Holy cow!
http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/438305.html
Lacrosse defense witness arrested
Cabbie questioned in 2003 incident
Moezeldin Elmostafa was held for five hours at the jail.
Joseph Neff and Samiha Khanna, Staff Writers
DURHAM - A Durham police detective investigating the Duke University lacrosse case arrested an alibi witness Wednesday on a 2 1/2-year-old misdemeanor warrant.
Taxi driver Moezeldin Elmostafa said Investigator R.D. Clayton and another officer asked whether he had anything new to tell them about the rape case before driving him to the Durham County jail. He said no and was held for five hours, until a friend posted his bail on a shoplifting charge.
Ernest Conner, a Greenville lawyer who represents defendant Reade Seligmann, said the cabbie's arrest amounted to intimidation. "It appears to me they are trying to pressure a witness who supports our defendant's rock-solid alibi," Conner said.
Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, the supervisor of the investigation, refused to answer questions Wednesday night.
Elmostafa signed a sworn statement in April saying he picked up Seligmann from a Duke lacrosse team party just after midnight March 14. Seligmann and another player, Collin Finnerty, have been charged with raping an escort service dancer during the party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd.
Elmostafa's affidavit said he picked up Seligmann at 12:19 a.m. that morning and drove him to an automated teller machine, a fast-food burger joint and back to his dorm. To corroborate the taxi driver's statement, Seligmann's lawyers filed copies in court of phone records, security photos from the ATM and electronic records showing when Seligmann entered his dorm.
The lawyers have said that Elmostafa's account and the records exonerate Seligmann.
Clayton, who is working under Gottlieb on the case, picked up Elmostafa on Wednesday afternoon.
"The detective asked if I had anything new to say about the lacrosse case," Elmostafa said. "When I said no, they took me to the magistrate."
(snip)
OMG........they are out of control, aren't they?????
Dan Abrams' head is going to blow off.
Can we all spell "intimidation?"
This is outrageous!
Really, it's out of control and at another level.
Somebody needs to take over this investigation and start investigating the Durham DA's office!
It's time for the bar or the AG to step in and put a stop to this. I don't mean they can dismiss the case but they can get Nifong in line.
OMG!!! They are pullinhg out all of the stops.
OMG! Maggie - this is stunning. I don't even have any words for this.
Lacrosse defense witness arrested
Cabbie questioned in 2003 incident
Moezeldin Elmostafa was held for five hours at the jail.
Joseph Neff and Samiha Khanna, Staff Writers
DURHAM - A Durham police detective investigating the Duke University lacrosse case arrested an alibi witness Wednesday on a 2 1/2-year-old misdemeanor warrant.
____________________
OMG!
Seriously someone higher up needs to start investigating the DA's office in this case.
They arrested a witness? OMG
Why doesn't somebody in NC stop this DA?
North Carolina spends multi-millions of dollars trying to intice tourists to visit the state and millions more to attract new businesses. Every negative stereotype northerners have about the southern system of justice is in this case.
That is pure BS......Below contempt!
Holy effen Shiite!!!!!!!
This is unbelievable.
And they are doing their intimidations in front of everyone. They don't care for the rule of law, just the "technicalities" upon which they can pull their stunts.