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Blog and Media Roundup - Wednesday, October 27, 2010; News Roundup
Topic Started: Oct 27 2010, 03:40 AM (1,188 Views)
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http://www.americanpress.com/lc/blogs/wpnewssum/?p=11335

Student rape claims false (10/27)

Posted 11:03 pm, October 26, 2010, under News | Leave a Comment
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

By VANESSA C. DEGGINS / AMERICAN PRESS

A man arrested a month ago on a forcible rape charge was released from jail last week after officials learned that his accuser had lied, Sheriff Tony Mancuso said Tuesday.

The man, 19-year-old Tyler Leger, was arrested Sept. 23 after Kolbie Wade, 18, said he raped her in a McNeese State University parking lot. His bond was set at $750,000.

Wade has since told officials that she didn’t know Leger, and she’s offered no reason for why she made up the story, Mancuso said.

Wade was charged with criminal mischief, and Mancuso said officials have asked the district attorney to consider more serious charges of altering a public document and false swearing for purposes of violating public health.

Mancuso said Leger, who was released Oct. 19, professed his innocence from the beginning and gave detectives information that they followed up on.

“After she picks him out (of a photo lineup) and we started checking her story, all the cards seemed to be falling in place,” Mancuso said.

“The witnesses he was giving us at first, their timelines weren’t matching up, and we finally spoke to others that led us in the direction that he did not commit this rape.”

Mancuso said the arrest of Leger on a child pornography charge in the previous week played a role in his being put in the lineup. He reportedly also matched the description Wade gave to detectives.

“I feel we absolutely had probable cause to arrest this man based on the information we had, and that’s unfortunate for him,” Mancuso said. “We can’t control when people lie to us. We still have to go with that information and prove otherwise.

“It’s important that women understand that if they feel like they are a victim, they need to report this,” he said. “What we can’t have is people fabricating stories for whatever reason, because it tasks our deputies and staff when they could be looking at other crimes.”

McNeese police chief Cinnamon Salvador said the campus is safe and that this development shouldn’t deter victims from reporting crimes.

“We don’t want this to have a chilling effect on other victims of sexual assault,” she said. “A lot of the time, they have the feeling that they won’t be believed. We want you to report that, but you have to provide accurate information.”
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http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1288161039264620.xml&coll=1

Tapes reveal Danziger plotting, feds say
Cops secretly recorded colleague
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
By Brendan McCarthy
Staff writer

At least two New Orleans police officers secretly recorded conversations with a sergeant who participated in the shootings on the Danziger Bridge, capturing him as he incriminated himself and other colleagues, according to new court documents.

The allegations are contained in a 23-page court brief, filed Tuesday, that offers a peek into the evidence that federal prosecutors have gathered against the six current or former NOPD officers facing trial in the post-Katrina police shooting and subsequent cover-up. Five other officers have already pleaded guilty to roles in the incident -- in which six civilians were shot by police, two of them fatally -- and will testify against their colleagues.

The filing quotes from taped conversations between Sgt. Robert Gisevius, one of the six cops to be tried in June, and two other current or former officers. In those conversations, the filing says, Gisevius elaborates on his role in the conspiracy and expounds on ways to maintain the cover-up. The new filing does not identify the two officers whose conversations with Gisevius were recorded.

Three current NOPD officers -- Sgt. Kenneth Bowen, Sgt. Robert Gisevius and officer Anthony Villavaso -- and a former officer, Robert Faulcon, were charged in July with civil rights violations in the bridge shootings. Two other officers, Sgt. Arthur Kaufman and former Sgt. Gerard Dugue, are charged with helping cover up the case.

According to the court filing:

In one "in-person conversation" caught on tape, Gisevius allegedly railed against his colleagues and their inability to maintain an airtight cover-up. The chat was taped by a "member of the original cover-up conspiracy, whom Gisevius believed still to be a co-conspirator."

Gisevius said federal agents "could link a lot of people" to the conspiracy and that "everyone might be sunk."

He blamed Kaufman for being "f***ing dumb enough to put the report" on his computer, which federal agents later seized in a raid on the NOPD's homicide office.

