Posted on 04/25/2006 2:34:48 AM PDT by abb
DURHAM - District Attorney Mike Nifong plans to reinstate misdemeanor charges against a half-dozen Duke lacrosse players, saying a March 13 party where a woman reported a rape broke the deals that the players made with prosecutors.
Nifong's decision could affect players who, before the party, had entered agreements in which prosecutors would dismiss the cases if the players performed community service and stayed out of trouble for six months or a year. Among the first to have his charges reinstated was David Evans, one of the team captains who lived at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., the site of the party in which lacrosse players hired two women from escort services to dance. One of the women told police that she was raped by three men in a bathroom.
Two players, Collin Finnerty, 19, and Reade William Seligmann, 20, were charged last week with first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and first-degree kidnapping. Their attorneys say the men are innocent.
On Monday, an attorney for Seligmann filed a motion seeking information that would help attack the credibility of the woman, the only person, according to the defense filing, who says a rape occurred. The motion seeks information about the woman, including criminal charges, mental and emotional problems the woman has suffered as well as social services, probation, child protective services and victim's advocacy records.
Today, Finnerty is due in a Washington court where prosecutors in an assault charge are considering whether to revoke a deferred prosecution agreement similar to those affecting other players in Durham.
According to court records, 16 players were charged in the past three years with misdemeanor charges in Durham including noise violations, public urination and alcohol violations. The deals placed the men on probation for either six months or a year.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsobserver.com ...
Suppose their very bad mistake was engaging in a vice, but resulted in being falsely charged with a serious crime. Your priority would be to keep them out of prison, not dwell on their bad behavior. Plenty of time for that later.
Nor would you take kindly to finger-pointing jerks while they were in danger.
I have been involved with the criminal justice system for over 20 years so I have done my homework. Most DAs are much more interested in their own careers than justice. However, more facts will come out at trial. Until then we are all just speculating on the facts.
Yep - one good and one bad. I will spare you the details but let's just say it's a good thing I work for lawyers.
Is anyone else attending the Newsweek Live talk? It's very slow....
Only one question and answer so far:
Lawrence, KA: How is this even going to trial? No DNA, no positive ID, time stamped photos, and ATM & Dorm clockings show these guys are innocent? Why are these guys even charged when there is no evidence against them?
Susannah Meadows: As of yet, the case is not going to trial. There were no DNA matches after the first round of testing. But there was DNA found underneath the fingernails of the alleged victim that was not her own. The identification tests were inconclusive. Once that DNA is retested, the results may shed new light on the case. The woman also made two positive identifications when she was shown photos, though that process was highly unorthodox, as she was shown only photos of the lacrosse team players. Typically in rape cases, the word of the accuser is usually enough to bring charges. In this case, the district attorney does have some additional evidence, including her medical report showing certain injuries consistent with rape. But whether these are the guys that did it is certainly a separate question.
_____
Doesn't no match mean no match? What is this "inconclusive" stuff about the DNA found under her finger nails?
I'm happy to say I have had no involvement with the criminal justice system. However, I think your claim that most DA's would have done what Nifong has done is pure T bull.
You are entitled to your opinion.
Have a nice afternoon.
Seems to me you are well past the speculating stage.
"Wouldn't that be "boors"?"
Yes, that means a rude and insensitive person, but bore could also apply. It's a noun meaning one who causes boredom...a tiresome person.
My mom lived until I was well into my forties. Even at that age I feared her. I didn't fear any physical harm from her. What I really feared was in that anything that I would or might do might disappoint her. Strange, I didn't feel that way about my dad.....just mom.....good ol' lecturer mom. :-)
The father and the ex-husband are somewhere out in la-la land.
I don't know, y'all may want to count your blessings. My 18 year old son talks my ears slap off. LOL! He's home for a couple of days between finals and then will be home for the summer. My house will now be full of kids again every evening. Honestly though, I can't wait, it's been mighty quiet this past semester.
"What is this "inconclusive" stuff about the DNA found under her finger nails?"
This whole case is so ridiculous, I'm waiting for the DA to plant evidence so something is in his favor.
"Sex, Crime & Durham" does not sell newsmagazines.
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-728395.html
"Nifong acknowledged that he underestimated the intensity of public interest in the lacrosse case, failing to anticipate that it would draw a horde of national reporters to Durham.
Nifong said plea deals must remain a fact of life, since Durham takes in 70,000 criminal cases a year at all court levels, while time and personnel restraints allow only 50 to 70 felonies to be tried annually."
http://www.ci.durham.nc.us/departments/eed/diversity_city.cfm
http://www.switchboard.com/Escort_Services/Durham/NC/1705/Yellowpages_Results.html
Follow the DNA.
http://www.co.durham.nc.us/departments/shrf/IPS/index.cfm?DateLookUp=30&RequestTimeout=300
Look under M.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12496646/
Rita Cosby interview with the AV's father, 04/25/06
EXCERPT
COSBY: And Michelle, thank you very much. And Nona as well. And tonight we have an exclusive interview in the Duke rape case. We‘re learning shocking details about what the accuser says really happened to her that night. I asked the accuser‘s father how he feels about the defense attacking his daughter‘s character and digging into her past.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACCUSER‘S FATHER (on phone): That‘s my baby girl and we love her and I know she wouldn‘t make something like this up.
COSBY: You still believe to this day that she was indeed raped?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes, I do.
