July/August 2022 Newsletter
The Durham County District Attorney’s Office newsletter highlights the work staff do in and out of the courthouse.
In The Community
Staff Visit Neighborhoods for National Night Out
Durham DA’s Office staff enjoyed spending time with community members during National Night Out on August 1. National Night Out is an annual event to build relationships among communities and law enforcement. In addition to visiting events across the city, staff members set up tables at events hosted by the Cornwallis neighborhood and El Centro Hispano. Staff distributed information about the DA’s Office and court process and answered residents’ questions.
If you’d like the DA’s Office to participate in your event or present to your organization, email us at Durham.DA.Community@nccourts.org.
DA’s Office Presents at Faith ID Event
El Centro Hispano included the DA’s Office in its Faith ID Drive on August 26. Traffic ADA Iris Morales and Deputy Chief for Legal & Community Affairs Brenda Ford Harding answered attendees’ questions about the court process and the office’s role in certifying U-Visa and T-Visa applications.
The FaithAction ID is a verifiable form of identification for residents who have limited access to government issued IDs. Learn more at https://elcentronc.org/advocacy-civic-participation/faithaction-id-network/.
DA Deberry Participates in National Summit on Criminal Justice
DA Satana Deberry was a panelist during the United Justice Coalition Summit on July 23. Along with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, DA Deberry participated in a panel moderated by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien. Panelists discussed civic engagement and the criminal justice system at the local, state and federal levels. Guided by an advisory board that includes Jay-Z, Gayle King, Barry Scheck and others, the United Justice Coalition is a charitable organization that raises awareness around social justice issues and criminal justice reform.
In The Office
DA’s Office, Federal Prosecutors Build Coordination Through Training
Assistant US Attorneys Nicole DuPre and Eric Iverson from the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina presented to DA’s Office staff. Together, they discussed the federal court process, identifying local cases that may be appropriate for federal prosecution, and working together to ensure effective administration of justice. The Durham DA’s Office and Middle District coordinate on a range of cases, including homicides, gun and drug crimes, and human trafficking. This collaboration is critical to our agencies’ shared goals of safety and accountability.
DA’s Office Welcomes New Victim Services Coordinator
Kris Wooten joined the Drug and Property Crimes Team as a victim services coordinator. He studied political science and cinema and television at Elon University, where he also played on the men’s basketball team for four years.
Summer Internships Wrap Up
Legal interns in the Durham DA’s Office wrapped up their summer internships in July. Aaron Wrisbon, a rising 3L, worked with our Traffic Court Team. Jamila Smith, a rising 2L, and Adaora Oguno, a fellow through Fair and Just Prosecution, worked with our District Court Team. All three attend North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Interns in the Durham DA’s Office get hands-on experience in court, participate in mock trials, and have the opportunity to learn from attorneys and investigators working on all types of cases.
The Durham DA’s Office internship program serves as model for prosecutors’ offices across the country. The DA’s Office offers internship opportunities to students in law school, undergraduate programs and high school. Students interested in joining the internship program can call 919–808–3010 or email michelle.s.cofield@nccourts.org.
DA Deberry Presents to County Criminal Justice Committee
DA Deberry presented to the Durham County Criminal Justice Advisory Committee in July. As a member of the committee, DA Deberry shared about the role of the DA’s Office in the court process, racial disparities in the criminal legal system, and efforts by the Durham DA’s Office to address inequities and prioritize violent crimes.
In The Courts
Recently closed cases include:
- ADA Angela Garcia-Lamarca secured convictions in two unrelated sexual assaults that occurred in 2015 and 2005. The defendants pleaded guilty on August 1. Read more about the convictions in our press release. The cases were brought as part of the ongoing Sexual Assault Kit Initiative involving the Durham Police Department and the Durham DA’s Office. Since 2018, DPD has been working to submit previously untested sexual assault evidence kits for testing. ADA Garcia-Lamarca is assigned to work directly with DPD’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit on cases that result from testing kits. So far, seven individuals have been convicted in 10 assaults through the initiative.
- ADA Stephen McLaughlin secured a conviction in a September 2020 crash that killed a motorcyclist and injured his wife. The defendant pleaded guilty on August 17 to second degree murder without regard (a B2 felony) and felony injury by vehicle. The crash occurred at the intersection of Fayetteville Road and Stratford Lakes Drive when the defendant rear-ended the motorcycle. Alcohol was a factor.
