Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Is there more than one way for police to convict a DWI?”
Law enforcement officials have announced that a recent raid of a nightclub in Selma, North Carolina resulted in 17 people being arrested on a range of charges from drugs to prostitution. The sweep was conducted by North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agents as well as officers with the Selma Police Department and Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.
A spokesperson for ALE said that the raid was the result of a six-month investigation conducted by various law enforcement agencies after local authorities received complaints about a range of illegal activities taking place at The Ranch, a local nightclub. Agents who participated in the raid say they discovered employees who sold illegal drugs to patrons, others that engaged in prostitution and other sexual offenses and still others who broke state alcohol control laws.
Officials say the raid turned up a wide array of illegal drugs that were seized by authorities. Prescription painkillers, powdered ecstasy and significant quantities of cocaine were all found on the premises of The Ranch.
Given the drugs, prostitution and alcohol offenses it’s no surprise that several employees and patrons were arrested in the raid. Police released the names of 17 people charged with crimes in connection to the police bust. Of those arrested, the suspects’ ages ranged from 19 to 62.
Authorities say that the two suspects walked off with a large supply of drugs from the CVS located on Blocking Rock Road. Though they are currently on the loose, security footage from inside the store gave investigators a glimpse at their faces as well as an idea of the car the two are driving.
The first point made by the editorial board is that when criminal investigations are run cheaply it can mean unsolved or even undetected crimes. Every year cases go unsolved and still others go unnoticed by law enforcement officials. Though unsolved crime is certainly a problem, the real worry is that underfunded criminal investigations lead to accusations against innocent people, sometimes even convictions for those who never did anything wrong. The problem is a serious one with a recent investigation revealing that North Carolina seriously underfunds its criminal investigations. In fact, a recent study said that the state spends about 3/5th as much as the national average on its investigations, a glaring problem.
So far police have not released the boy’s name, but say that he faces criminal charges after supposedly dropping his infant brother on his head repeatedly until he died. The case began this past weekend when police were called to a home in Charlotte, NC where they discovered a seven-month-old boy unresponsive. The child was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Prosecutors say that Joseph Anthony Mitchell decided to reject a plea deal that he had been offered late last week and instead pled not guilty to one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. After his rejection of the plea deal, his case will now move forward to a full criminal trial, which is currently scheduled for March. Prosecutors have revealed that they will not seek the death penalty in the case.
An official with the Rock Hill Police Department says that 76 warrants have been taken out against Paul Fuller and Travis Alston, all related to burglaries committed in the area. The warrants are voluminous and include everything from second-degree burglary, criminal conspiracy, grand larceny and, unusually, safe cracking.
Authorities say that Cuthrell, minister of music at Gospel Shepherd Baptist Church, poured oil and gasoline across his rental home and set it on fire to avoid pressing financial obligations. At his sentencing, Cuthrell spoke out saying he was ashamed and embarrassed about his behavior, claiming that it was the most irrational decision of his life.
Police officials say the current sweep focused in on 22 people and was designed to reduce violent crime in the surrounding areas. Police officers in Charlotte worked in conjunction with federal agents to nab the suspected criminals, beginning their undercover operation earlier in the summer. Authorities say they targeted individuals who were selling drugs or that were known to possess or sell weapons.
The changes come a year after the ACLU launched an investigation into the actions of the department following complaints that the supposed seat belt checkpoints were actually being used to target Latinos. The ACLU said that they received information that at one checkpoint alone, 15 undocumented immigrants were detained and ultimately taken into custody. Thankfully charges against 10 of those arrested were eventually dropped.
The mayor of Durham has responded to the results, saying that he is instituting an investigation into what appears to be clear evidence of racial profiling by police officers. The action was all prompted by the release of a University of North Carolina study that showed how blacks and Hispanics across the state were vastly more likely to be searched following a traffic stop than their white counterparts, something that has alarmed criminal defense attorneys as well as civil rights advocates.