Jury indicts 6 murder suspects
By John Stevenson : The Herald-Sun, Nov 28, 2006
DURHAM -- Six homicide suspects -- including one who was Durham's top fugitive until his arrest in Reedsville, Va., last month -- were indicted by the county grand jury Monday.
The former No. 1 fugitive is Tyrone Joseph Lacour, who is accused of killing 43-year-old Dennis Wayne Rowe two years ago.
Police found Rowe dead in November 2004 when they were called to 408 W. Maynard Ave. He was lying face-first in a garbage can with his head wrapped in duct tape, beaten so severely that blood was spattered on the ceiling.
Officers have not said what led them to charge Lacour, who is no stranger to the criminal justice system.
In 2001, he was a temporary suspect in the burning death of his roommate, 33-year-old Eric Pennebaker. However, a Person County grand jury subsequently concluded that Pennebaker committed suicide.
The other murder suspects indicted in Durham Monday were Umar Malik, Jameel Ray, Damian Wilson, Kevin Wimbush and Khurman Choudhry.
Indictments move felony cases from District Court, where all criminal matters originate, to Superior Court, where they are tried or plea-bargained.
Malik and Choudhry are accused in the November 2002 beating death of 26-year-old convenience store employee Rana Ahmed.
Ray is alleged to have participated in the August beating of 56-year-old Jerome Gilbert, who died a month later from blunt-force trauma. Police said the beating apparently occurred during an argument over money on Meriwether Drive.
Wilson is charged with murder in the same case.
Details of the homicide charge against Wimbush were not immediately available Monday.
In other grand jury action, a rare not-true bill was returned on a rape charge against Carl Vincent Johnson.
A not-true bill means the jury concluded there was insufficient evidence to indict Johnson. However, officers could return to grand jurors with additional evidence and seek another indictment later.
Johnson was charged with first-degree rape and resisting arrest in May. Warrants alleged that he attempted to flee as officers placed him in custody.
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-793128.html
* This was the grand jury that indicted the police chief's daughter. It looks like they were pretty busy.
Mall shooting murder charge is dismissed
By John Stevenson : The Herald-Sun, Nov 28, 2006
DURHAM -- A murder charge stemming from a fatal shooting outside The Streets at Southpoint mall was dismissed Tuesday, and the suspect pleaded guilty instead to a minor drug charge and received probation.
Julius Gray was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and fined $200 after admitting he had conspired to sell marijuana. A suspended prison term of four to five months was left hanging over his head and could be activated if he violates any conditions of probation.
Gray and another man had been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Harvey Dennard Wiggins, who was shot outside The Streets at Southpoint two years ago this week while the mall was thronged with holiday shoppers. No one else was injured.
The gunfire reportedly was sparked by a drug deal gone sour.
Another suspect in the case, 24-year-old Barry Ford Evans, got a plea deal last month for a drastically reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter. He also received probation.
Evans originally was accused of first-degree murder, for which the only possible punishments are death or life in prison without parole.
Assistant District Attorney Mitchell Garrell said in court Tuesday that he frequently consulted with Wiggins' family and analyzed the case for hours before coming up with plea deals for Gray and Evans.
Garrell said he promised the victim's mother that if she wanted the suspects prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law, he would take them to trial.
"She came to me tearfully and asked me to plead these cases on this basis," Garrell added, referring to the probationary penalties.
Citing official reports, Garrell said it appeared Wiggins went to the mall to purchase "a relatively large amount of marijuana" from Gray and Evans. "He put in progress a series of events that ended in tragedy."
According to Garrell, Wiggins was in the front passenger seat of a car in the mall parking lot, with Evans behind him and Gray at the steering wheel. At some point, Evans apparently pulled out a handgun and shot Wiggins in the head, the prosecutor said.
Garrell gave Gray credit for remaining at the scene and calling for help even after Evans fled.
"He has cooperated from the beginning," said Garrell.
Defense lawyer Bill Thomas said Gray was an N.C. Central University** junior with bright prospects at the time of the incident.
"This case has shattered his dreams and ambitions," Thomas added, noting that Gray had no previous criminal history.
"Mr. Gray admits to full responsibility for his role in the attempted sale of marijuana," said Thomas. "But his role was merely to be the driver."
Gray didn't even stand to gain much money from the drug deal, according to Thomas.
"Mr. Wiggins pulled a weapon in the car and was going to shoot Mr. Evans," the defense lawyer said. "Then Mr. Wiggins got shot. It's a horrible tragedy without any question."
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-793424.html
** The crime stories in the Herald-Sun provide a unique view into the sociology of the Bull City.