He mused aloud about whether co-conspirator Ignatius Hills was "the leak" to the government. Hills eventually signed a plea deal.

He assured the cooperating officer that "the seven of us won't talk," a reference to the so-called Danziger 7, the group initially charged in a state case that later fell apart.

In another taped conversation with a different officer, Gisevius grew suspicious. "I don't know if you are wired or not," the filing states. Despite his wariness, Gisevius allegedly made statements incriminating other officers, but denied his own involvement in the conspiracy.

Gisevius' attorney, Eric Hessler, downplayed the evidentiary value of the tapes.

"I'm not concerned about the tapes because I've listened to them" and the government's filings take words out of context, Hessler said. "I'm not concerned about the way the government portrays the tapes. The tapes will be played in court and the jury will be able to understand what is being said."

Hessler declined to elaborate.

Kaufman's attorney, Stephen London, called the government's new filing a clear attempt to taint the jury pool.

"The government is intentionally leaking and putting stuff in the public arena because they are afraid they have a weak case," London said. "There is no reason they wouldn't put this under seal if they actually believed in their case."

London asserted that prosecutors want to try the case in public, and said the media is complicit in their scheme.

Along with details about the taped conversations, the government's new filing alleges that Dugue and Villavaso made various statements incriminating themselves and others that the government hopes to introduce at trial.

Dugue, after initially standing by the NOPD investigation, gave a second interview to FBI agents in September 2009, the filing says. In that interview, prosecutors say, Dugue drastically changed his tune, expressing grave concerns about the Danziger investigation, about the integrity of Kaufman's work, and about the veracity of the witnesses and the officers involved. According to the court filing:

Dugue told agents in the later interview that he had wondered whether two alleged eyewitnesses really existed and found it "fishy" that they were never taken to the station to give statements.

Dugue concluded that Bowen's story was inconsistent "in a big way," and that his explanation for not picking up supposed civilian weapons was "absurd."

Dugue questioned whether Ronald Madison had ever shot at police, as all the officers alleged.

Dugue said he was "uncomfortable" that Kaufman altered a police report used to justify the arrest of Lance Madison. In addition, Dugue said he believed that Kaufman did not conduct an honest investigation.

Dugue's attorney, Claude Kelly, said the court filing shows Dugue's innocence.

"I think the brief demonstrates that Gerard Dugue did nothing wrong," Kelly said. "He was never on the Danziger Bridge. He reasonably relied on the statements of trusted veteran police officers."

Villavaso, meanwhile, allegedly confided in a man who was cooperating with prosecutors, telling the man that he saw Sgt. Kenneth Bowen use a handgun to shoot one or two rounds into the stomach of a wounded victim lying on the bridge.

Villavaso also allegedly implicated two indicted investigators -- Dugue and Kaufman -- in an interview with FBI agents in early 2010. Villavaso told agents that the two investigators "put stuff in the report that we didn't do," according to prosecutors.

Attorneys for the officers said they will respond to the government's filing soon.

Villavaso's attorney didn't return phone calls.

The central part of the government's new filing is an argument that the various incriminating statements should be admissible at trial. A Supreme Court ruling, Bruton v. United States, set forth guidelines on so-called fingerpointing in trials -- situations when one defendant's admissions ultimately implicate another defendant.

The Bill of Rights guarantees criminal defendants the right to question and cross-examine their accusers in court, but that becomes more complicated when the "accuser" is also a defendant.

In the filing, prosecutors ask that U.S. District Court Judge Kurt Englehardt rule the statements admissible. With regard to Dugue's statements, which they argue implicate himself and others, prosecutors ask that the judge either separate his trial or empanel a second jury to deal solely with Dugue's case.

Englehardt hasn't yet ruled on the government's brief.

. . . . . . .

Brendan McCarthy can be reached at bmccarthy@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3301.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/10056390/article-Probe-continues-in-death-of-Duke-student--memorial-today?instance=main_article

Probe continues in death of Duke student; memorial today
The Herald Sun
10.26.10 - 10:58 pm
By KEITH UPCHURCH

kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612

DURHAM -- Duke University police were still gathering evidence Tuesday in the death of a Duke senior who apparently fell from some steps at an East Campus building last week.

