Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “If I simply intend to plead guilty, why do I need a lawyer?”
In a bizarre criminal law case out of Salisbury, North Carolina, police say one would-be bank robber made a series of mistakes that led to her being quickly apprehended. The woman, Tara Jean Vaughn, started off on the wrong foot by robbing the Wood Forest Bank branch inside a Wal-Mart where she has an account, meaning the workers were already familiar with Ms. Vaughn.
According to a police report, Vaughn arrived at the bank around 8:30 in the morning on Monday, but discovered the branch was not yet open. She then left the store and returned at around 5 p.m. Vaughn then approached a teller and asked him about getting a pack of starter checks. Vaughn then gave the teller her name and mentioned that she had an existing account with the bank.
After divulging such crucial identifying information, Vaughn then curiously chose to rob the branch, telling the bank employee that she had a gun and wanted his money. Vaughn was at least polite during the robbery, apologizing and explaining that she didn’t want to shoot the man. Vaughn then placed her purse on the counter and instructed the teller to fill the bag up with money from the cash drawer. The teller did place some money inside the purse, though police have not yet revealed how much Vaughn was able to get away with.
Police say that Vaughn then fled the store, but was arrested only a few hours later. She is now charged with armed robbery, despite never actually brandishing the weapon, and is being held on a $50,000 bond.
Authorities say that a total of $650 worth of bad checks were cashed at a Food Lion on Regent Parkway and another on Highway 160 East. Several more checks were cashed at a Food Lion in Pineville, NC. The checks were drawn against an account owned by Merritt who said that the checks were used to buy items of food at both stores and that suspects also made sure to ask for cash back with their purchases. 
Judge Ali Paksoy handed down the decision during a hearing at the Lincoln County Courthouse last Thursday. Judge Paksoy determined that there was no probable cause to justify the two counts of involuntary manslaughter facing Arwood and chose to dismiss both counts entirely. 
Officials with the Huntersville, NC police department say they first began investigating the case on November 21st when they were alerted to possible trouble by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials. Authorities say that an investigation later revealed that there had been inappropriate contact and text messaging between Allison and a student at the school during school hours. 
Police with CMPD say they were assisted by officers at UNCC. The checkpoint took place on Runnymede Lane near Michael Baker Place, close to Myers Park High School. According to a spokesperson, the checkpoint resulted in a total of 48 charges, 21 of which were for driving while intoxicated (DWI). Three of the charges concerned driving with a revoked license, eight were for driving without a license, two were for open container and 14 were for more minor traffic violations such as out of date tags. 
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. 
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.