Posted on 06/19/2006 10:17:42 AM PDT by abb
Mentors........ Jim Hardin charge Leon Brown with rape back in 2002. Brown was implicated by another man who they caught cold. Hardin gave than man total immunity to testify against Brown. Brown voluntarily gave his DNA and there was no match. He sat in jail for a year. He was acquitted and the jury foreman said the trial was a total waste of time.
You're good.
I just tried to get more information by googling "Michael Seagroves" +Durham and all I got was 9 results, only half of which were relevant. Not one mentioned that the good judge Stephens was the prosecutor.
This little item sure did fall down the memory hole.
I left NC before 2002. Did not know anything about this case until I read about it recently. That brings up a question. Was Hardin running for election at that time? Quite possibly he was since it was 4 years ago and DA serves elective office for 4 years.
(06/20/06 -- DURHAM) - The most recognizable face of Duke University is speaking about the scandal rocking the school.
It was the first time Duke men's basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski has spoken publicly since the rape allegations were made. He talked with reporters at his summer press conference, where Coach K usually talks about the upcoming basketball season.
It was not the first time we have seen Krzyzewski since the rape allegations were made. He stood silently as the university reinstated the men's lacrosse program on June 5, but Coach K says the silence does not indicate a lack of involvement.
"I've been away a lot. Whenever I come in, it's kind of like a fresh approach," he said. "I just try to add support...whether it's saying to my athletic director, 'I'm with you,' [to] my president, 'What can I do?' With our lacrosse coach, who is a dear friend."
Krzyzewski says he knows his place - - and it is on the sidelines.
"That's what I've been trying to do behind the scenes is to say, 'We're with with you,'" he said. "We'll see what happens, and if [students are guilty] then you should be punished. Giving support does not mean you're choosing sides."
Krzyzewski defended former Duke men's lacrosse coach Mike Pressler, who resigned after the scandal erupted, university officials said. Some lacrosse players have told the media that Pressler was forced out.
"I don't know what Mike Presser did wrong in this case," he said. "He's a good man."
In almost 30 years at Duke, Krzyzewski considers the spring of 2006 as its most trying time.
"Incredible strain, that's what I've seen," he said. "The strain in our community, the strain in - - for just all of the the people involved....it can't go away until it follows a certain process, and it shouldn't go away until that process is done...Whether somebody is innocent, somebody's guilty, somebody's telling the truth, somebody's not telling the truth, that all will be found out. You let that run it's course."
Krzyzewski said the racial tones of the rape investigation are unnecessary.
"The racial aspect has been in some ways the most sensitive thing," he said. "People are trying to create something that isn't there."
In the face of trying times, the coach had accolades for students at both universities.
"I think the students at the two universities should be applauded - - North Carolina Central or at Duke. Never was there any unbelievable behavior, extraordinary behavior. Rather there was a calmness, I - - how mature are they?" he said.
Krzyzewski says his love for Duke is long-term.
"I love Duke. Duke is a great, great school. It will always be a great school," he said. "How it handles situations like this will determine how much more it will grow," he said.
I'm sure she was scamming the government right and left starting with not reporting income.
I love you Coach K. Nice about Pressler
So Stephens was prosecuting the black home invaders, and the special prosecutor was prosecuting the white homeowner?
Not direct links ...
http://groups.google.com/group/triangle.general/browse_thread/thread/a78348d9fc6b5f2c/2e63f662cae909bf?lnk=st&q=%22Michael+Seagroves%22&rnum=1&hl=en#2e63f662cae909bf
The News & Observer
State won't retry Seagroves for killing intruder
By JALEH HAGIGH; STAFF WRITER
Page: A1
DURHAM -- Conceding that the prosecution's evidence is too weak to win a
conviction, state Attorney General Mike Easley said Tuesday that Michael
Seagroves won't be tried again for killing a teenager who broke into his
garage in March.
The decision, announced during a news conference at Easley's office in
Raleigh, means that the charges against Seagroves -- one count each of
voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon -- are dropped,
leaving him free to resume life without the risk of further criminal
prosecution in the case.