The student, Drew Everson, was found at the base of a stairwell in the back of the East Union building about 11:30 a.m. Friday, Keith Lawrence, director of media relations for the university, said Tuesday. Lawrence said it wasn't clear if Everson was alone at the time.

He died Sunday afternoon at Duke University Hospital.

"We're still gathering evidence and trying to figure out exactly what happened," Lawrence said. "It looks like it's an accident, but until all the evidence is in" no final determination will be made, he said.

"We're hoping to resolve this soon, but at this point there's nothing new to report."

The investigation is being handled by Duke University police.

Lawrence said he's talked to students, "and they've said they're not interested in talking with the media" about Everson's death.

Everson, 21, was a political science major from Tampa, Fla., a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and the Duke Debate Team, and served as a line monitor for Duke men's basketball.

His parents live in Tampa, but Everson attended high school in Mauldin, S.C., and graduated in 2007, Lawrence said.

A memorial service will be held at noon today at Duke Chapel. It's open to the public, but cameras will not be allowed. A reception will follow in the Scharf Commons area adjacent to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/10056352/article-Duke-grad-student-out-on-bail?instance=main_article

Duke grad student out on bail
The Herald Sun
10.26.10 - 10:53 pm
By KEITH UPCHURCH

kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612

DURHAM -- A Duke University graduate student and former Blue Devil lacrosse player has been arrested and charged with attempted first-degree burglary in Durham.

Sam Charles Payton, 23, of Greenwich, Conn., was arrested Sunday.

Durham police were called to a break-in in progress at 4:10 a.m. in the 2400 block of West Club Boulevard, according to police spokeswoman Kammie Michael. A resident told police that a man tried to enter the house through the back door and then through the front door, she said.

Michael said that when police arrived, they found Payton and arrested him. She said the residents did not know him.

Payton, who is pursuing a master of business administration degree at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, was released Sunday from the Durham County Jail on a $30,000 secured bond.

His attorney, Bob Ekstrand, released the following statement Tuesday: "My client made the mistake of attempting to enter what he believed to be his friends' house after a night out with his friends. This unfortunate mistake no doubt alarmed the homeowner and the police, and for that he is terribly sorry. But it did not involve any criminal activity -- he was not driving a car and no one was injured. We hope to resolve this matter promptly with all involved, who will have our full cooperation."
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/10056346/article-Judicial-candidates-meet-in-Tuesday-NCCU-forum?instance=main_article

Judicial candidates meet in Tuesday NCCU forum
The Herald Sun
10.26.10 - 10:53 pm
By John McCann

jmccann@heraldsun.com

DURHAM -- Local judicial candidates held court Tuesday evening during a forum at the N.C. Central University School of Law.

Some of the candidates appealed to the race of the mostly black students in the audience, and some running for office who graduated from NCCU played up their ties to the school. Some candidates did both.

But after candidates explained a little bit about themselves and why they were seeking to get elected or re-elected, NCCU Black Law Students Association Political & Social Chairwoman Shantia Stanley steered the remarks with questions from her group, which hosted the forum, and the audience.

Answering a question about the root cause of the high number of juvenile defendants in the courtroom, lawyer Brian Aus, a District Court judicial candidate, chalked it up to absentee parents, poverty and issues related to substance abuse.

Lawyer Freda Black, a District Court judicial candidate, said so many homes lack structure and discipline.

Durham County Chief District Court Judge Elaine Bushfan, who is seeking a Superior Court judgeship, said many young people lack the hope needed to achieve the American dream.

Lawyer Pat Evans, a District Court judicial candidate, said a societal breakdown in morals and values has negatively impacted youths.

Stanley asked whether the court system is working. District Court Judge Brian Wilks, unopposed for re-election, said he sometimes looks around his courtroom and wonders how in the world he's going to get through the docket.

