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.
-=-
You are amazing!
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]
I remember this case, the incident happened shortly after I moved to North Carolina. Even then, the local community and news media tried to turn it into a racial case. I specifically remember the black community trying to spin how "good this kid" was, just as they tried to tell us how "good" this accuser in the Duke case is.
If the youngster in the 1993 case was such a "good kid", why was he out breaking into houses instead of being in school?
You know, you really ARE good! It's amazing how you find this stuff!