Harnett board to vote on gun law (NC)

Josey1

Harnett board to vote on gun law
By Philippa White
Staff writer
LILLINGTON -- A new law banning loaded firearms on road rights-of-way in Harnett County could be in place for the fall hunting season, according to county officials.

The proposal was recommended to the county Board of Commissioners in April by a committee made up of hunters, still-hunters and landowners.

County Attorney Dwight Snow has worked with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission in Raleigh to finalize the wording of the proposed law.

County Manager Neil Emory will ask the county commissioners to vote on the proposed law at the board meeting today.

If it passes, Emory will arrange a meeting between commissioners and local lawmakers to see if the change could go before the legislature this summer.

The current law for Harnett County prohibits hunting from roadways. Some hunters who break the law say they are looking for their dogs.

The new law would apply to any weapon larger than a standard handgun. The committee proposed a $300 to $500 fine for someone convicted of breaking the law the first time and a one-year revocation of a hunting license for a second conviction. For a third conviction, hunters could be fined $2,000 and lose their license for three years.

Howard Penny Jr. was chairman of the six-member committee. He described the committee's proposals as a "starting point" aimed at solving some of the problems with renegade hunters that have surfaced in parts of the county.

"I realize that with the state budget crisis, the number one priority is not going to be hunting issues -- and rightly so,'' he said. "But I am hopeful that we will get (our proposal) in place."

Emory said the proposed change will probably be among the issues discussed during a coming breakfast meeting between commissioners and legislators. A date for the meeting has not been set.

Harnett County is represented by state Reps. Don Davis and Leslie Cox and by Sen. Oscar Harris.

Cox said Thursday he could not comment until he had seen the proposed law. But he said the fact it had been proposed by a cross-section of the community gave it extra weight.

"We will certainly take a look at it in the light of that and give it our fullest consideration," he said.

"If the delegation decides to support it, it's something that could move pretty quickly."

Harris said he wanted to see how the law would fit in with existing county legislation on hunting.

If all three lawmakers agree to support the proposal, they would need to file a local bill by 4 p.m. on June 12 for it to be considered during the short session. If the bill is passed by both the House and the Senate, it would become law.


Staff writer Philippa White can be reached at 486-3521 or whitep@fayettevillenc.com

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/obj_stories/2002/jun/n03harn.shtml



"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

Josey1

Punishment falling in city gun crimes
Conviction rate, length of sentences down despite pledges to quell violence; 'We can do better,' mayor says; Some police feel pressed to close cases even when evidence is slim

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By Caitlin Francke
Sun Staff
Originally published June 3, 2002



Despite a pledge by Baltimore's mayor and police commissioner to crack down on violence, suspects charged in shootings and other serious gun crimes are less likely to be convicted and more likely to receive shorter jail terms than they were two years ago.
Last year, barely more than half - 55 percent - of felony gun crimes handled by the state's attorney's elite gun unit resulted in convictions. That's a sharp drop from the 63 percent conviction rate in 2000, Mayor Martin O'Malley's first year in office.

For those who were convicted last year, the average jail sentence was eight years, down from 11 the year before.

The trend worries public officials, but no one is fixing the problem. A review by The Sun of felony gun cases over the past two years illustrates the issues:


Arrests for gun crimes have skyrocketed under the administration of Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris. Last year, the number of cases forwarded to the state's attorney's Firearms Investigation Violence Enforcement unit increased by 65 percent. Experts say the flood of cases could create a "swamping" effect, taxing the ability of police and prosecutors to investigate them.

Police officers and investigators are under intense pressure to solve cases, even if that means making an arrest when evidence is slim. Some police investigators have complained to prosecutors that their bosses direct them to make arrests to satisfy the top brass and the demands of Comstat, a crime tracking tool the Police Department uses to measure performance.

Police and prosecutors agree that part of the problem is the different standards of proof they use. While officers can charge a suspect when they have "probable cause" to believe he committed a crime, such as the statement of only one witness, that's insufficient once the case reaches court. There, whether a judge or jury is weighing the evidence, prosecutors need stronger proof - "beyond a reasonable doubt" - to win a conviction.

Police and prosecutors are hobbled by reluctant witnesses who refuse to testify or who recant statements made to police. Some fear retribution, while others want to settle the score on the street.
In an example of pressure on police documented by the state's attorney's office, a detective told a top prosecutor in December that he made a weak arrest in a shooting so his supervisor would look good at the next Comstat meeting. The supervisor strongly denied this account, but his response shows how and why the two agencies are at odds over who is responsible for the lower conviction rate.

"I could care less about Comstat," Lt. Richard Fahlteich, supervisor of the detective identified by prosecutors, said in an interview. "But we do have a responsibility to arrest people when we have probable cause that a judge or a court commissioner signs a warrant for. That's, in fact, what our job is."