Durham County Assistant District Attorney Doretta Walker, a District Court judicial candidate, said the court system needs more judges, prosecutors and clerks in order to run more efficiently.

Lawyer Chris Shella, seeking a Superior Court judgeship, said the court system needs to work better, because people are languishing in jail far too long before getting their day in court.

Someone from the audience wanted to know if the collective judicial bench is an unbiased way to discipline minorities who didn't get disciplined at home when they were youths.

Because of the way things are in society, more minorities end up in court, and judges are left to sort it out, said lawyer Dan Read, a candidate for a Superior Court judgeship.

Lawyer Mike O'Foghludha, a candidate for a Superior Court judgeship, said a judge's limited time with a defendant can't replace home training or what a defendant might learn at church. But in some cases the court system allows a judge to offer disciplining alternatives such as probation and house arrest instead of what often becomes a cycle of prison.

A question about youths receiving lengthy or life prison sentences was posed to lawyer James Hughes, a candidate for a Superior Court judgeship. He said judges should approach defendants on a case-by-case basis, but he generally is against real long prison sentences for youth -- we're losing enough of them already, Hughes said.

District Court Judge Nancy Gordon, unopposed for re-election, dealt with the issue of how courts work. The problem is most folks don't know how courts work, she said.

"People don't know what judges do," Gordon said.
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10053646/article-The-slow-trek-to-a-free-Internet?instance=hs_guest_columnists

The slow trek to a free Internet
The Herald Sun
10.26.10 - 05:59 pm
By Jackson Diehl

The Washington Post

A week ago Tuesday 215,646 Internet users in Iran evaded their regime to visit sites such as Facebook, Twitter and RadioFarda.com, the U.S.-funded Persian-language news service. In Syria, 14,886 people freely surfed; in Vietnam, 10,612; in Saudi Arabia, 14,691; in China, 18,000.

I know this because I saw the internal logs of a company called UltraReach, which created and manages a firewall-breaching system that is allowing as many as half a million people a day to visit Web sites banned by their governments, and circumvent or avoid detection. To watch the traffic stream through the company's servers is to see a parade of the world's most oppressed people. In the few minutes I watched I also saw Cubans, Burmese, Uzbeks, Belarusians, Algerians, Cambodians and Libyans traveling via an Internet link to Northern California, where they were able to visit any non-pornographic site without being blocked or identified.

That the technology created by UltraReach and an affiliated company called Freegate works is not a matter of debate. Its success has been recognized from the State Department to the Chinese government, which has devoted enormous resources to trying to defeat it, so far unsuccessfully. The question is what is to be done. The companies' volunteer founders and operators say that if they could get $30 million in funding they could ramp up their networks to accommodate millions more users -- and effectively destroy the Internet controls of Iran and most other dictatorships.

Since 2007, a few in Congress have been trying to get that funding by putting earmarks into the State Department budget -- a total of $50 million so far. Yet the firewall-busting firms, which have formed an entity called the Global Internet Freedom Consortium, have yet to receive a dime. In fact, $35 million of the funds has yet to be spent, even though it was included in State's budgets for 2009 and 2010.

You'd think State would be eager to act. After all, Hillary Clinton gave a major speech last January saying that the promotion of Internet freedom would be a top priority. Her senior aide for human rights and democracy, Michael Posner, says that defeating Internet censorship could be "a game-changer" in states like Iran.

So why has nothing happened? The answer appears to be a mix of bureaucratic slowness, confusion over policy and -- possibly -- a desire to avoid offending the Chinese government, which has denounced the coalition as "anti-China forces engaged in anti-China activities."

In fact, the founders of UltraReach are members of the Falun Gong movement, which has been banned and persecuted by Beijing. Its chief technologist left China for Silicon Valley after the 1989 Tiananmen square massacre. This man, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity because he has relatives in China, said that the circumvention program was written in 2001-02 to help Chinese get around the regime's powerful firewall. But the software, which can be carried on a thumb drive, quickly spread. How much so became clear in June 2009, when Iranians erupted in protest over a stolen presidential election. More than 1 million Iranians tried to use UltraReach's system, causing its servers to crash. Since then about half of the system's users have been Iranian.

