Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “The person that called the police doesn’t want to press charges.”
Train robbery sounds like the kind of crime that went the way of the steam engine. Though times have changed and robberies are no longer being perpetrated on horseback, train robberies still take place and are taken quite seriously by law enforcement officials in North Carolina and elsewhere.
Keeping with the theme, it was announced this week that three men from Rowan County, NC pled guilty to a train robbery that occurred back in 2012 in Salisbury. The statement from the U.S. Attorney said that 25-year-old Altise Bridges, 20-year-old William Johnson, Jr., and 19-year-old Kenyad Kelly, all pled guilty to accessory after the fact to train robbery.
According to authorities, the incident began last April when two masked me carrying guns climbed aboard a Norfolk Southern train that was heading from Columbia, SC to Asheville, NC. The men boarded the train while it was stopped at a station in Salisbury for a required crew change. When the robbers entered the engine car of the train one of them brandished a shotgun while a second man waived a revolver.
Court documents say that the robbers then demanded money from the engineer of the train as well as the train’s conductor, taking cash and a wallet before fleeing the train. Investigators assigned to the case later determined that Bridges and Johnson had engaged in the robbery while Kelly was brought along to destroy and hide evidence, apparently unsuccessfully.
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. 
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.