations and various notes, phone messages and letters, according to an in-ventory of items seized. One of the folders was for men, the other for women.

A gold badge was also seized.

The Feb. 23 search warrant was initially sealed at the request of Brewer’s attorneys, but on Monday, a superior court judge unsealed a redacted version of the warrant and affidavit.

George Daniel, an attorney representing Brewer, said that he and his client will wait for the investigation to finish before addressing the allegations.
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http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/state/former-da-investigated-impersonating-cop-17279

Former DA investigated for impersonating cop
The Associated Press
Tuesday, March 9, 2010

ROXBORO — The former district attorney for two North Carolina counties is being investigated for impersonating a police officer and seeking help on Election Day from people for whom he dismissed minor charges.

The allegations were unveiled on Tuesday as a State Bureau of Investigation agent filed a search warrant in Person County in the probe into former prosecutor Joel Brewer, who retired as DA for Person and Caswell counties on March 1.

A judge on Monday ruled the warrant should be released as long as some information was redacted.

The warrant states that an agent seized a gold-colored badge wirth Brewer’s name on it and two folders containing copies of old citations.

Brewer’s attorney, George Daniel, declined comment.

Prosecutors were given 48 hours to release the warrant against Brewer after redacting two paragraphs from an affidavit filed by the lead investigator in the case that judge Gary Trawick said contain conclusions on what crimes may have been committed and facts that weren’t necessary to issue the warrant.

“They go to matters that are highly prejudicial and could ruin a man’s reputation,” Trawick said.

The whole affidavit will be released if charges are filed against Brewer, Trawick ruled.

Senior deputy attorney general Jim Coman confirmed state agents are investigating Brewer and he expects charges to be filed against the former lead prosecutor for Person and Caswell counties.

But he wouldn’t give any details about what Brewer might have done, saying any information will be released Tuesday when SBI agents file the warrant Tuesday in Person County, about 45 miles northwest of Raleigh.

Lawyers for Brewer wanted the warrant sealed, saying releasing the information could embarrass others named in the document and could make it impossible if he is charged to get a fair trial in Person County, where he lives with about 37,500 other people.

That left prosecutors in the unusual position of asking to be allowed to release information to the public.

Coman argued the warrant should be public just like any other and suggested Brewer was just trying to avoid his own personal humiliation.

Few details about the warrant came out during a hearing Monday held in N.C. Superior Court in Union County just east of Charlotte because that’s where Trawick, who issued the original warrant, was hearing cases this week.

Lawyers for both sides spoke vaguely about two items seized like adults trying to discuss private details around children.

Daniel said at various times during his 20-minute argument that releasing the information would be “devastating,” “detrimental” and “inflammatory” not just for Brewer, but for people who were questioned by agents and named in the papers.

“This is the buzz of the town. Mr. Brewer has a family. And the people listed here shouldn’t necessary be the coffee shop gossip,” said James “Butch” Williams, another of Brewer’s attorneys.

Coman said releasing the warrant to the public would not affect the investigation and suggested Brewer was upset because the justice system was being used against him.

“He’s wanting preferential treatment,” Coman said. “If this was Joe Blow in Roxboro and this very same search warrant with the same affidavit attached to it was filed, it would be filed. There wouldn’t be any hearing. There wouldn’t be any argument.”

Daniel said he didn’t plan to appeal the ruling. He refused to speak on behalf of his client or give any details about the investigation. Brewer hasn’t been charged with any crimes.
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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/10/379862/youngs-skirt-jail-time.html


Published Wed, Mar 10, 2010 05:08 AM
Modified Wed, Mar 10, 2010 12:21 AM
Youngs skirt jail time

PITTSBORO Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones threatened repeatedly to send Andrew Young to jail Tuesday for being untruthful about copies made of a sex tape featuring former Sen. John Edwards and his onetime mistress, as well as photos of the then-presidential candidate and his love child.

"I don't like to be played," the judge said sternly. "[Young] has submitted affidavits that are full of, to use a nice word, inaccuracies. I find it difficult to accept what has been said to me at face value."

But before the judge could order bailiffs to take Young away, lawyers for the former Edwards aide managed each time to talk Jones out of locking him up.

At issue was an order the judge issued in January requiring Young and his wife, Cheri, to turn over all videos, photos and documents related to the mistress's relationship with Edwards pending the result of a lawsuit over who owns the materials. The court hearing Tuesday was the fourth in little more than a month held to determine whether the Youngs had complied.

A bevy of lawyers for Edwards' former mistress Rielle Hunter presented evidence that Young had been repeatedly untruthful or failed to disclose key information in past courtroom testimony and six sworn affidavits.

