Wilmjax News

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man accused of a violent attack in a south Charlotte park is no stranger to police, and those who stopped him from fleeing the scene believe he knew what was in store for him.

Kelvin Jones, 41, is charged with kidnapping, robbery and sexual battery. Police say he approached a woman sitting on a bench at Park Road Park on Wednesday, pulled out a knife and forced her behind a building where he robbed her of her cell phone, sunglasses and keys and demanded that she touch him sexually. When she refused, police say he dug the knife into her more forcefully.

Hollie Martin still remembers the woman’s screams for help when she broke free.

“She was yelling, ‘Help me, help me,’” he said.

Martin and other bystanders in the park stopped the suspect in his tracks.

“We went after him, and he said, ‘You got me, you got me,’” said Hollie Martin.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A busy Friday afternoon at an east Charlotte bank turned into a frightening ordeal for employees and customers.

Two gunmen with white wrappings over their faces burst into the SunTrust bank on The Plaza at lunchtime and started barking commands to everyone inside.

“They said, ‘Just lay down,’” said customer Tawanna Robinson.

It was a heart-stopping moment for Robinson and her aunt, who didn’t want her identity revealed, but said she was terrified.

“They came in, grabbed the money, put the gun to my head, told me to get the (expletive) down,” she said.

Police arrived within minutes, largely because of customer Barbara Cooke. She dialed 911 from the drive-thru lane after a conversation with her teller was cut short.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Attorneys for the three players falsely accused in the Duke University lacrosse rape case are seeking a settlement of about $30 million and several changes to the state’s legal process, a person close to the case said early Friday.

If the terms aren’t met, the players’ attorneys will file a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Durham early next month, said the person, who requested anonymity because not all of the details of the proposed settlement had been worked out.

During a discussion Wednesday with Durham officials, players’ attorneys Brendan Sullivan and Barry Scheck, stressed that the money they are seeking - about $10 million each for David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann over five years - must be accompanied by the legal reforms, the person said.

On Thursday, City Attorney Henry Blinder and City Manager Patrick Baker briefed elected officials on the settlement discussions, according to The Herald-Sun of Durham, which first reported on the settlement demands. The city has a $5 million liability insurance policy with a $500,000 deductible, the paper reported.

In addition to the money, the attorneys are seeking the creation of ombudsman positions to review complaints of misconduct about North Carolina district attorneys, the person close to the case said. They also want Durham city officials to lead the lobbying for any legal changes that would require action by the state’s General Assembly.

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WENDELL, N.C. — The arrest of a sex offender here Tuesday was unnerving for residents of a quiet neighborhood.

Bobby Frazier, a registered sex offender, was arrested Tuesday and charged him with attacking a 92-year-old woman in her home and trying to rape her 78-year-old live-in helper.

Frazier lived in a group home on Industrial Drive. Frazier was one three residents of the home, which handles adults with mental problems.

The Department of Health and Human Services is investigating the licensed home.

Debbie Crane, spokeswoman for the group, said the home has not experienced problems in the past.

“Last time we checked, they were in very good shape, a new owner was in place, they had no problems,” she said.

The home has been licensed to Brenda McConny since December 2006. Crane said it is the only home licensed to her.

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DURHAM, NC — A Judge in Louisiana has dropped one of the charges against a teenager in a racially charged case that has come be known as “The Jena Six”.
 
17-year old Mychal Bell was found guilty earlier this month for his involvement in a school brawl.
 
Prosecutors say six black students attacked a white student leaving him unconscious. That student spent two hours at a hospital.
 
The six black students were then charged with attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.
 
The brawl came after a series of racially charged incidents in Jena, including one in which three white students hung nooses from a tree at the school.
 
The “Jena Six” trial is prompting local students in the Triangle to voice their concerns about the case.
 
For many of the students in a morning rally on North Carolina Central Universities Campus, the case surrounding “The Jena Six” is one they may not have heard much about.
 
“I really didn’t hear about it until like earlier this week about what was going on,” said Sophomore Jeremy Rose.
 
“I have not heard it on CNN or on the evening news,” said senior Crystal Douglas.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Even though Mike Nifong is in jail, Rolesville resident Datha London said it could never be enough.
 
“He took three innocent men and used it for political advantage,” he said.
 
Lucy Ward agreed that jail time doesn’t cut it.
 
“He has an obligation to pay for the tremendous financial costs these folks have had,” said Ward.
 
Some believe the entire Duke lacrosse scandal, and Nifong, were a black eye for the city of Durham. Ward said it was a case that pitted class against class, and race against race as a national audience watched it all.
 
“There were racial implications, which is so unfortunate because I don’t think that was necessarily what this was all about,” said Ward.
 
 While many had hard criticism for Nifong, others said he learned his lesson.
 
 ”He apologized,” said Abe Coundowl from Apex. “He acknowledged he made a mistake and hopefully he’ll learn a lot there (in jail).”

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DURHAM, N.C. - Former Durham County prosecutor Mike Nifong walked out of jail Saturday morning after completing a 24-hour contempt sentence imposed by a judge for lying to the court about critical DNA evidence in the Duke lacrosse rape case.

Nifong left the jail shortly after 9 a.m., where he was greeted with cheers and applause by a small crowd of supporters in the lobby. They surrounded the disgraced and disbarred prosecutor as he moved through a thick crowd of reporters to a waiting car.

Nifong thanked the jail’s staff “for the professionalism with which I was treated and the respect which I was shown.”

“Other than that, I just want to go home and spend some time with my family,” he said.

The veteran prosecutor, who spent his entire career as an attorney in the Durham County District Attorney’s Office, won indictments last year against three Duke lacrosse players, charging them with raping a woman hired to strip at a team party.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More than 100 new North Carolina inmates face deportation under a program launched in July that checks the immigration status of those entering the prison system.

State prison officials say 125 new inmates have been served with deportation detainers.

Secretary of Correction Theodis Beck says the state is now immediately steering possible illegal immigrants entering the system to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The secretary said ICE agents are now physically present at the state’s four largest admission centers a few days each week and visit smaller centers if necessary.

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A higher percentage of Carolinians than ever opposes efforts to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the United States and work their way toward citizenship, a Charlotte Observer/WCNC News Carolinas Poll shows.

The 2007 Carolinas Poll — which interviewed more than 1,000 people, most in the Charlotte region — asked people whether they support or oppose a proposal to allow illegal immigrants to stay as guest workers and have a chance at citizenship.

Fifty-three percent said they oppose it, and 36 percent support it. The remaining 11 percent said they weren’t sure or refused to answer.

The divide is considerably wider than it’s been in the last two Carolinas Polls. Asked a simpler question — Do you support or oppose a plan to allow illegal immigrants to stay? — 46 percent opposed it in 2005, and 40 percent supported it. Last year, the gap was even closer, with 45 percent opposing and 43 percent in support.

One difference is that the proposal, more abstract in previous years, gained focus in 2007 as the U.S. Senate prepared to vote on a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

The bill, which died on the Senate floor in June, would have established a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and a guest worker system. But it also would have ushered in tougher border control measures and a crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants.

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