The Bush administration received the first $15 million put in State's budget for this technology. It gave most of the money to a company that specializes in training journalists. The next appropriation, of $5 million, was inherited by the Obama administration; it took more than 18 months to dispose of it. Of that funding, $1.5 million was given in August to the Broadcasting Board of Governors for distribution to the Global Internet Freedom Consortium. But the BBG has yet to turn over the funds. Meanwhile, State has not even begun distributing the $30 million in its budget for fiscal 2010, which ended three weeks ago.

Posner says that's because State has been busy developing a strategy for implementing Clinton's goals. It will, he said, be aimed not just at busting Internet firewalls but also at heading off governments' moves to regulate the Internet. So while funding for circumvention "will be an important piece" of the program, so will research into technologies and training. Posner told me, "the money should follow the strategy."

That sounds reasonable. Yet while State is polishing, Iranians and people from dozens of other countries are trying to get access to the Internet. The technology exists to give it to them. State has the money to pay for it. Yet after years of delay, the agency hesitates. Posner says this has nothing to do with offending China; but last year The Post quoted a State Department official saying the opposite. Either way, it's a poor record.

Jackson Diehl is deputy editorial page editor at The Washington Post.
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http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/community-gather-memorial

Community to gather for memorial
By Matthew Chase
October 27, 2010

A memorial service remembering senior Drew Everson will be held in the Duke Chapel at noon today.

Everson died Oct. 23 after an accidental fall the previous day left him with two collapsed lungs and head injuries. He will be honored at both the memorial service and at a reception following the service in the Scharf Commons, which is next to Cameron Indoor Stadium. Both the memorial and reception are open to the public.

At the memorial, three of Everson’s friends plan to offer tributes, and two other friends will read from scripture. President Richard Brodhead and Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, will also make remarks at the memorial. Dean of the Chapel Sam Wells will preside over the service.

Family members and close friends will also present certain mementos from Everson’s life. Members of Everson’s fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, will sing a song to honor Everson, and a vocalist and a cellist will perform.

“I am sure there will be a very good showing [Wednesday],” said Associate Dean of Students Todd Adams.

The Chronicle’s editorial pages today feature letters submitted from Everson’s friends and family members. Additional letters have been published online. Everson was a columnist for The Chronicle during his sophomore year, and his final column is also published on the editorial pages.

In a letter submitted to The Chronicle, members of Everson’s family described him as “truly a Renaissance man with passionate interests spanning sports, comedy, politics, public speaking, writing, finance, film and fashion.”

A member of the Duke Debate Team, Everson also coached student members of the East Chapel Hill High School debate team and was a four-year member of his high school debate team at Mauldin High School in Greenville, S.C.

Everson was also a “true Cameron Crazy” who became a line monitor and attended the 2010 Final Four to witness the men’s basketball team win the national championship.

He was involved in many other student organizations, including the Inside Joke comedy troupe, Campus Council and other campus committees.

In addition to his heavy involvement on campus, Everson achieved a 3.8 GPA. He spent the last summer in New York interning with Goldman Sachs and was deciding between job offers at the time of his death.

The Everson family added that “Drew’s final departing gift” was his status as an organ donor.

“A piece of him will live on in many others who are desperately clinging to life,” the family wrote.

Editor’s note: Following today’s service, The Chronicle will write an obituary honoring Drew’s memory. Our thoughts are with Drew’s family and friends.
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http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/dupd-releases-sketch-suspect-jarvis-robbery

DUPD releases sketch of suspect in Jarvis robbery
By Chronicle Staff
October 26, 2010


The Duke University Police Department released a composite sketch Monday of the man who attempted to rob a female student Oct. 9 near Jarvis Dormitory on East Campus.

DUPD is asking members of the public to contact investigators if they recognize the man and know his name or location. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male between 18 and 25 years old and weighing between 150 and 160 pounds. He was described as between 5-foot-4 and 5-foot-6 and was wearing blue jeans, a green baseball cap and a dark blue American Eagle hoodie at the time of the crime.

