The N&O concludes there was no intimidation of witness (my title). . What a POS Paper.
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/438757.html
Arrest no ploy, DA says
Warrant served on witness in case
Samiha Khanna, Joseph Neff and Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writers
DURHAM - Durham police had no ulterior motive when they arrested an alibi witness on an old misdemeanor warrant, District Attorney Mike Nifong said Thursday.
The Wednesday arrest of Moezeldin Elmostafa -- a cab driver who says he can provide an alibi for one of two men accused of raping a woman at a party held March 13 by the Duke University men's lacrosse team -- drew fire from defense attorneys, who said the arrest of a key defense witness was equal to intimidation.
It is common practice for police to run the names of people involved in a case because they don't want any surprises when the case goes to court, police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said Thursday. Investigators, who took Elmostafa to jail on a 2003 warrant for misdemeanor larceny, did not ask him specific questions about the lacrosse case, she said.
There is no unit of officers at the Durham Police Department charged with clearing old warrants, which, as of last fall, exceeded 10,000. So when officers discover an unserved warrant and know where the person is, they should serve it, Nifong said.
That was the goal the two investigators, Benjamin Himan and R.D. Clayton, had when they approached Elmostafa, authorities said.
"It came up in the context of we were collecting information on potential witnesses," Nifong said.
Ernest Conner, a Greenville lawyer who represents defendant Reade Seligmann, sees the arrest differently.
"It appears to me they are trying to pressure a witness who supports our defendant's rock-solid alibi," Conner said Wednesday.
Defense lawyers say Elmostafa's statements in the Duke investigation can exonerate Seligmann, who has been indicted in the case along with lacrosse teammate Collin Finnerty.
Sworn statement
The driver signed a sworn statement in April saying he picked up Seligmann from the Duke lacrosse team party just after midnight March 14, drove him to an automated teller machine and stopped at a fast-food restaurant before dropping him off at his dorm.
Elmostafa also has given testimony to police, but the cab driver said investigators continued to probe Wednesday just before they arrested him. When he said he had no more information, officers took him to jail, he said.
That account is incorrect, officials said Thursday.
"I would be very surprised if the officers even thought about using that as an opportunity to ask him something," Nifong said.
The warrant for Elmostafa's arrest was discovered during a routine rundown of information about witnesses in the case, Nifong said. The order had been issued Sept. 2, 2003, when an employee of the Hecht's department store at Northgate Mall said one of the cab driver's customers had stolen five purses worth $250 while Elmostafa sat outside in his taxi.
Elmostafa said he was unaware of the theft until after he dropped off the woman at her house and later received a phone call from Hecht's security.
Elmostafa said he gave the woman's address and a copy of his driver's license to the security guard, who thanked him for his help.
The Hecht's employee pressed charges against both Lisa Faye Hawkins, the shopper, and Elmostafa. Hawkins was arrested a short time later and pleaded guilty, adding to a pattern of stealing and drug use dating back to 1982. She could not be reached Thursday.
The Hecht's employee who pressed charges declined to comment Thursday.
Meanwhile, Elmostafa's arrest brought an outpouring of concern and outrage from throughout the Triangle and the country.
Joel Boyd, a lawyer from Melbourne, Fla., said one of his clients was interested in helping Elmostafa with any legal fees that arose from the arrest.
"My client is a proud Duke alumnus who has a strong interest in protecting the civil liberties of all U.S. citizens/resident aliens and has no connection to the Duke lacrosse team," Boyd wrote in an e-mail message.
"My client is a proud Duke alumnus who has a strong interest in protecting the civil liberties of all U.S. citizens/resident aliens and has no connection to the Duke lacrosse team," Boyd wrote in an e-mail message
Sort of restiores my faith in the human condition.
The N&O concludes there was no intimidation of witness (my title). . What a POS Paper.
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/438757.html
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Honestly Oak, this article is not bad at all.
They were kind of balanced for once, and even ended the article saying the arrest angered the Triangle and the country.
What the heck was the charge against Elmostafa? Aiding and abetting the investigation of shoplifting?