Avance Peterkin, 37, was shot in October in the 600 block of W. Lafayette Ave. As is usually the case in Baltimore, the incident involved drugs, court documents say. Although police found circumstantial evidence pointing to the defendant, there were no eyewitnesses; an arrest was made anyway.

Fahlteich acknowledged the case was weak because, as is common, the victim was uncooperative. He said, though, the case was strong enough to go to trial.

"You don't get grand witnesses to say that stuff," Fahlteich said. "The cops have to go with all of the pieces they've got."

But State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy says her lawyers need more to make cases stick and send offenders away.

"The citizens aren't so interested in the fact that somebody's been arrested. They want that person convicted and off the streets, especially when they are engaging in violent activity," said Jessamy, who is highlighting her seven-year record as state's attorney in her race for re-election.


Norris defends police

Norris, appointed by O'Malley two years ago to energize the Police Department, makes no apologies. Sure, he said, cases may initially be weak. But, he said, he has a responsibility to take people off the street if they are suspected of committing a violent crime, even if there is only a single witness.

"We don't wait anymore. We get someone identified as a shooter, a rapist, I want my guys to go out and get them. If you leave someone out there, what do you think they are doing?" Norris said. "Do we ask [officers] to chase people faster than they used to? Absolutely, and I am not apologizing for it. Everyone needs to pick up the pace."

After an arrest, officers and prosecutors should beef up the case with additional evidence before trial; critical information can be gleaned once a suspect is in custody, Norris said.

The cases "are probably not trial-ready at arrest, but that is part of all our jobs, to work a little harder to shore these cases up," Norris said.

Prosecutors say shooting investigators are so busy that they can't do much follow-up after an arrest.

Norris responded, "Tell me about any of my detectives that have not performed their duties post-arrest, and they will be disciplined."

O'Malley tried to make the lower conviction rate an issue a few months ago, suggesting to state legislators that Jessamy was failing to do her job. The conviction rate he attributed to her office was lower than a review by The Sun has determined; the mayor's aides have since revised their numbers upward.

In an interview last week, O'Malley did not blame anyone and said the problem must be fixed.

"I feel like it is not fair for us to ask police officers and witnesses to risk their lives in bringing these guns off the street if we can't do a better job of convicting the guilty and taking them off the street as a system," O'Malley said. "I think we can do better. For our part, any piece of this that I have the political responsibility to guide and control, I am committed to doing everything I possibly can because I sure as heck don't want to bury another kid or police officer in this city."


Elite gun unit

Jessamy's F.I.V.E. unit was created in 1997 to focus on nonfatal shootings, which far outpace Baltimore's homicides and cause more of the violence engulfing city streets.

Last year there were 686 nonfatal shootings vs. 259 homicides. Both crimes have gone down during O'Malley's tenure as police have helped him keep a campaign promise to lower the level of violence, particularly homicides.

To a small extent, the declining conviction rate has been offset by the surge in arrests by police. As a result, the number of people sent to prison last year for felony gun crimes rose to 181, an increase of 28.

But the conviction rate appears to be comparatively low, and the decline is worrisome.

A U.S. Department of Justice survey of prosecutors around the nation found last year that the average conviction rate for all felony cases is 83 percent. Another Justice Department study that tracked felony cases in 1998 put the average conviction rate for violent offenses at 59 percent.

The decline in the conviction rate for felony gun crimes handled by the F.I.V.E. unit - from 63 percent in 2000 to 55 percent last year - is "a pretty significant drop," said Gary LaFree, a criminology professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

One major factor to be considered in examining the decrease, LaFree said, is the surge in arrests. He called it the "swamping effect."

"Given the way the system operates, a key issue is the number of cases getting to the prosecutor from the police, and the quality of the case can have a big impact on success at prosecution," LaFree said.

Jerome E. Deise, a law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law said another reason may be jurors' distrust of the city Police Department.

"I think people are troubled by the way police obtain evidence, and they question their credibility, and that is unfortunately making it more difficult for prosecutors," Deise said. "The officers, with [the number of] cases they have to deal with, I fear, don't have the time to investigate the cases fully, and unfortunately they rush to judgment. And I think the public is skeptical about some of the things they hear."

F.I.V.E. also handles misdemeanor gun cases - generally, illegal gun possession - and has better success with these. Over the past two years, the percentage of minor gun convictions in the city's District Court increased by 9 percentage points to 50 percent, although the average sentence shrank from 7.6 months to 3.4 months.

One reason the average sentence dropped was because many offenders were given probation, suspended jail terms or credit for time served.

On the issue of shorter sentences, Jessamy noted that a change in sentencing guidelines reduced the jail term on a critical felony charge her lawyers routinely use in shooting cases.

The average jail term for the most serious cases the unit handles - shootings - dropped from 17 years to 12 years since 2000, said prosecutors.

For all felony gun cases, including those in which a previously convicted felon was found guilty of possessing a handgun, the average declined from 11 years to eight.

She said judges also regularly give lighter jail terms than prosecutors request.

