? National ^
i
Marines Not Guilty of Sexually Assaulting Girl, 12
A Three of four Marines
charged were from N.C.
QUEBEC (AP) ? A judge has
acquitted four U.S.. Marines, includ
ing three from eastern North Car
olina of sexually assaulting a 12
year-old girl, ruling that there
wasn't enough evidence to prove it.
Quebec Court Judge Maximilien
Polak said he believed the girl's
story that she was raped by one man
and fondled by three others, but he
ruled her identification of the
accused wasn't enough for a convic
tion. |
"At one lime or another she identi
fied nine individuals in a crime that
was committed by four people,"
Polak said.
The four Marines ? Lance Cpls.
Terry Cobb of Wilson; Mark Cun
ningham of Camp Lejeune;
Clarence Morris of Elizabeth City;
and Sgt. Leonard Permell of
Stafford Springs, Conn. ? were
dressed in khaki uniforms and
showc! no emotion after the June 8
"verdicr They later refused to com
ment. ' iey were charged with sex
ual assault and sexual interference
involving a person under the age of
14.
Their ship, the USS Guam, was
visiting Quebec^on a goodwill visit
at the time of their arrest.
The girl identified the four during
the trial as the men involved in the
August 1991 attack in which she
said she was raped on the historic
Plains of Abraham battlefield park.
Three of the Marines aequited of sexually assaulting a 12 -year-old girt in 1991 are: Terry Cobb of Wilson ,
iV.C. (right); Clarence Morris of Elizabeth City , N.C. (center); and Mark Cunningham of Camp Lejuene , N.C.
The fourth marine , Sgt. Leonard Permell of Stamford , Conn., is not shown.
But-a-defense^tewyersaid in his
summation that her recollection of
that evening was sketchy and she
originally identified*t)nly two of the
Marines.
The judge noted that during the
police investigation the girl couldn't
recall any distinguishing character^
istics other than that her attackers
were black, English-speaking and in
their early 20s.
Crown prosecutor Rene Verret
argued there may have been incon
she should be given special consid
eration because of her age.
In the lineups on the ship, only
Cobb and Cunningham, both 23,
were among a group of seven she
identified three times as possible
suspects. She didn't identify Per
mell, 27, or Morris, 26, in the line
ups. She identified those two during
a preliminary hearing.
Verret asked for a conviction
against all four, who are stationed at
?Camp Lejeune^ but he zeroed in on
Cobb. He said the girl had identified
him five times ? three times during
the ship lineup and then during the
preliminary hearing and trial.
The Crown's case was hurt by
Polak's ruling that other evidence,
such as a saliva test from Cobb, was
inadmissible because Quebec police
didn't properly inform the suspects
of their rights when they were
arrested
Pepsi Rejects Claims of Needles Found in Soda Cans
The Associated Press
Responding to reports of
syringes and needles being found in
Pepsi cans, Pepsi-Cola's U.S. chief
said Wednesday it was virtually
impossible for any tampering to
have occurred at bottling plants.
The Food and Drug Adminis
tration said Tuesday it was investi
gating at least a dozen complaints of
possible tampering, while at least
one person was arrested on charges
of making a false report ?
"People in 18 states have
reported finding syringes and hypo
dermic needles in Pepsi cans over
the last week, according to police
and media reports.
Pepsi's North American divi
sion presidem and thief executive
Craig Weatherup, appearing on all
three television networks yesterday
morning, was asked whether he was
positive that tampering had not
occurred in the plants.
"I can't give you a 100 per
cent guarantee, but I would assure
you it is 99.99 percent assured that
nothing is happening in the facilities
themselves, in the plants. HVbter*
ally, physically impossible^" he
said on NBC's ''Today" show.
Pepsi's highly mechanized
production process chums out some
v 30 million cans a day, he said.
"These cans were produced
at very different plants, some six
months ago, some six weeks ago,
some six days ago," Weatherup
said. "And therefore there's no cor
relation between the complaints,
when these cans were produced or
where they were produced."
The cans are typically turned
upside down, blasted with hot air
and water and then flipped to be
filled and scaled, a process that
takes seconds.
Pepsi-Cola Co., based in
%
I
Don Hauser
See me. Don Hauser for
some of the best deals on
used cars in Winston
Salem.
Sprague Street Auto
614 Sprague St.
650-0303
Somers, N.Y., has said it has no
plans for a recall, and federal offi
cials caution that the claims
appeared unrelated and many could
be hoaxes.
The cases have surfacf^in
Arkansas, California, Connecticut,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana,
Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi,
Missouri, New York, Ohio, Okla
homa, Pennsylvania, Virginia,
Washington and Wyoming.
FDA Commissioner David
Kessler said that a central Pennsyl
vania man had been arrested on fed
eral charges of making a false report
of finding a syringe in a Pepsi can.
Christopher J. Burnette of
Williamsport, Pa., was to be
arraigned yesterday, said FDA
spokesman Jim O'Hara said. He
faces up to five years in prison and
a $250,000 fine if convicted,
Q'Hara said.
Kessler bad earlier said once
"an initial complaint of tampering
receives widespread publicity, there
are always subsequent complaints,
many of which turn out to be
false."
The first report of a foreign
object in a Pepsi can, a hypodermic
needle that was found to be uncont
aminated, surfaced last Wednesday
in Tacoma, Wash.
The maker of soft drinks, bot
tled at more than 400 locations, is
one of the most prolific and aggres
sive advertisers. Bui until Tuesday
night, it had kepi a low-key
approach to the growing reports of
tampering.
Bankroll Productions, Inc.
FOR REAL THO
Levert "Good Ole Days ? ABC- 123 ? Pop Pop
Pop Goes My Mind ? Cassanova, plus so
many more of your favorites.
LIVE IN CONCERT
usa UOHT SHOW PUB A HMD B STMI M OK IMS tVB KBR
RUDS6QHS
WRITTEN. ALL OVER
YOUR FACE
MY KIND OF GIRL
MEN AT LARGE
I'm So Alone
1 of the Girls plus A Special Guest Comedian
1993 NATIONAL TOUR
li.lVA! MN/BIM
THURSDAY, JUNE 24 ? 8 PM
<?-| 0 Advanc* Doors Open 6:30 pm
Group rata available
Tickets available at the Coliseum Box Office, TickeTMaster Centers and
Lawrence Joel American Legion Post 453, Waughtown Street
To charge by phone, call 725-5635 Of 852 ? 1100 A service charge may apply '
PHILLIP S. BANKS III
PERSONAL INJURY
Personalized Service
? ALL COURTS ?
FREE INITIAL
CONSULTATION
Oflice Hours By Appointment
3000 Bethesda Place
659-091 1
WHY OUTSPEND
YOUR NEIGHBORS
WHEN YOU CAN
OUTSMART tHEM
INSTEAD.
1 993 Acura
Leqend Sedan
Stock #95 2 i
Lease for only
$349"
^ per month
48 rm.mh closed end lease with option to purchase for $14.271. 5S at lease end. Total payments
tO.OCv mile allowance $1000 Cap Cost Reduction Fir^t payment. refundable secunty
taxes and license due at delivery. On approved credit.
LOW
(K) ACURA
FLOW IMPORTS
425 Silas Creek Parkway ? Winston-Salem
(919) 723-3524
Conveniently Located Just Off New 1-40.