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Probation botched in UNC student's killing
MSNBC/AP ^ | 04/02/2008 | AP

Posted on 04/02/2008 9:46:22 PM PDT by TCats

RALEIGH, N.C. - A probation officer assigned to a teenager charged with killing the University of North Carolina's student body president was handling 127 cases without benefit of training, state corrections officials said Wednesday.

A state investigation into the case also found that Laurence Lovette never met with probation officer Chalita Thomas, while the other defendant in the killing, Demario Atwater, had his probation cases handled by 10 different officers.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: North Carolina
KEYWORDS: dukelax; durham; nc; unc
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From the article:

"In the six weeks that followed, authorities in Durham arrested Lovette several times and charged him with nine different crimes, including burglary, car theft, breaking and entering, and resisting arrest.

He was released after each arrest." and;

"This is a dark cloud over our agency," said Robert Lee Guy, director of the state Division of Community Corrections."

You can say that again - louder! True case of criminal incompetence or worse on the part of LE. These two thugs should have been far away, behind bars for life instead of out killing.

1 posted on 04/02/2008 9:46:23 PM PDT by TCats
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To: TCats
"...probation officer Chalita Thomas..."

Dare we speculate as to the ethnic background of this criminally incompetent "officer?"

2 posted on 04/02/2008 9:49:31 PM PDT by Redbob (WWJBD - "What Would Jack Bauer Do?")
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To: TCats

Seems just about anything “government” is a “dark cloud” doesn’t it.....and the beat goes on....and we keep paying taxes....it’s time for a “tea party.”


3 posted on 04/02/2008 9:52:26 PM PDT by goodnesswins (Being Challenged Builds Character; Being Coddled Destroys Character)
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To: TCats

Idiots! And I’ll bet no serious disciplinary action will be taken. He’ll get a little more training, and that will be the end of it.


4 posted on 04/02/2008 9:52:46 PM PDT by KittyKares (.)
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To: Redbob

Oh...and a white officer would be capable of handling 127 cases. Don’t make this something it’s not..it’s bad enough without your racist speculation.


5 posted on 04/02/2008 9:53:00 PM PDT by Hildy (Obama: "Yes, I sat in his church, but I didn't inhale.")
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To: Redbob
I was going to allude to it - May as well. A probable affirmative action hire, maybe someone's niece. Supervised by those who are of the same genesis. And let's not forget about the Perps!

Just plain pathetic.

6 posted on 04/02/2008 9:53:59 PM PDT by TCats (The Clintons Are Not Just Wrong - They Are Certifiable AND Dangerous! See my Page)
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To: TCats

Once again a woman has died because government isn’t protecting citizens and controlling criminals like it is supposed to.


7 posted on 04/02/2008 9:54:50 PM PDT by kathsua (A woman can do anything a man can do and have babies besides.)
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To: KittyKares

Soon to be in charge of our health care.


8 posted on 04/02/2008 10:00:44 PM PDT by gigster
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To: KittyKares
Idiots! And I’ll bet no serious disciplinary action will be taken. He’ll get a little more training, and that will be the end of it.

Spot on. That's the standard government employee union response (excuse). FU's like this are never due to incompetence; it's always "lack of training", "understaffing" or "lack of resources."

9 posted on 04/02/2008 10:06:14 PM PDT by Libertarian444
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To: TCats

A bunch of libs and minority affirmative action hires doing their usual quality work.


10 posted on 04/02/2008 10:10:54 PM PDT by pissant (THE Conservative party: www.falconparty.com)
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To: Hildy
Oh...and a white officer would be capable of handling 127 cases.

What's it matter if she only had 10 cases? It stated she wasn't trained anyway. How did she get the job if she wasn't trained and was not qualified?

11 posted on 04/02/2008 10:11:58 PM PDT by dragnet2
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To: TCats

She was an affirmative action hire and she had a criminal record.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6042699

According to probation records, the probation officer in charge of Laurence Lovette never met with the teenager.

Officer Chalita Thomas was pulled off the case in early March, due to a drunken-driving charge. Reportedly, she went by Lovette’s mother’s home in Durham once in late February, but he was not there.

Thomas’ record shows eleven criminal charges filed against her in four counties over five years. The charges include carrying a concealed weapon and two DWI’s  the latest DWI charge was in Wake County last year. “That’s one of the issues we’re looking into as part of our investigation,” Acree said.

Acree says the Department of Corrections is conducting an extensive investigation of Lovette’s probation and the probation for the other man accused of killing Eve Carson  Demario Atwater.

State documents obtained by Eyewitness News show that Lovette’s probation records were updated on the day Lovette was arrested, apparently by Thomas, his probation officer.

State officials say that’s part of their investigation, but they don’t believe it is a coincidence. “After it became known who the suspects in the Eve Carson murder were, and we realized that they were out probationers, the supervisor directed the probation officer to take all the notes she had from her contacts with Lovette and enter those in the computer,” Acree explained.

Some of the late entries, five total, on Lovette’s probation records appear to embellish earlier entries, which violate Division of Community Corrections policies. They require officers to record their notes by the end of the next business day.

How much of the blame, if any, in the Lovette case falls on his probation officer remains to be seen. Acree says, “I think some of this certainly we’re probably going to see falls at the officer level. But there are probably some systemic issues we need to look at here as well.”

Thomas, 26, has been put on desk duty at least until the state’s investigation is complete.


12 posted on 04/02/2008 10:13:05 PM PDT by Free Dominoes
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To: dragnet2
How did she get the job if she wasn't trained and was not qualified?

Good questions that really need to be answered. I don't care what color she is either. I do think she should be held accountable & whoever hired her should be also.

13 posted on 04/02/2008 10:16:17 PM PDT by pandoraou812 (Out, damned spot......OUT)
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To: dragnet2

this isn’t a black/white issue...to make it a race issue belittles it.


14 posted on 04/02/2008 10:16:17 PM PDT by Hildy (Obama: "Yes, I sat in his church, but I didn't inhale.")
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To: Hildy

Feel free to answer the question.


15 posted on 04/02/2008 10:17:42 PM PDT by dragnet2
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To: pandoraou812
Good questions that really need to be answered.

I thought so. The question begs an answer.

16 posted on 04/02/2008 10:20:29 PM PDT by dragnet2
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To: dragnet2

I believe there are many who are not trained and not qualified..and I don’t believe it’s because of quotas...no.


17 posted on 04/02/2008 10:20:44 PM PDT by Hildy (Obama: "Yes, I sat in his church, but I didn't inhale.")
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To: Hildy

And what do you base that on?


18 posted on 04/02/2008 10:21:26 PM PDT by dragnet2
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To: TCats
There were two things I found striking about this article.
The first was that the director could only say it was a “dark cloud over the agency”. He should have been weeping and wringing his hands. Two promising human beings are dead because of the ineptitude of his agency.

The second thing would have to be that the second defendant, Atwater, I believe, had TEN DIFFERENT probation officers. Does that mean he was on probation for TEN DIFFERENT CRIMES? If that is the case, not only the director of the probation agency, but the judges who gave this bottom feeding slime probation, ten times, should be seriously considering suicide. It would be a service to mankind. Ineptitude on that scale is the stuff of urban legend.

19 posted on 04/02/2008 10:27:21 PM PDT by singfreedom
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To: dragnet2

The same thing you base your first absolutely unsubstantiated racist assertion on...NOTHING.


20 posted on 04/02/2008 10:33:55 PM PDT by Hildy (Obama: "Yes, I sat in his church, but I didn't inhale.")
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