The University sent a DukeAlert at approximately 5 a.m. the day of the attempted robbery. The alert noted that the suspect told the student he had a gun and demanded her purse. After he walked her to the side of building closest to Campus Drive, however, the student was able to run free.

The DukeAlert was sent as part of the federal Clery Act, which requires DUPD to provide timely crime alerts to members of the Duke community.

The incident has been recorded as first degree kidnapping, armed robbery and assault on a female, according to DUPD’s website. A person is guilty of first-degree kidnapping if the individual kidnapped “either was not released by the defendant in a safe place or had been seriously injured or sexually assaulted,” according to North Carolina general statutes.

Anyone with information pertaining to the case should contact Duke Police Investigator Christine Autry at (919) 684-6424, Durham Police at (919) 560-4427 or Durham CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200.
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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/27/762358/teen-is-indicted-in-september.html

Published Wed, Oct 27, 2010 02:00 AM
Modified Wed, Oct 27, 2010 12:07 AM
Teen is indicted in September slaying

DURHAM Fifteen-year-old Steven Mack has been indicted on murder, robbery and assault charges in an early September incident that left Bernardo Ponce, 33, dead.

Three other teens had already been indicted in the slaying.

Durham officials plan to try Mack as an adult, police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said.

Sherwin Bilal Archie of Fargo Street, Deandre Roosevelt Rucker of Nebo Street, and Darrius Lavale Tyson of Chapel Hill Road, all 18, are also charged in the fatal shooting in the 2900 block of Chapel Hill Road.

Authorities say the four teens conspired to rob Ponce and Antoney Garcia Dominguez, 40.

Ponce was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dominguez, 40, was taken to Duke Hospital.

All four suspects are charged with murder, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, attempted armed robbery, and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. An indictment indicates the grand jury found enough evidence to proceed to trial.
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http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/clay-waters/2010/10/26/still-fighting-bush-ny-times-reveals-disturbing-first-glimpse-bullhorn-

NY Times Reveals 'Disturbing First Glimpse' of Bullhorn, Saddam Pistol at Bush Presidential Center
By Clay Waters
October 26, 2010

(snip)

The choice of mementos, emphasizing some of the more controversial foreign policy aspects of the Bush presidency, has reinvigorated opposition to the center’s presence at the university.

“It’s the approach they’ve taken all along; it fits their worldview,” said the Rev. William K. McElvaney, a professor emeritus of preaching and worship at the university. “It’s a tragedy for S.M.U. to hitch its star to this.”
....

The new opening exhibit, some Methodist leaders said, provides a disturbing first glimpse into the presidential center’s priorities.

“I hope that a bullhorn will not become the symbol for the entry of the United States into an unjustified war and that a pistol of Saddam Hussein’s is not seen as some strange symbol of victory in that horrendous misjudgment,” said Tex Sample, an elder in the Methodist Church who helped lead the opposition to the Bush Institute’s placement at S.M.U. “That these should be the symbols of the values and commitments of the Bush administration and should now become the face of Southern Methodist University is cause for alarm.”


POSTER COMMENT AT SITE:

Quote:
 
As I recall, two or three of the people who were determined to convict the Duke Lacrosse players, without evidence of a crime, were the Duke Chaplain and several Durham "ministers." Perhaps it's time we looked closely at the "social justice" messages being preached these days.


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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/27/762200/death-dispute.html

Published Wed, Oct 27, 2010 02:00 AM
Modified Wed, Oct 27, 2010 07:10 AM
Death dispute

The deaths in 2005 of a Warren County mother and son may have been an open-and-shut case for North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation, but the local sheriff says the case is still open, and the lead deputy assigned to it at the time says it should not be shut down. A report by The News & Observer's Mandy Locke and Joseph Neff raises great doubts about the quality of the SBI's work here. Frankly, this case should and must be pursued by someone else, and there must be a comprehensive review of the SBI's overall performance.