A mistrial was declared in December after a jury of six women and six men
deadlocked 8-4 in favor of acquitting Seagroves, 37, a district sales
manager for a Virginia-based power tool manufacturer.
After interviewing jurors and reviewing all the evidence, Easley said, it
became clear that the state couldn't strengthen its case enough to
convince a second jury that Seagroves used excessive force when he killed
Jamal Elliott, 15, and wounded Clifton Taft Hester, 17.
"I am convinced that the state cannot obtain a unanimous verdict of guilty
in this case," Easley said. "We have seen the case tried. We have heard
the evidence presented. And we have observed the demeanor of each of the
witnesses. The case cannot be made any stronger or be tried any better
than it was in December."
[snip]
http://groups.google.com/group/triangle.politics/browse_thread/thread/6ffe006560f43dcf/0f935d646a120184?lnk=st&q=%22Michael+Seagroves%22+stephens&rnum=1&hl=en#0f935d646a120184
SOURCES: AA TEENS FLEEING WHEN SHOT
Taken without consent from The Durham
Herald-Sun Saturday, March 20, 1993
story by Paul Bonner
Homeowner to plead innocent to manslaughter in
intruder`s death
Intruders who broke into a Woodcroft garage Thursday
were fleeing accross the yard as the homeowner continued
firing on them with a .22 caliber rifle, killing one of the
teens, sources familiar with the case said.
One of the intruders, 15-year-old Jamal Evans Elliott,
died after being shot four times in the back as he ran, said
his uncle, Leroy McKenzie. A second youth, Clifton Taft, also
known as Clifton Hester, received superficial bullet wounds on
his head and shoulder.
The owner of the house at 9 Dorset Place in Woodcroft,
Michael Seagroves, faces a first court appearance Monday in
Durham County District Court on charges of manslaughter and
aggravated assualt. He remained free on a $25,000 unsecured
bond Friday.
Seagroves' lawyer, William J. Thomas II, contended in
a prepared statement that his client acted legally in firing
at Elliott and three other intruders.
"We will enter a plea of not guilty and vigorously
defend these charges," Thomas said. "Mr Seagroves' actions in
this matter were well within his legal rights, and we are
confident that he will be acquitted."
District Attorney Ron Stephens said that there is no
evidence that the youths attacked Seagroves before he started
firing.
Taft, 16, and another youth, John Wayne Webb, 19, were
arrested at the scene and charged with breaking into the
garage and trying to steal Seagroves' golf clubs and
motorcycle.
Later Thrusday, a third youth, James Edward Holloman,
17, of 902 Brandon Road, was arrested on the same charges.
He remained in jail Fridayin lieu of $10,000 bond.
Holloman, like Elliott and Taft, was a student at Jordan High
School.
A fourth arrest was still pending Friday.
Taft and Webb were free on bond and made initial
appearances Friday in Durham County District Court. They were
given a new court date of April 16.
Elliott's funeral will be held Monday at 1 p.m. at New
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church.
Stephens would not comment on many details of the
shooting, but said the would-be burglars fled after Seagroves
surprised them with the rifle.
The decision to charge Seagroves set off a wave of
outrage in Durham, with many people calling him to protest,
Stephens acknowledged.
"I understand the outrage," Stepehens said. He also
said it`s possible a jury may sympathize with Seagroves and
acquit him. That was the result of a similar case he tried
years ago as an assistant district attorney in Durham, he
said.
But he insisted the decision was necessary from what
he was told about the case by investigators -- information the
people calling may not know or consider.
"Obviously, those people do ont know the facts of this
case," he said. "I know what the laws of this state are. How
many people in this community support that concert, I don't
know."
Durham Police Investigator D.I. Dowdy said that
because of where Seagroves was standing and the direction the
youths first tried to flee, they may have appeared to have
been interpreted as moving toward him as tjey ran back toward
that door."
Sources said at least one shot fired at the youths
inside the garage.
Taft, Holloman and Elliott had criminal records. Taft
was in court last week on four counts of breaking into motor
vehicles and larceny, court recrds show.
He received a two-year suspended sentence and
probation.
The break-ins all occurred on Feb. 2.