Called to the witness stand to explain himself, Young said the discrepancies were the result of a faulty memory and his chaotic life as a busy author of a best-selling tell-all book on a national media tour, rather than a willful attempt to hide the truth.

"We've been through hell in the last two and a half years," Young said. "We're talking about an incredibly stressful time. ... I'm trying to be as truthful as I can."

Young had sworn in his most recent affidavit that he had shown the sex tape to only a handful of people, including a producer for ABC's "20/20" television program, writers he talked to about potentially helping with the book and a representative of his publishing house. Young said he had to show the tape to prove the story of his role in hiding Edwards' affair was true.

Hunter's lawyers countered with an affidavit from Robert Draper, a freelance journalist from New York who ghostwrote Edwards' 2003 book "Four Trials." Draper said Young had invited him to the couple's Chapel Hill home in March 2009 to talk about writing a new book about the couple's cross-country odyssey with a pregnant Hunter while her lover campaigned for president.

After sushi and several bottles of wine, the two men retired to Young's office. Draper said Young then played the sex tape for him on a big-screen television.

Challenged as to why he failed to disclose the screening with Draper, Young said he had no recollection of the event and that, in the past, he often drank too much.

"Whether it's the wine or the time, I have no recollection of that," Young said. "I'm not denying it happened; I just don't remember it."

Jones said he was concerned by the omission of the meeting with Draper, as well as the whereabouts of a missing thumb drive to which Young said he had copied dozens of photos of a nude, pregnant Hunter and of Edwards with the baby he long denied was his. Also in question was whether Young had burned an additional DVD copy of the sex tape that had yet to be turned over, as well as a list of the names of 34 men penned by Hunter and titled "The Slut Club."

About 7 p.m., shortly after one of Hunter's lawyers openly called Young a liar, Jones again announced he was sending him to jail for up to 75 days for contempt of court.

"I'm at a loss of what to do but see what I will get if his freedom is removed," the judge declared.

But Robert Elliot, one of Young's lawyers, pleaded with the judge to give his client one last chance to be completely forthcoming.

Jones relented and scheduled yet another hearing for Friday.
michael.biesecker@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4698
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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/10/379628/chased-vehicle-fired-on-driver.html


Published Wed, Mar 10, 2010 05:14 AM
Modified Wed, Mar 10, 2010 12:10 AM
Chased vehicle fired on; driver wrecks

DURHAM Police have identified a man who drove into a tree after being shot Monday night as Rayshaun Cotton, 29, of Garrett Road.

He suffered critical injuries and was taken to Duke Hospital for treatment.

Cotton was driving west on Holloway Street near Guthrie Avenue shortly before 9 p.m. when the incident occurred. Witnesses said his vehicle was being chased by a second vehicle.

The second vehicle is described as a light-colored, boxy style vehicle similar to an Oldsmobile Cutlass. It may have been damaged in the incident.

Anyone with information about the vehicle or the incident is asked to call 560-4440, ext. 29320, or Crime Stoppers at 683-1200.
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http://southernwakegop.org/blog/2010/03/09/correcting-the-dept-of-corrections/


Correcting the Dept of Corrections
March 9

Last week, a memorial garden in honor of slain former UNC student body president Eve Carson was dedicated. This terrible tragedy is even more tragic because Carson’s killers should have been behind bars, not out on the streets.

Both of the men who have been charged in the Carson murder were out on probation. (One of the men has also been charged with the murder of a Duke graduate student). Both men were not in compliance with the terms of their probation and the mismanaged Department of Corrections probation division did nothing about it.

This was not an isolated incident. Last July, a former death row inmate paroled in 2007 from what was supposed to be a life sentence in prison for kidnapping and killing a taxi driver kidnapped, robbed and terrorized a Gastonia family. It has come to light that the man had been arrested 3 times since his parole, but probation officials failed to revoke his parole.

When Governor Bev Perdue took office, she promised to overhaul the probation system and she hired Alvin Keller to head up the Department of Corrections. Keller and Perdue noted the huge number of vacancies in probation officer positions and said filling those vacancies would be a top priority. Recent numbers indicate that the number of job vacancies actually went up, from 109 to 141 during Perdue’s first year as Governor. In a state with an unemployment rate of 11.2%, it is hard to fathom having trouble finding applicants for a state job with full benefits.

Keller and his minions are saying that low pay and high standards have led to the increase in vacancies. What happened to it being their top priority? Why did they not shift some of the thousands of dollars used to provide college courses for prisoners? This is yet another example of misplaced priorities and another example why the people of North Carolina are fed with “Business as Usual Bev” and her liberal Democrat colleagues in the state legsilatrue. That is why it is so vital to stop business as usual politics by electing a conservative Republican majority to the state legislature.

Tom Fetzer, NC GOP State Chair
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