A Durham man caught selling cocaine to a police informant has filed an appeal brief suggesting that the police entrapped him. Milton Morgan, a 63-year-old Navy veteran with no criminal record, was approached by the confidential police informant twice in one day, even though he was not a bona fide drug dealer. In his appeal […]
John H. Tucker
Bio: John H. Tucker is a staff writer for INDY Week.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/JH_Tucker
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Court of Appeals rules against N&O in libel lawsuit
A libel lawsuit against The News & Observer, brought by a former State Bureau of Investigation ballistics expert who claimed she was wrongfully defamed, will move toward a trial. The N.C. Court of Appeals had considered dismissing the suit after an oral argument last November. But in an opinion issued yesterday, the three-member panel of […]
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Hatgate returns to court
Hold onto your hats! The N.C. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this morning for Wetherington v. North Carolina Department of Public Safety, AKA “Hat Gate,” which we featured two years ago. It’s a bizarre case involving a N.C. state trooper who lost his Highway Patrol-issued campaign hat during a traffic stop. He lied to […]
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Rowan man Donald Ray Morgan sentenced for supporting ISIS
Donald Ray Morgan, 44, of Rowan County, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Beginning last year, Morgan knowingly attempted to provide support, resources and services to ISIS, according to Ripley Rand, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.. On […]
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State Bar files complaint against director of innocence organization
The North Carolina State Bar on Monday filed a complaint against Chris Mumma, the executive director of the Durham-based North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, alleging that she violated professional conduct rules in a case that set an innocent man free. The alleged violation did not factor into the end result in the case of […]
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What you need to know about police and body cameras
Wake Sheriff’s Office: Tested them over the course of a year. Hope to purchase them in the near future.Carrboro PD: Tested them in the past year. Requested funds in hopes of purchasing them. Durham Sheriff’s Office: No immediate plans to use them. Holly Springs PD: Tested them with school resource officers last year. Considering use […]
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Michael Tyrone Gallagher dies after being struck by police Taser in Halifax County
A man died this weekend after being struck by a Taser fired by an officer with the Enfield Police Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has reported. The town of Enfield is located in Halifax County, 70 miles northeast of Raleigh. The decedent was Michael Tyrone Gallagher, 55, of Midlothian, Virginia. At approximately […]
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9-year old Cary child killed while riding bicycle
A 9-year-old Cary child has died after being struck by a motorist near Maple Avenue and Poplar Street in the Chatham Estate mobile home park. Around 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Deborah Brown, 49, of Cary, was driving on Maple Avenue near SE Maynard Road when her black Lexus SUV collided with Paul Pham, 9, who […]
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Religious advocacy group Liberty Counsel sues Wake County for denying it library access
Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-based nonprofit promoting a Christian view of America’s founding, has filed a federal lawsuit against Wake County after the Cameron Village public library denied it access to stage programming in one of its conference rooms. The lawsuit alleges that the library’s policy is unconstitutional and discriminatory, in violation of the First and […]
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Orange County Judge Allen Baddour: Sex offenders can visit public libraries
Prevent Child Abuse of NC A trip to the library landed James Elder in jail. In 2011, authorities caught Elder with explicit photographs of 15-year-old girls on his email account. He served 15 months in state prison and, after his release last year, became homeless. Last December the 46-year-old visited the Chapel Hill Public Library […]