COSBY: The defense team has suggested that your daughter had son mental or psychological problems in the past. Has she ever been at a hospital for such treatment?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: She was at a hospital to my knowledge one week and it was because she was going to school in Durham Tech and she was taking care of too many things and it got too much for her.
COSBY: When was that?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: On 2005 of last year.
COSBY: And was it nerves? Was it a mental breakdown? What was it?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: I think mostly just her nerves. It‘s about her being tired and everything.
COSBY: Do you believe she has a drinking problem or you‘ve seen recently in the last year or so?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: No, you don‘t really have a drinking problem. I think on the weekends, she likes to drink her beer.
COSBY: Had she ever had any problems with drugs or alcohol?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Not, not with drugs. She got caught one time driving under the influence when she went to a party one night.
COSBY: Would you classify it as an alcohol problem, though?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: No.
COSBY: It sounds like seriously it was obviously a problem but do you believe she has improved since then?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes, she has. She has a lot.
COSBY: Do you know your daughter was drinking or doing drugs the night of the alleged rape?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: No, I know for a fact that she wasn‘t drinking when she left and when she called me that night, she wasn‘t drinking.
COSBY: And she called you when she was on the way to the house, you didn‘t know where she was going, but she asked for directions, correct?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes.
COSBY: And how did she sound to you on the phone?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: She sounded normal.
COSBY: The second dancer Kim Roberts has suggested some of the lacrosse players were trying to push a drink on your daughter and the second dancer and that maybe a date rape drug was slipped in her drink. What do you believe?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: I believe that.
COSBY: The pictures of the two lacrosse players have now been all over the news. Now that they‘ve been charged. Is she sure that these two boys were involved in the alleged attack?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: According to what she told me, she‘s pretty sure, yes.
COSBY: Is she very sure or just pretty sure?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: I think she‘s very sure.
COSBY: We know so far that there has been no DNA connecting your daughter to the boys. Can you explain how that could have happened and how the rape could have happened?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Well, they used a broom on her. If they used a broom then there wouldn‘t be no DNA.
COSBY: How do you know your daughter was raped with a broom?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Well, I heard it through the news and through some people and then she told me afterwards because she didn‘t want me to know that part.
COSBY: So she is telling you she was raped with a broom by multiple boys, is that correcting?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes. She also said that they madder her do oral sex on her too.
COSBY: So she is saying that she is raped with a broom and then she was asked to perform oral sex?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes.
COSBY: And she is sure of that?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes.
COSBY: Some family members who we‘ve spoke to, like her cousin say they‘re getting death threats. Have you heard that, that any family members are getting that?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes, I have. As a matter of fact, Jackie told me.
COSBY: The cousin?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes, uh-huh.
COSBY: And what kind of calls did she get? Were they threatening?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: Yes, well, they were saying she was a stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and I can‘t remember what else they said.
COSBY: And who do you think is making a call like that?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: I don‘t know. I really don‘t.
COSBY: We‘ve heard your daughter has considered dropping the case, that maybe the pressure‘s too much. Is that true?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: She has talked about it. She has talked about it. As a matter of fact, she told me it was getting to be too much on her. She couldn‘t take it. So far she‘s still hanging in there though.
COSBY: Do you think she will continue to hang in there or is the pressure too great?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: I‘m hoping she will hang in there but I know it‘s getting rough on her now.
COSBY: Is it possible she may drop out of the case?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: It‘s possible. It‘s possible. I‘m hoping not but it‘s possible. I‘m praying and hoping that she don‘t.
COSBY: I want to play a little clip for you of the second dancer, Kim Roberts. Because she has come out swinging and done a number of interviews including with me where she really supports your daughter. Let me play this.
KIM ROBERTS, SECOND EXOTIC DANCER: If they‘re innocent, they should have nothing to worry about. They should sit back, relax, brush their shoulders off and feel good. They shouldn‘t have anything to worry about. If the truth was on their side, why are they supporting it with lies?
COSBY: What do you want to say to Kim Roberts, the second dancer, tonight?
ACCUSER‘S FATHER: I just want to say I thank her for doing that and I‘m real grateful and I think she‘s a great woman to come out there and speak like that. I really do. My heart goes out to her. I just wish sometimes she would call me so I could really thank her in person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Robbery Arrests in 6th District
December 18, 2002
Yesterday at 8:50 p.m. , Sergeant Darrell Ferdock of the 5th District Special Assignment Team (SAT) spotted two men acting suspiciously in the area of the Texaco gas station at 19300 Montgomery Village Avenue in Gaithersburg .
Moments later, the two men entered the Texaco station. They immediately overpowered the clerk, stole cash, and fled on foot. After a pursuit, the two robbers were arrested by Sgt. Ferdock, along with other members of the 5th District SAT team.
Those arrested were: Brian Scott Mangum, 33, of no fixed address, and Robert Thomas Smothers, 27, of the 18700 block of Walker ’s Choice Road in Gaithersburg .
Both were charged with Robbery, Conspiracy to Commit Robbery, and Felony Theft. Additionally, Smothers was charged with Assault and Resisting Arrest.
Mangum is currently being held on $45,000 bond and Smothers is being held on a $65,000 at the Montgomery County Detention Center . Their bond hearings are scheduled for today at 1:00 p.m.
The father keeps adding a little bit to the story every single time.
Is Bunnyhole a subsidiary of Allure? Do you know?
This one is active.
http://webapps6.doc.state.nc.us/apps/offender/raw1
Enter:
0512078
(Check all boxes.)
He's adding and changing, ... like his daughter?
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