The facts of the case are gruesome. The SBI reported that 10-year-old Tyler Jones killed his mother, Glinda Pulley, and then turned a shotgun on himself in April of 2005. His mother's body was found in her bed. He was found near her bed with his thumb on the trigger. SBI agents Greg Tart and Blane Hicks quickly concluded it was a murder and suicide case.

But Sheriff Johnny Williams and his lead investigator, deputy Regina Nolan Thomas, were not and are not so sure. Williams considers the case an open one, though he says he has been refused a copy of the SBI's report to Warren District Attorney Sam Currin. For her part, Thomas, who is now a private investigator in Virginia, continued to investigate long after the SBI reached its conclusions.

Trail of evidence

She says the SBI came to its conclusions too soon. As The N&O reported, SBI agents left behind bloody bedsheets and carpets, and a shotgun pellet in the wall. An undertaker said he found a suicide note when he lifted Pulley's body, but contents of the note have not been disclosed.

No one had searched the child's book bag. Investigators also overlooked the fact that Pulley's fireproof box where her important papers had been stored was empty. To this day, Thomas does not believe the case was a murder-suicide, and is frustrated with the fact that Currin told her he would not get into the case again absent a confession.

On her own initiative, Thomas pursued, with search warrants and subpoenas, Pulley's boyfriend, Dennis Carter. His mother had been named beneficiary of two life insurance policies taken out by Pulley worth $700,000. This was curious, since relatives, some of who lived in homes adjacent to Pulley's, said she was not well-acquainted with Carter's mother. (Carter wouldn't comment to The N&O.)

Insurance interest

Tyler's father, Dan Jones, himself a sheriff's deputy in Halifax County, despairs of the fact that his letters to Attorney General Roy Cooper seeking help have not been answered.

But where the SBI fell short, as it clearly did, the state Department of Insurance may not. DOI opened an investigation in September regarding Dennis Carter, related to Pulley's life insurance policies. The department won't talk, but apparently started looking into things after receiving a complaint from an expert on crime scenes who was hired by Pulley's family.

From all appearances, it looks as if the SBI made a quick judgment based on a shortage of facts and a rather slipshod investigation. There must be another probe, and not by the SBI, since that wouldn't have much credibility.

Coming on top of disturbing disclosures in earlier N&O reports about the inclinations of the agency's crime lab to skew investigations toward prosecutors, this is an agency in severe crisis. Its competence and efficiency are now in doubt, and that's something the attorney general had better take seriously. This group of investigators is supposed to be the best the state has to offer. Now, understandably, North Carolinians wonder if that sentiment is hollow.
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http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20101027/NEWS01/101027025/Bioelectricity-expert-in-Winnfield-manslaughter-trial-says-Taser-did-not-cause-suspect-s-death

Bioelectricity expert in Winnfield manslaughter trial says Taser did not cause suspect's death

October 27, 2010

Town Talk staff

WINNFIELD – The Taser shocks administered to Barron "Scooter" Pikes by police were not the cause of Pikes’ death, a bioelectricity expert testified today, Oct. 27, in a trial in Winnfield.

Former Winnfield Police Officer Scott Nugent, 24, is on trial for manslaughter. He is accused of using a Taser to cause Pikes’ death as Pikes, 21, was being arrested in 2008.

The bioelectricity expert, Mark Kroll of the University of Minnesota, testified for two hours today as the defense began presenting witnesses.

Kroll said the Taser X26 used on Pikes generates 2,000 times less electricity than a defibrillator and that the electric shocks “never came close to the heart” as Pikes was Tasered.

Kroll serves on the corporate board of Taser and has been paid more than $800,000 over the past three years as he has been used as a witness in cases involving Tasers.

The prosecution said Kroll is biased.

Concerning a shock by the Taser, Kroll said, “It hurts, but there’s zero negative effect on the body.”

If convicted of manslaughter, Nugent could face up to 40 years in prison.
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sdsgo

abb
Oct 27 2010, 03:42 AM
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/10056352/article-Duke-grad-student-out-on-bail?instance=main_article

Duke grad student out on bail
The Herald Sun
10.26.10 - 10:53 pm
By KEITH UPCHURCH

kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612

DURHAM -- A Duke University graduate student and former Blue Devil lacrosse player has been arrested and charged with attempted first-degree burglary in Durham.