Elliott was charged in Juvenile Court last summer with
a string of break-ins. Holloman was charged on Jan. 30 with
assualt with a deadly weapon, a misdemanor.
-=-
It looks authentic to me too. The shooting occurred in 1993, but I can't find anything in those few Google results that says when the trial occured. Stephens was appointed special Superior Court Judge in 1994 before being elected in 1995. You did a great job putting two and two together.
Here's a snippet from a tribute to the judge who presided over it.
http://www.thetimesnews.com/power_brokers/jb_allen.php
___
Though the Stager case drew national attention, Allen said the Michael Seagroves manslaughter trial was his most extraordinary experience. Durham was in an uproar after a white man shot and killed a black teenager who broke into his garage. Seagroves said he was protecting his family. Allen and most everyone else involved in the trial faced death threats.
“It ended up the jury hung up, which was the best thing that could have happened to Durham,” Allen said. “You could just feel the emotions in the courtroom down there, the hatred.”
As soon as the trial ended, the Durham County sheriff and an SBI agent escorted Allen to the county line. North Carolina legislators later passed a “defense of habitation” law in response to the case.
__
In other news, Greta has an email from one of the indicted players coming up.
You are amazing!
barrywaterberg
Member
Registered: Apr 2006
Location:
Posts: 565
quote:Originally posted by LTC8K6
Where is this from, Barry?
Dan Arbams. The video is up on MSNBC.
:)
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.african.american/browse_thread/thread/89f83c9b12e4bb3/49f46906c045b568?lnk=st&q=%22Michael+Seagroves%22&rnum=4&hl=en#49f46906c045b568
SOURCES: AA TEENS FLEEING WHEN SHOT
Community residents protest Seagroves' arrest
Taken without consent from The Durham Hearld-Sun
Saturday, March 20, 1993
Story by Tracie Fellers
From goverment offices to radio airwaves, Triangle
citizens howled in frustration Friday about the arrest of
Durham homeowner Michael Seagroves for shootin two teen-agers
who broke into his garage Thursday.
Seagroves, of 9 Dorset Place in the Windermere
subdivision of Durham's Woodcroft community, was charged
Thursday with manslaughter and aggraveted assault after he
opened fire with a .22-caliber rifle on the two teens and two
companions.
Seagroves, 36 was charged with killing 15-year-old
Jamal Evans Elliot and with wounding Clifton Taft, 16, who
also is know as Clifton Hester. Both were students at Jordan
High School.
Starting Friday morning, the Durham District Attorney`s
Office received scores of calls from citizens who took issue
with the charges against Seagroves, an office employee said.
"There is a public outcry," the employee said.
They're outraged. They think it`s terrible. They feel like
they can`t protect their own homes, she said.
A few callers took their concerns all the way to the
Governor`s Office of Citizens' Affairs.
"I think they just wanted to express their frustration
and outrage that [Seagroves] would be charged with
manslaughter. They just wanted the govoernor to be aware of
their concerns," said Anthony Petty, an ombudsman in the
Raleigh office.
A "load" of unsolicited calls at Durham's WDNC pro
radio Friday also seemed to indicate a groundswell of support
for Seagroves, said WDNC program director Barry Brown.
"I would say it`s safe to say a good majority sided
with the homeowner..." he said.
After receiving more than 20 calls Friday morning, the
station decided to devote "Pat Patterson`s Place," a local
weekday afternoon talk show, to listner calls about the
incident, Brown said.
"It really says a lot how passionately people feel
about this issue," Brown said.
"This didn`t seem to be any of them a Durham issue" -
or an issue of race or socioeconomic status, he said. They`re
just tured of rising crime in general."
Mayor Harry Rodenhizer said he spoke with several
people about the shooting Friday, "all of them supportive of
the homeowener.
I simply explained that the reason the homeowner was
charged was that's the way the system works," he said.
Durham police and District Attorney Ron Stephens obviously
found evidence and reason enough to charge Seagroves,
Rodenhizer said.
"I`m sure everything will be sorted out in time," the
mayor said.