- ADA Mitchell Garrell secured a conviction in a fatal shooting that occurred on December 16, 2018, in the parking lot of a club on Guess Road. The defendant pleaded guilty on July 21 to attempted first-degree murder for his role in the events that led to the victim’s death. Two co-defendants’ charges remain pending.
- ADA Kendra Montgomery-Blinn secured a kidnapping conviction in a domestic violence trial. The defendant was found guilty of second-degree kidnapping after picking his fiancée up, restraining her, and confining her to a car during an argument in August 2021. The jury viewed Ring doorbell footage of the incident and heard from the victim, who testified that she feared for her life. The week-long trial concluded August 26.
- ADA Garrell secured a conviction in a shooting that killed one man and injured another. The shooting occurred on March 20, 2020, in the Liberty Street public housing neighborhood. The defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder (a B1 felony), conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Two co-defendants’ charges remain pending.
- ADAs Joshua Sotomayor and Alex Herskowitz worked together to hold a man accountable for indecent exposure and repeated break-ins, while facilitating treatment for mental health issues underlying some of his behavior. The defendant pleaded guilty on August 1, 2022, to two counts of misdemeanor indecent exposure at a Target on August 10, 2021, as well as three felony charges related to separate break-ins in the same month. In careful consideration of the role mental health played in the offenses, the defendant’s sentence includes living in transitional housing with wrap-around services and receiving mental health treatment while on probation and post-release supervision. If the defendant violates the terms of his probation, he could be ordered to serve a prison sentence.
- ADA Blake Norman secured an indecent liberties conviction. The defendant pleaded guilty to the felony charge on August 15. In court, ADA Norman stated a child had been left in the defendant’s care in May 2020. When the child’s mother returned to the home, the child was naked and reported being touched by the defendant. Among other sanctions, the defendant was ordered to register as a sex offender for 30 years and to never have contact with the child victim or her family.
- ADA Herskowtiz secured convictions against a man for breaking into a home on September 25, 2019. Shortly after trial proceedings began in the case on August 22, the defendant pled guilty as charged. During the break-in, the homeowner, who was inside the residence at the time, shot the defendant in the arms. The defendant then fled on foot several blocks and knocked on the door of a house asking for help and claiming to have been shot in a drive-by. When law enforcement arrived, they discovered a trail of blood leading from the house where the defendant had fled back to the house where the break-in occurred. At the home, they also discovered a bag of jewelry that the defendant had stolen from a home four days earlier on September 21 as well as change stolen during an earlier car break-in. The defendant, who had a history of break-in charges and was on probation, pleaded guilty to habitual breaking and entering, felony breaking and entering, and injury to real property.
In The News
CBS17 interviewed DA Deberry about the Durham DA’s Office’s progress in closing homicide cases. From 2019 through 2021, 88 defendants’ cases were closed. Two-thirds of them were convicted of charges involving murder or manslaughter, and another 10 percent were turned over for federal prosecution with assistance from the DA’s Office. In remaining cases, defendants pled guilty to other charges related to the homicides or charges were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. From the report:
Deberry also said that gun violence is not something law enforcement and the DA’s office can tackle alone.
“We as a community need to be looking at the root causes of violence, why that violence happens in certain communities, and what are the issues around poverty and mental health that need to be addressed?” Deberry said.
CBS17, ABC11 and the News & Observer covered recent convictions in rape cases from 2015 and 2005 obtained by ADA Garcia-Lamarca. From ABC11:
“Law enforcement in Durham has been on the front lines of using DNA to solve cold cases,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I applaud District Attorney Deberry and her team and the Durham Police Department Cold Case Unit for their work to convict seven defendants in connection with 10 assaults so far.”
In addition, CBS17 reported on the Durham Police Department’s progress in submitting previously untested sexual assault evidence kits for testing:
“Durham police told CBS 17 that more than 900 of the sexual assault kits from the backlog have been tested, more than 500 are in the process of getting tested and there are 160 they are waiting to send off to a vendor to get tested.
Out of the kits that have been tested, Vaughan said they got 92 hits on the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
“That means, the DNA profile that came from the sexual assault kit, matches to a person, or a case (that) has a DNA profile,” Lt. Stephen Vaughan said, with the Durham Police Department.
Lt. Vaughan said this has helped them either arrest or identify at least 23 suspects in the last three years.
