Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 13, 2001, edition 1 / Page 3
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Sfyu Satlg (Tar MM fT'l u Police Roundup University Saturday, Feb. 10 ■ A freshman student reported that someone broke into his locker in Woollen Gym during the junior varsity basketball game and stole his wallet and jewelry, police reports state. He told police that he was missing a gold chain with a cross charm, a Seiko gold and silver watch, a brown leather wallet, S2O and his First Union check card, reports state. He canceled the check card after learning that three charges had been made on the card after he lost it, reports state. . ■ A resident of Carmichael Residence Hall reported that someone stole a CD case with 72 CDs worth $864 and $75 in cash from his room. He told police that the incident occurred between Feb. 7 and Feb. 10 and that the case had been on his floor covered with clothes. Friday, Feb. 9 ■ A student in the School of Dentistry told police that after losing her keys in the school, she put up fliers in an attempt to recover the keys. But she said she later received a note in her mailbox in reference to her keys, demanding that S2O be left in another mailbox, police reports state. She told police that the note said if she did not leave any money, her keys would be thrown away, reports state. The matter is currently under inves tigation. ■ A resident of Stacy Residence Hall reported a stolen blue mountain bike And krypton cable lock, totaling $368.65 in damages. He told police that the bike had been locked to a bike rack in front of Stacy, but noticed that it was missing on his way to class. City Monday, Feb. 12 ■ Brian Seaton Brooks, 35, of 317 Mitchell Lane was arrested Monday by Chapel Hill police for peeping and resisting arrest, reports state. Brooks was transported to Orange Countyjail and held under a $5,000 bond. His trial is set for April 16 at the Orange County District Courthouse in Hillsborough. ■ Chapel Hill police arrested Robert James Mazurek, 23, of 1208 Airport Road, No. 209, and charged him with assault to inflict bodily injury with a knife and assault on a female, reports state. Reports also state that Mazurek was a UNC groundskeeper. He was taken to Orange Countyjail. His trial was held Monday at the Orange County District Courthouse in Hillsborough. Saturday, Feb. 10 ■ Chapel Hill police arrested John . Milton Richardson, 24, of 148 Lincoln Lane for possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell, resisting arrest and lit tering. Reports state that Richardson fled on a bike from the intersection of •Graham Street and Whitaker Street, dnd was apprehended with $657 and 15 dosage units of crack cocaine on his per son. Richardson was taken to Orange Jail and held under $5,000 Jiond. His trial date was Feb. 12 at the Orange County District Courthouse in Hillsborough. I ■ Carrboro police arrested Antonio Medina, 36, of 404 Jones Ferry Road, •C-14, for assault on a female. Reports state that when police arrived, Medina had a head laceration that he claimed occurred prior to the incident and a fractured rib. Medina was held in Orange County Jail for 48 hours and his trial is sched -uled for March 5 at the Orange County .'District Courthouse in Hillsborough. Friday, Feb. 9 1 ■ Chapel Hill police were notified Ithat a suspect forged a check at the State Employee Credit Union on 310 Pittsboro St. Reports state that a suspect forged a check, deposited it at an ATM ynd withdrew $17,600. ■ Chapel Hill police arrested a stu dent at East Chapel Hill High School, 500 Weaver Dairy Road for possession ■of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Reports state that the school’s assis iant principal received a Crime Stoppers (tip about the student, a 16-year-old jnale. His trial is set for March 5 at the ©range County District Courthouse in Hillsborough. • ■ Chapel Hill police arrested an East Chapel Hill High School student lor possession of marijuana and posses sion of drug paraphernalia. Reports state that the student was found with less than half an ounce of marijuana, a pipe and rolling papers. Reports did not specify the age or the court date for the minor. Rape Leads to Removal of Pictures From Web Site By Susan Hall Staff Writer __ The possibility that a suspected rapist chose his victims from UNC Web sites has left University professors wary about the use of students’ pictures online. While it is still unknown whether Dwayne Russell Edwards, who has been charged with sexual assault and rape, made use of the Internet, some UNC professors have taken measures to pro tect their students. Professor Philip Meyer posted indi vidual pictures of students in his “Professional Problems and Ethics in Journalism” class on the class Web site to DNA Tests Bring Man Full Pardon Lesly Jean, after being wrongly convicted of rape 20 years ago and recently pardoned, seeks to do social work to aid inmates. By Courtney Reid Staff Writer RALEIGH -Just days after receiving a pardon from N.C. Gov. Mike Easley, Lesly Jean, a man who spent nine years in prison for a rape he did not commit, held a press conference Monday aimed at bringing closure to what his lawyers described as a “horrifying experience.” Jean was wrongly convicted of rape almost 20 years ago but received a full pardon from Easley on Friday after DNA test results proved his innocence. Jean’s lawyers have pointed to his wrongful imprisonment and subsequent pardon as evi dence of DNA testing’s worth in criminal cases. “Based on new scientific evidence, we know that Lesly Jean was not the perpetrator,” Easley stated in a press release. Jean’s