Perhaps the strongest confirmation of citizen support
for Seagroves is the creation of a defense fund in his name at
Wachovia Bank.
In the office of Seagroves' attorney, William Thomas,
employees reported phones "ringing off the hook" Friday with
callers who wanted to make contributions.
Woodcroft resident Hank Young, who helped to set up
the Seagroves' defense fund said he thinks public sentiment
has shifted from concern for the homeowner to sorrow over the
death of one of the intruders.
That upsets Young.
"I certainly don`t want to leave the idea that we`re
gloating over the loss of this young man, because we`re not,"
Young said Friday. "By the same token, our interests are first
with the members of our own community."
"To me, the primary victim is the homeowner," Young
said. "I really wonder if we'd be looking at this in a
different light if his wife had stayed home with his sick baby
son instead."
Durham City Council AA member Howard Clement said that he
empathizes with the sense of outrage some are feeling. But he
urged citizens who believe Seagroves was charged unfairly to
look carefully at the facts of the case.
"I am concerned about the spirit of sympathy that`s
building for Mr. Seagroves without examining all the
ramifications surround this unfortunate episode," Clement
said. "I feel for both families."
The staff of North Carolinians Against Racist and
Religious Violence (NCARRV), based in Durham, discussed the
Seagroves shooting and its repercussions Friday.
Linda Williams, NCARRV's community educator and field
coordinator, said she sees the situation as "more of a class
incident as opposed to race." {{the kid that was killed was
from a middle-class home so i wonder about this statement}}
"I think it`s unfortunate that [Seagroves] was
victimized by these four young men," Williams said.
But "the fact that [Seagroves] shot one of the kids in
the back raises a lot of questions in our minds," she said.
"I hope the district attorney sticks to his guns and
charges the person with manslaughter, because the amount of force
that was used was clearly unjustified," she said.
"Again, this speaks to the value of young life in this
society and where our young people are headed," Williams said.
"They feel like there's nothing out there but a life of crime
for them and they`re not getting support from their families,
tecahers, peers..."
Gloria Vaca, executive director of Durham Companions,
a group that has had tremendous success with keeping troubled
kids out of trouble, said: "I think that society must take
responsibility for [Jamal Elliott's] death because this was an
at-risk child, tagged all the way. I had lots of moments for
silence for him today and the real pity, the real shame in
that is ... that the only time any of us took a moment to
think about Jamal was when he was dead.
"I think America as a country and Durham lately has
had a kind of vigilante mentality. Having a gun is not the
answer. Having that mentality -- that we have to take the law
into our own hands -- is not the answer.
"This community is so quick to judge, but not quick to
help," she said. "Instead of picking up a gun, why no pick up
a few hours a week to help there kids."
-=-
More...[hasn't the name Allen been mentioned on one of these threads]
http://www.thetimesnews.com/power_brokers/jb_allen.php
[excerpted]
By Brandee Hayhurst
Times-News
Few forget their first experience in Judge J.B. Allen Jr.’s courtroom..................
.....Though the Stager case drew national attention, Allen said the Michael Seagroves manslaughter trial was his most extraordinary experience. Durham was in an uproar after a white man shot and killed a black teenager who broke into his garage. Seagroves said he was protecting his family. Allen and most everyone else involved in the trial faced death threats.
“It ended up the jury hung up, which was the best thing that could have happened to Durham,” Allen said. “You could just feel the emotions in the courtroom down there, the hatred.”
As soon as the trial ended, the Durham County sheriff and an SBI agent escorted Allen to the county line. North Carolina legislators later passed a “defense of habitation” law in response to the case......
[end excerpt]
“It ended up the jury hung up, which was the best thing that could have happened to Durham,” Allen said. “You could just feel the emotions in the courtroom down there, the hatred.”
When is North Carolina going to realize how much they are damaged by letting this continue?
Wow, good minds think alike, LOL!
Gretta smeared Finnerty last night without checking her information with him or his representative. She and Meadows shrug, we are on tv, we don't do any stinking reporting, we spend our day in makeup.
I know! I was thinking of xoxoxox when I read the information about Stephens! Durham is truly a cesspool of corruption.
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