Criminal Defense

Several North Carolinians Charged With “Crimes Against Nature” In Last Two Months :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: May 23, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What is an expungement?”

A North Carolina man was arrested and charged with sexually abusing a Chihuahua dog this past week. According to local news reports, the 24-year-old man, Jeffrey Edward Bynner, was arrested at 12:41 a.m. and charged with “crimes against nature.”

According to the police arrest warrant, Bynner, allegedly committed “abominable and detestable crimes against nature with a Chihuahua dog” sometime in March. The man is currently in jail on a $10,000 bond.

Hands on Bars Charlotte Criminal Defense DWI DUI Lawyer Attorney.jpg Surprisingly, Bynner is the third person to be charged with crimes against nature in North Carolina since March. Just last month, a 21-year-old man from Wake County was arrested and charged with four felony counts of crimes against nature. The man, Seadon Collins Henrich was a volunteer at the Wake County animal shelter and was also charged with three felony counts of disseminating obscenity. Police say Henrich abused several dogs in his care and then took photographs of the incidents.

Back in March, 28-year-old Derwayne Sharp of Greensboro was charged with raping a young girl and with forcing himself on a dog. The crimes were alleged to have occurred back in 2005, but Sharp was only arrested now, many years later.

Section 14-177 of the North Carolina General Statues, states: “If any person shall commit the crime against nature, with mankind or beast, he shall be punished as a Class I felon.” A “crime against nature” has been defined by North Carolina courts as “sexual intercourse contrary to the order of nature,” including all “acts of bestial character whereby degraded and perverted sexual desires are sought to be gratified.” North Carolina law says that the presumptive prison term for a Class I felony committed under Chapter 14 of North Carolina General Statutes is two years behind bars.

Legislators Propose Changes To Juvenile Justice System :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: May 21, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “A past conviction is keeping me from finding work what can I do?”

A new criminal measure is getting attention in North Carolina as legislators consider changing a longstanding law which allows those over age 16 to be charged and prosecuted as adults. The law is the subject of intense scrutiny given that only one other state in the country has a similar law in place. Watch Children Sign Charlotte NC DUI DWI Criminal Lawyer Attorney.jpg

North Carolina lawmakers are now putting forward an idea that would raise the age for adult prosecution to 18. Representative Marilyn Avila is the lead supported of the bill and says that the law would raise the age to 18 only for teenagers who commit misdemeanors. Initially the law was drafted to include charges such as low-level felonies like car break-ins and marijuana possession. According to Avila, the problem with this draft of the law was that some criticized it for being soft on criminals and many would not support a measure that they felt let teens off the hook for more serious criminal actions.

The measure to raise the age for adult prosecution has been around for years as many advocates for young offenders say the juvenile justice system is better prepared to treat and rehabilitate young people. By shipping minors off to the adult criminal justice system, many are pushed even further into a dangerous life of crime. Another problem cited by some is that teens in North Carolina find themselves at a disadvantage to teens from other states when it comes time to apply for colleges. While other teens can claim a spotless criminal record, with their juvenile records sealed, young people from North Carolina with adult convictions have their crimes follow them for far longer.

North Carolina Underwear Thief Could Face Felony Larceny Charges :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: February 26, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?”

Stealing underwear in North Carolina is no laughing matter. That’s the moral of a recent story out of Gastonia where police are actively searching for a person who is reported to have absconded with hundreds of pairs of women’s underwear from a Victoria’s Secret in a local mall.
Police say that the theft took place in Westfield Eastridge Mall and happened between 6:30 and 7:30 in the evening. The Victoria’s Secret reported having 200 pairs of women’s underpants stolen. The underwear had an estimated value of $2,500.

Authorities have said they do not have a description of the suspect yet, but will be actively reviewing security footage to try and locate the thief. Though the matter sounds somewhat ridiculous, such a theft is taken very seriously in North Carolina.
Underwear Models.jpg
According to North Carolina General Statutes Section 14-70, laws in the state make no distinction between petty or grand larceny charges. Instead, larceny charges are based on the value of goods stolen and the manner in which they were taken.

Charlotte Police Have Powerful Tool To Extract Info From Suspects’ Cellphones :: Charlotte North Carolina DWI DUI Criminal Attorney Lawyer

Published on: February 19, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Do I need to hire an attorney if I have been falsely accused?”

A recent incident involving criminals robbing a hotel in South Charlotte was solved thanks to the help of technology. While the cameras at the hotel were useful, another device that proved a great benefit to officers was the suspect’s own cellphone. The reason is that the suspected criminal’s cellphone was used by police to place him at the scene of several crimes at exactly the moment when the offenses occurred.