Sam Charles Payton, 23, of Greenwich, Conn., was arrested Sunday.

Durham police were called to a break-in in progress at 4:10 a.m. in the 2400 block of West Club Boulevard, according to police spokeswoman Kammie Michael. A resident told police that a man tried to enter the house through the back door and then through the front door, she said.

Michael said that when police arrived, they found Payton and arrested him. She said the residents did not know him.

Payton, who is pursuing a master of business administration degree at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, was released Sunday from the Durham County Jail on a $30,000 secured bond.

His attorney, Bob Ekstrand, released the following statement Tuesday: "My client made the mistake of attempting to enter what he believed to be his friends' house after a night out with his friends. This unfortunate mistake no doubt alarmed the homeowner and the police, and for that he is terribly sorry. But it did not involve any criminal activity -- he was not driving a car and no one was injured. We hope to resolve this matter promptly with all involved, who will have our full cooperation."
CARRINGTON et al v. DUKE UNIVERSITY et al

Plaintiffs:

EDWARD CARRINGTON, CASEY J. CARROLL, MICHAEL P. CATALINO, GALE CATALINO, THOMAS V. CLUTE, KEVIN COLEMAN, JOSHUA R. COVELESKI, EDWARD J. CROTTY, EDWARD S. DOUGLAS, KYLE DOWD, PATRICIA DOWD, DANIEL FLANNERY, RICHARD GIBBS FOGARTY, ZACHARY GREER, IRENE GREER, ERIK S. HENKELMAN, STEVEN W. HENKELMAN, JOHN E. JENNISON, BEN KOESTERER, MARK KOESTERER, JOYCE KOESTERER, FRED KROM, PETER J. LAMADE, ADAM LANGLEY, CHRISTOPHER LOFTUS, DANIEL LOFTUS, BARBARA LOFTUS, ANTHONY MCDEVITT, GLENN NICK, NICHOLAS O'HARA, LYNNDA O'HARA, DANIEL OPPEDISANO,SAM PAYTON, JOHN BRADLEY ROSS, KENNETH SAUER, III, STEVE SCHOEFFEL, ROBERT SCHROEDER, DEVON SHERWOOD, DANIEL THEODORIDIS, BRET THOMPSON, CHRISTOPHER TKAC, TRACY TKAC, JOHN WALSH, JR., MICHAEL WARD, ROBERT H. WELLINGTON, IV, WILLIAM WOLCOTT and MICHAEL YOUNG

"My client made the mistake ..." - His attorney, Bob Ekstrand

Ye shall know them by their fruits …
Matthew 7:16



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Quasimodo

Quote:
 
Payton, who is pursuing a master of business administration degree at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, was released Sunday from the Durham County Jail on a $30,000 secured bond.




If this turns out to in fact nothing more than a drunken grad student actually making an honest mistake,
but it gets more publicity than any other alleged crime in Durham (because of the lacrosse tie-in),
then here is simply one more example of how the reputations of the falsely accused have been --
and are still--damaged.
Edited by Quasimodo, Oct 27 2010, 08:42 PM.
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sceptical

Duke Athletics Earns 97 Percent Graduation Success Rate

10/27/2010
- Duke Sports Information


DURHAM, N.C. – Statistics for the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) released Wednesday by the NCAA indicated that ninety-seven percent of freshmen student-athletes receiving scholarship aid or recruited individuals participating in programs that do not offer athletic aid graduated from Duke within six years. The GSR is based on student-athletes who entered college as freshmen in 2000-2003 and allows for the removal of those individuals from the cohort who left Duke in good academic standing.

A total of 14 Duke teams achieved a 100 percent GSR: men's golf, men's lacrosse, men's swimming and diving, men's tennis, women’s basketball, women's cross country/track and field, women's fencing, field hockey, women's golf, women's lacrosse, rowing, women's soccer, women's tennis and volleyball.

snip

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