"We are working toward trying to get people off the streets ... for as long as possible," Jessamy said. "That's our goal. Police want to arrest. Judges want to clear dockets. Everybody is working to different things. They've got different priorities."

Her office provided statistics showing that judges reduce the amount of jail time recommended by prosecutors in about 50 percent of cases.

But Judge Keith E. Matthews, chief of the city's District Court, where minor gun possession cases are heard, said judges are supposed to find the middle ground between the prosecution and the defense.

"Lots of times, prosecutors are a little overzealous, but that is why we have judges," Matthews said. "Lots of times, the judges do give a sentence that is different from what the state recommends, just as they would give a sentence different from what the defense recommends."

Matthews said he thinks lower sentences in misdemeanor gun possession cases result from prosecutors taking more cases to the higher Circuit Court and leaving the least serious cases behind.

Circuit Judge William D. Quarles, who has mainly presided over criminal cases for the past five years, said he was surprised to hear that prosecutors' conviction rates have declined along with sentences.

"I have not seen any lack of zeal in prosecuting these cases," Quarles said.

"I think they are doing the best with what they have," Quarles said. "They have to take whatever walks in the door. They can't pick and choose. In Baltimore, that means having victims and assailants from the same neighborhood. It means not being able to provide reasonable witness security, and it means losing."

Of the 721 felony gun arrests handled by the F.I.V.E unit in Circuit Court in the past two years, 228, or 32 percent, were dropped or shelved because of insufficient evidence, prosecutors say. The figure is much higher in District Court - 45 percent - where prosecutors have had problems with police officers not showing up for trial.


Police feel pressured

Two police investigators, who asked not to be identified for fear of losing their jobs, said there is heavy pressure to close shooting cases, even if the evidence is slim. One detective said he knows that prosecutors will probably drop all the cases where there is only one witness and the victim is not cooperating, but the unwritten understanding at the Police Department is that once there is one witness, the case should be shut.

"In the Police Department's eyes, it's a closed case," the detective said. "If you say 'no' to people, then you're bucking the system, and people don't want you to work for them."

Of the 20 cases this detective has sent to prosecutors over the past two years, only about three have resulted in jail time, he said.

"It doesn't do any good if you lock people up and they don't go to jail for what they are accused of," the detective said.

He summed up the relationship between the two law-enforcement agencies this way: "Basically, it's: 'Don't go see the state's attorney's office. ... You work for the Police Department; you don't work for them.'"

Another detective said he was ordered to arrest somebody in a case and refused. He said he has seen others write warrants in cases they are not sure about because of orders from their superiors.

"If you know it's wrong, and you get sued, you are liable," the detective said. "But guys are easily intimidated."

The detective said the practice of considering cases solved - or "closed" - for statistical reasons is well known throughout the department.

"The big joke here is everything has to be closed before Thursday because that's Comstat," the detective said, referring to the rigorous crime briefing every two weeks where statistics are analyzed.


Complaints by officers

Jessamy's office released memos requested by The Sun that document conversations between detectives and prosecutors about cases dropped in Circuit Court. In three instances last year, prosecutors wrote that detectives told them they had arrested defendants only because their supervisors ordered them to - memos that the police dispute or decline to comment on.

Norris said he was "disturbed" by the memos and said he had referred the issue to Col. Robert M. Stanton, commander of the criminal investigations division, to review.

Stanton said he had talked to the lieutenant in one of the cases and decided that there was probable cause to arrest the defendant - even if the detective objected.

"Because they are given an investigative direction that they don't agree with doesn't mean the direction they are given is wrong or the lieutenant is wrong," Stanton said.

In the case Stanton reviewed, a man was left paralyzed when he was shot July 17 in the 3100 block of Wylie Ave.

The victim, Dexter Chapman, insisted to police that he did not know who had shot him. Police charged Kenneth Henson, 25. Detective Chris Wade had one witness, who came forward when he was arrested on drug possession charges.

A memo from prosecutor William Cameron states that Wade said he was ordered to make the arrest even though he had doubts about it.

"Detective Wade then spoke with ... prosecutor Douglas Ludwig and indicated that he had been ordered to obtain a warrant for the defendant by his Lieutenant and was also ordered not to call the FIVE unit of the State's Attorney's Office before doing it," the document states.

On Aug. 17, the case was dropped.

Wade declined to comment. His supervisor, Lt. Michael Newton, said he did not remember ordering Wade to get a warrant in this case, but he said he would "direct" a detective to get a warrant in a case where probable cause existed for arrest.

"If the detective didn't want to get a warrant in this case, I would have directed him to," Newton said. "When we get probable cause to make an arrest, we have a responsibility to the community to go out and lock this guy up."

Sun staff researchers Sandy Levy and Sarah Gehring contributed to this article.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/custom/guns/bal-te.md.guns03jun03.story

Copyright c 2002, The Baltimore Sun


"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878