Officers with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Westover Division say that using data contained in the suspect’s cellphone allowed them to clear more than a dozen thefts from their books. They said that before the records were reviewed they received the proper warrants to access his cellphone data. A spokesman said, “The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department always obtains a court order in compliance with state and federal law before tracking mobile phones except in cases involving exigent circumstances.” Cell phone 2.jpg

So far the department has been quiet about this tactic, afraid that warning potential criminals will cut down on the usefulness of the tool. Despite that, locals with experience in criminal justice have come forward to say the practice is actually quite widespread. CMPD has revealed for instance that it has a contract with a company called Cellebrite which makes a box that can be connected to thousands of different cellphone models and even tablet computers and then extract current and deleted information.

A local professor who teaches cell phone forensics says that technology in existence today is precise enough to detect even slight changes in location. Officers plug a device into the cellphone which then extracts data that can later be accessed on a department computer.

Expect an Increase in the Number of Dashboard Cameras in North Carolina Patrol Cars

Published on: January 15, 2013 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

It was announced recently that several North Carolina communities would be pursuing money to put additional dashboard cameras in police cars. According to a recent report by WBTV, the city of Gastonia has announced its intention of purchasing some 60 in-dash cameras for Gastonia Police Department patrol cars. This comes after legislators have said they are also interested in rigging more of state highway patrol cars with the cameras.

As things stand now, more than half of the highway patrol cars in Charlotte do not have in-dash cameras. A spokesperson for the NC Highway Patrol says that tight budgets have prevented the department from equipping its cars with the cameras. The gadgets are quite expensive, and can run up to $5,000 a piece.

Despite the high cost, almost everyone agrees that the cameras can be extremely useful for both police officers and members of the community. The public can feel safe knowing that the officers are being watched and that if they behave inappropriately or illegally that their actions will be caught on camera. Several cases of police brutality across the country have been brought to light thanks to such cameras.

Law enforcement officials believe the cameras can be helpful in terms of providing evidence of what took place during a traffic stop. If at trial there’s a discrepancy over what took place, a quick look at the video can resolve the dispute. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was involved in a case last year that proved the value to them of in-dash cameras. A teenager sued the department for injuries she claimed she sustained while being arrested. The video showed that the teen strangled herself with her own seatbelt while in the back of a CMPD patrol car.

Armed Robbery Gets North Carolina Man 176 Years Behind Bars

Published on: December 11, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to a recent article by WCNC, a federal judge has sentenced a Goldsboro, NC man to 176 years in prison for his role in multiple robberies that took place across several months in eastern North Carolina.

The U.S. Attorney’s office announced earlier this week that Domonic Devarrise Usher had also been ordered to pay $14,000 in restitution for his crimes. The massive sentenced followed a guilty verdict back in July on charges related to the robbery of several stores in small towns throughout the eastern portion of the state. Prosecutors say Usher and five others robbed businesses between November 2009 and March of 2010.

Razor wire.jpg Testimony presented at trial revealed that the robbers would enter stores wearing bandanas, gloves, hats and dark clothes to obscure their identities. One of the men would then point a gun at a clerk while the others grabbed the cash drawer from the register or safe, whichever was most easily accessed.

Though the 176-year sentence is quite long, the crime of robbery with a dangerous weapon is a very serious crime in North Carolina. The presence of a gun during a robbery and the resulting endangerment of a victim’s life increases by several magnitudes the severity of the punishment faced by defendants. North Carolina General Statutes § 14-87 states:

New North Carolina Cyber-bullying Law Goes Into Effect

Published on: December 6, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Nearly two-dozen new laws went into effect on Saturday including one important item that extends a North Carolina crime against cyber-bullying to also provide protection to school employees.

The new law will mean that students who use a computer to intimidate or threaten school employees will face criminal penalties. Existing laws in the state already made it illegal for cyber-bulling to target other children. The new law makes it a misdemeanor for students to commit various online offenses against school employees, such as creating false profiles, signing them up for Internet porn or posting personal images and private information.

The roots of the new law began about five years ago when a teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools discovered that someone had created a fake MySpace page in his name and posted material implying he was a pedophile. Charlotte-Mecklenburg School investigators traced the profile to students at Providence High and charged those students with cyber-stalking.