attorneys, Rebecca Britton and Rick Glazier, stood by him at the press conference and expressed relief that justice has finally been served. Jean was convicted in December 1982 of raping a woman in Onslow County on July 21,1982. Jean was a marine stationed at Camp Lejeune at the time. Having served nine years of his two life-term sentences, Jean was released from prison in 1991 based on a federal court’s rul ing that improprieties occurred during the investigation. Easley’s pardon exhonerates Jean and allows him to receive benefits. In January, Jean applied for a pardon of his sentence based on DNA tests that proved his innocence. Additional testing was done last week by the State Bureau of Investigation and Laboratory Corporation of America confirming whatjean has known for almost 20 years - he is innocent. His recent pardon has added fuel to a fire that has been recent ly sparked about the merits of DNA testing in criminal cases. “DNA testing is time consuming and costly, but it is an unim peachable, unequivocal reflection of the truth,” Glazier said. The N.C. Innocence Protection Act, a bill that could be intro duced in the legislature this session, will mandate DNA testing for evidential purposes in courts when circumstances allow, Britton said. “Cost is a factor,” she said. “But how much more does it cost to execute someone or keep them in jail for life? “It is reprehensible that we can overlook the possibility to uncover the absolute truth (in our system).” At the end of the conference, Jean, who now fives in New York, said he was anxious to become a productive member of society and find a job in the social service field. “I’d like to get a job helping people in prison if I could,” he said. “Because I’ve been there and I think I could help them.” The State 3 National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu. UNC System Gives $7 Million in Reversions to State By Alex Kaplun State & National Editor As the state’s budget shortfall contin ues to grow, the UNC system is chip ping in with more funding to help alle viate the deficit. At a Board of Governor’s meeting Friday, UNC-system President Molly Broad announced that the 16-campus system will contribute an additional $7 million in budget reversions to help the state confront a budget deficit that has grown to nearly SBOO million. The $7 million brings the total budget reversion required of the UNC system to slightly more than $32 million - close to 2 percent of the system’s total budget. But at the meeting Friday, Broad reas OTH/CHRISTINE NGUYEN Ronald Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education, calls for accountability and flexibility in education. Paige spoke at N.C. State University's campus Monday night. leam the names of the students. After hearing about the possible link age between Edwards and the Internet, Meyer pulled the pictures off fine. “I had (the site) password-protected, but I am not sure that’s enough with 95 students in the class,” Meyer said. “I took it down (Monday).” Carrboro police say there is a possi bility that Edwards might have used the Internet, but Carrboro Police Capt. Joel Booker would not confirm any allega tions. “Certain bits and pieces of infor mation exist, and it’s possible he obtained information from that source (the Web sites),” Booker said. Edwards, who was arrested injanuary, 1 ! II ’ -W ' WmSmM mm JH v k , . . , , Ipb DTH BESS LOF.WENBAUM Lesly Jean speaks during a press conference Monday while his attorney, Rebecca Britton, looks on. Gov. Mike Easley pardoned Jean after DNA tests proved he was not guilty of rape. sured board members and system offi cials that the cut would not have a neg ative impact on any of the 16 campuses. . “The cuts will happen without any adverse affects to classroom activity, academic affairs and financial aid,” Broad said. Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice presi dent for finance, said system officials have been in communication with the governor’s office on how to contend with the crisis. “When the deficit increased to SBOO million, the gover nor’s office was talking to all the state agencies on how to deal with it,” he said. Davies added that UNC-system offi cials have worked to ensure that any reversions would not have a drastic impact on day-to-day operations. News held jobs at Student Health Service and the University Registrar’s Office and has trained for a position at Davis Library. In these jobs, Edwards had access to University records and Internet sites. Edwards, 33, of 100 Rock Haven Road, Apt. M-304, in Carrboro,was originally arrested and charged for sexually assault ing a UNC student in a Hillsborough Street apartment injanuary and later was charged with rape and another sexual assault that occurred in Carrboro. Edwards was being held under a $3.1 million secured bond, which was raised to a $4.1 million secured bond when he was charged with 25 additional felony charges Wednesday, bringing his “Our position was to ensure the impact on the (UNC-system) would be low enough where academic fife would not be impacted,” he said. Last week Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency and unveiled a plan to deal with a deficit of up to $1 billion. Reversions make up $250 million of that plan. But even the $1 billion that Easley has set aside might not be enough to deal with the budget deficit by June 30 - the end of the fiscal year. The budget deficit ' has nearly tripled since November when Easley was elected. The last time the state dealt with a budget crisis, in 1990-91, the estimated deficit accelerated from fall of the previ ous year until February of 1991 - similar to this year’s trend. Education Secretary Discusses Bush's Goals, Failing Schools By Kristy Jones Staff Writer RALEIGH - U.S. Secretary of Education Ronald Paige became the first of President Bush’s Cabinet to visit the Triangle on Monday night, speaking about ways to improve the nation’s schools. About 500 people packed into N.C. State University’s McKimmon Center to hear Paige speak at the 16th Emerging Issues Forum, “First in America: Charting the Course for Excellent Schools.” Paige highlighted Bush’s education philosophy of “No Child Shall Be Left Behind,” a philosophy that both Bush and Paige, the former superinten dent of the Houston Independent School System, strived to practice in Texas. Paige said the challenge for himself and Bush will be to make the program just as successful charges to a total of 58 felonies. The new charges result from further investigation and from victims coming forward with additional information, Booker said. The additional charges include 15 counts of possession of stolen property, four counts of breaking and entering, four counts of larceny, one count of first degree burglary and one count of sec ond-degree kidnapping. Police also charged Edwards with armed robbery, first- and second-degree burglary, first- and second-degree kid napping, larceny, safecracking, financial transaction card theft, possession of stolen goods, obtaining property with false pre “As you get into the year, you get more of an accurate perspective of what the budget situation is,” said David Crotts, senior fiscal analyst at the General Assembly. He said part of the increasing budget shortfall can be attributed to a down turn in both the national and state economies, which has lead to a decrease in tax revenue. Crotts added that the budget deficit could increase an addi tional SIOO million to S2OO million in coming months. It could exceed the $1 billion that Easley has set aside. “If the job market situation deterio rates very rapidly, that could increase the budget shortfall,” Crotts said. “There’s always a chance it could get worse.” Davies said reversions this late into Tuesday, February 13, 2001 tense and multiple sexual offenses. Booker said he feels that police like ly will not be serving Edwards with any more charges, and that the remainder of the case will be setded in court But Deb Aikat, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said students and pro fessors should always use caution when posting anything on the Internet “Any time you think a stalker could use information against you, my advice to students is ‘don’t put it on the Web site.’” The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu. Local Police Implement DNA Tests Some civil liberties groups are concerned the turn to DNA evidence will result in a violation of basic rights. By April Bethea Staff Writer In recent years, local police depart ments have increasingly turned to DNA testing as a tool in crime solving, prompting mixed reactions from some civil liberties groups. Raleigh police Capt. D.S. Ozerman said DNA testing is often used in crime investigations such as assault, homicide and identifying missing persons. DNA evidence offers police anew means of collecting information and can make it more difficult for criminals to get away with crimes, he said. “I think it gives police investigators anew area to observe and presents problems for criminals who leave traces of evidence,” Ozerman said. But civil rights advocates say they are concerned about how police will collect and utilize the evidence. Ozerman also said he believes that as DNA technology expands, police offi cials will work even more to incorporate the evidence into their investigations. “I think you’re gonna see DNA pro cedures grow pretty rapidly in the next five or so years,” Ozerman said. He also said he supports having a DNA database so police investigators could easily locate potential suspects. “I think it would be an excellent tool to have a database of all DNA.” Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, has proposed a bill in the N.C. General Assembly that would require suspects to give DNA samples. See DNA, Page 7 the year were difficult to handle because most universities already had appropri ated funding for the semester. “Future increases in reversions would be incredibly difficult this late in the year,” Davies said. But BOG Chairman Ben Ruffin said Friday that while it will be difficult for the system to handle any future cut backs, the UNC system will continue to work with the state. “How can we complain when we just received a $3.1 billion bond referendum from the people of North Carolina?” Ruffin said. “We will support the state in its time of need.” The State 3 National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu. nationwide and to lessen the gap between .the United States and other countries’ education scores. “It is time for America to accept the chal lenge of being No. 1,” Paige said. He added that the United States must set high education standards and join hands with others to form a better education system - requiring higher expectations for students, teachers and school lead ers. “We must expect more from our students,' more from our teachers and more from our admin istrators,” Paige said. “There are too many failing schools and, more importandy, too many failing students.” Paige also said that the United States can accom plish a better education system by testing every child yearly. He said the tests will identify the schools aitif children who are not performing well - allowing See PAIGE, Page 7 3
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