Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 9, 2006 21:13:49 GMT -5
1 of the 5 suspects in a May 16 shooting death of a woman could face the death penalty if convicted of murder, Rowan County District Attorney Bill Kenerly said Friday.
Jobarie Dontavis Watson, 20, of Kannapolis, is charged with murder, attempted murder, felony conspiracy and 1st-degree burglary.
He was charged in connection with the death of 26-year-old Christina Suzanne Affolter, who was found shot to death at her home at 914 Walnut St.
Also charged were:
Jeremy Lamar Hanah, 18; Marquel Trashawn Johnson, 27; Brian Keith Gibson, 31; and Delron Eric White, 19, all of Kannapolis. The 4 received the same charges as Watson.
On Thursday, Rowan County Superior Court Judge Michael Beale filed an order declaring Watson's case to be tried as a capital murder case.
Kannapolis Police Sgt. Ken Jackson previously said that the suspects are acquaintances of Affolter and 32-year-old Amos Lewis McClorey, who was injured in the shooting. The shooting stemmed from a robbery, Jackson said.
"If a group of people band together to commit a crime and a murder occurs in the course of that crime, they can all be charged with committing murder," Kenerly said. "But that's not saying they can all be sentenced to death. You cannot be sentenced to death unless you were the murderer or part of the crime was to kill the victim."
The evidence indicates that the other 4 suspects had not planned for Affolter's death, Kenerly said.
Watson is the only suspect facing the death penalty.
"The evidence indicates he actually pulled the trigger and acted alone in that," Kenerly said. "That makes the death penalty appropriate to him and not the others."
Watson is being held at the Mecklenburg County Jail on unrelated charges. The other 4 suspects are being held at the Rowan County Detention Center.
All 5 suspects are being held without bond.
Johnson's attorney filed a motion to have a bond hearing, but a date has not yet been set, Kenerly said.
Court records state that prosecutors should be ready to proceed with a trial by June 2007.
(source: Kannapolis Independent Tribune)
Jobarie Dontavis Watson, 20, of Kannapolis, is charged with murder, attempted murder, felony conspiracy and 1st-degree burglary.
He was charged in connection with the death of 26-year-old Christina Suzanne Affolter, who was found shot to death at her home at 914 Walnut St.
Also charged were:
Jeremy Lamar Hanah, 18; Marquel Trashawn Johnson, 27; Brian Keith Gibson, 31; and Delron Eric White, 19, all of Kannapolis. The 4 received the same charges as Watson.
On Thursday, Rowan County Superior Court Judge Michael Beale filed an order declaring Watson's case to be tried as a capital murder case.
Kannapolis Police Sgt. Ken Jackson previously said that the suspects are acquaintances of Affolter and 32-year-old Amos Lewis McClorey, who was injured in the shooting. The shooting stemmed from a robbery, Jackson said.
"If a group of people band together to commit a crime and a murder occurs in the course of that crime, they can all be charged with committing murder," Kenerly said. "But that's not saying they can all be sentenced to death. You cannot be sentenced to death unless you were the murderer or part of the crime was to kill the victim."
The evidence indicates that the other 4 suspects had not planned for Affolter's death, Kenerly said.
Watson is the only suspect facing the death penalty.
"The evidence indicates he actually pulled the trigger and acted alone in that," Kenerly said. "That makes the death penalty appropriate to him and not the others."
Watson is being held at the Mecklenburg County Jail on unrelated charges. The other 4 suspects are being held at the Rowan County Detention Center.
All 5 suspects are being held without bond.
Johnson's attorney filed a motion to have a bond hearing, but a date has not yet been set, Kenerly said.
Court records state that prosecutors should be ready to proceed with a trial by June 2007.
(source: Kannapolis Independent Tribune)