Cheating in UNC Football Program Sparks Criminal Probe

Published on: June 28, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

News from the Charlotte Observer of a suspicious summer course offering at UNC-Chapel Hill shows that a class with no instruction time was created just days before the summer semester began which was filled exclusively with football players.

The records show that in the summer of 2011, 19 students signed up for AMFAM 280: Blacks in North Carolina. 18 of these students were current football players; the other man was a former player. Post #2 criminal image 6.28.jpg The players had the support of their academic advisors who knew there would be no actual instruction. The whole affair is now the subject of a full scale criminal investigation.

Additional records show that football and basketball players made up a majority of nine other suspect classes in which professors listed as instructors deny ever teaching. They are also claiming that their signatures were forged on records related to the courses. This amounts to significant evidence of academic fraud taking place at UNC. An internal search discovered there were 54 such classes, all but nine of which were taught by Julius Nyang’oro, the longtime chairman of the African and Afro-American Studies Department. In each course the students were given one assignment, such as writing a term paper, and told to turn it in at the end of the summer term.

Bubba Cunningham, the current athletic director hired since the scandal took place has said that he is troubled by the news. “I just think this has uncovered some information that quite frankly, the university, we’re not proud of,” he said in an interview. “But we’ll continue to work to ensure that it doesn’t happen going forward.”

The issue began as a result of an investigation into the summer pay Nyang’oro received for the AMFAM 280 course. The search uncovered evidence that the university had paid the professor the standard fee for such a course, $12,000, but that it was contingent on the course being taught in lecture format. Nyang’oro decided to change the course to an independent study. The school is now trying to get the money paid out to the professor back.

Nyang’oro resigned as chairman of the department last September as UNC began an investigation into numerous independent studies and other suspicious course offerings in his department. He had been the department’s only chairman and earned as much as $171,000 per year.

Despite Critics, Electronic Monitoring is a Success in Charlotte

Published on: May 29, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

The use of electronic monitors as an alternative means of punishment in Charlotte is about to expand, despite the growing amount of negative media attention the program has received. The program costs taxpayers $35,000 a month and even though a few unruly participants have decided it was better for them to cut off their monitors and run, the police have faith that the program is a good one and that it is working. It started back in 1997 and it is being expanded to cover more crimes and therefore more defendants.

Police believe that the program serves several purposes. Electronic Monitoring Device.png It is a crime-solving tool, it is a means of deterring particularly young offenders, and it helps to prevent unnecessary jail/prison overcrowding for minor offenses. There is also the added benefit of being able to map out where crime is taking place based on the location of the monitors, which, according the police, outweighs the occasional “monitor-cutters on the run.”

Most of the defendants that the police are monitoring are those who have been charged with robbery or burglary, but the police have also been fitting domestic violence and sexual assault offenders with such monitors as a means of making sure that they stay far away from their victims. “Police can use the monitors to establish zones where the offender cannot go. If he or she crosses into that area–usually a set distance from the victim’s home or workplace–the monitor will alert the police.”

The program provides the police with a detailed alert of criminal activity and the location of the monitored individuals at the time of the crime. When someone reports a crime, the time and location of that crime is noted. If someone who is being monitored is within a set distance from that location of criminal activity, the police are alerted. The police have been receiving nearly 30 pages of alerts per day. Police say that it is just like any other investigative tool. It produces a lead, which then requires that the police conduct an investigation to prove whether the person being monitored was actually involved in the criminal activity.

Four arrested in Charlotte for protesting against Bank of America

Published on: May 8, 2012 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Police in Charlotte arrested four people as they were trying to force their way into Bank of America’s annual shareholder’s meeting. Police were working to contain a crowd that had gathered outside of the meeting in the street. The arrests came as a result of the police using a newly passed city ordinance to declare the shareholder’s meeting an “extraordinary event” which allows the police to subject protests to more stringent regulations.

The new ordinance is found in Sections 15-310 through 15-313 of the municipal code. It gives the city manager the authority to declare an event an “extraordinary event” and also allows the city manger to prescribe the location and the time period for the event. bank of america building.jpg An “extraordinary event” is defined in the code as “a large-scale special event of national or international significance and/or an event expected to attract a significant number of people to a certain portion of the city.”

Section 15-313 sets out what kind of conduct is unlawful during the extraordinary event. It is unclear from the WBMF report what prompted the police to arrest the four individuals. The code section makes it unlawful to carry certain items, such as backpacks, posters, markers, and other items. There was no indication that any of those items were found on the arrestees. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Major Jeff Estes told reporters that the four were arrested for crossing a police line, a misdemeanor in North Carolina.