November/December 2021 Newsletter
The Durham County District Attorney’s Office newsletter highlights the work staff do in and out of the courthouse.
In The Community
DA’s Office Donates Christmas Gifts for Family of Five
Durham DA’s Office staff pulled together this year to buy Christmas gifts for a family of five through a local community organization. They donated clothes, toys, a basketball goal, and other wish list items and enjoyed wrapping each gift. We’re thankful to be able to contribute to making one family’s holiday a little brighter, and to continue serving our community.
Staff Present to Teens About Their Work
Assistant District Attorneys Monica Burnette and Brittany Clinton, Deputy Chief of Staff for Legal & Community Affairs Brenda Ford Harding and District Attorney Satana Deberry presented to a group of teenagers about their work and the role of the DA’s Office. The virtual event was hosted by the Durham Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., and included 14-to-17-year-olds.
District Court Team Lead ADA Burnette discussed how the Office handles sexual assault cases, including an initiative with Durham police that has resulted in convictions in cold case sexual assault cases. ADA Burnette also talked about the definition of sexual assault and criminal charges that may be filed.
Juvenile ADA Brittany Clinton talked about the differences between the adult criminal system and the juvenile system, as well as the impact of a 2019 law (Raise the Age) shifting more offenses young people into juvenile court. She discussed the role of the Juvenile Team in prosecuting serious cases involving young people, and explained the DA’s Office’s policy of not prosecuting nonviolent offenses that occur in schools.
DA Deberry covered the responsibilities of the district attorney, the policies and priorities of the Durham DA’s Office, and the court process.
Homicide Memorial Quilt Displayed at Courthouse
The DA’s Office attended an opening ceremony on November 18 unveiling the Durham Victims of Homicide and Violent Death Memorial Quilt at the Durham County Courthouse. Sidney Brodie started the quilt following the death of a Durham toddler in 1994 and has added a patch to honor each life lost since. Many names are familiar to DA’s Office staff through previous and pending homicide cases. Brodie, local officials, and families who have lost a loved one to homicide in Durham spoke.
The quilt was on display in the courthouse lobby through December 17.
In The Office
Ernest Smith Joins District Court Team
Ernest Smith was sworn in as an assistant district attorney with the Durham DA’s Office on December 6. A graduate of North Carolina Central University School of Law and North Carolina State University, he is a community activist and organizer who previously served as a public defender. ADA Smith joins our District Court team and will represent the State for in-custody first appearances.
DA’s Office Staff Meet with Law Enforcement
Durham DA’s Office staff held roundtable meetings with their counterparts at the Durham Police Department in December. During these meetings, teams analyze evidence in pending investigations, consult on charging, and discuss the status of pending cases.
Beginning this year, the Durham DA’s Office Special Victims Unit holds monthly roundtables with DPD SVU, and the DA’s Office Drug & Property Crimes Team has regular roundtables with DPD’s Gang and Drug units. Since 2020, the Homicide & Violent Crimes Team has met quarterly with the DPD Homicide Unit. These meetings help to build stronger cases and relationships and result in concrete progress in the most serious criminal cases.
Next City Highlights Fines & Fees Relief as ‘Top Solution’
DA Deberry was recognized by Next City for her work with the Durham Expunction and Restoration Program to remove financial barriers to driver’s license restoration. Each year, the equity-focused publication highlights top solutions in a special print edition and event series. DA Deberry was invited to present virtually about the DA’s Office’s role in helping more than 35,000 residents become eligible to get their licenses restored after they were suspended for inability to pay traffic court debt or appear in traffic court. Under DA Deberry, the DA’s Office has successfully petitioned the court to waive $2.7 million in fines and fees preventing thousands of residents from being able to get a driver’s license. She highlighted how license suspensions limit people’s ability to get to school, medical care, and work.
In The Courts
ADA Darrow Secures First-Degree Murder Conviction at Trial
ADA Mary Jude Darrow secured a murder conviction at trial. The victim was found beaten and deceased on July 2, 2018, after police responded to a wellness check. The victim and defendant had met at a recovery center, where the victim worked. Prior to the homicide, the defendant was staying with the victim, who had tried to get him to leave. Neighbors reported hearing them arguing about the defendant wanting to take the victim’s car to get drugs. Police obtained a warrant for his arrest for possession of a stolen vehicle. He was found with the victim’s car and had blood (later determined to be hers) on his shorts. A jury returned a verdict on December 6, finding the defendant, who had a history of past domestic abuse, guilty of first-degree murder.
ADA Montgomery-Blinn Secures Domestic Violence Convictions
ADA Kendra Montgomery-Blinn secured multiple convictions in a domestic violence trial. The defendant assaulted the victim on January 30, 2020. At the time, the defendant was staying with the victim, her grandson, and her mother. During an argument, the defendant repeatedly headbutted and beat the victim. At one point, he trapped her in her grandson’s room and strangled her in the presence of the child, who was not physically injured. She suffered fractured bones in her face, a bruised lung and a hip injury. Soon after, police pulled the defendant over for speeding. He was found with blood (later determined to be the victim’s) on him, and boasted about how severely he had beaten her.
On November 16, following a bench trial, a judge found the defendant guilty of assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious bodily injury, assault inflicting serious injury in the presence of a minor, assault on a female, interfering with emergency communication, and first-degree kidnapping. He was found not guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. ADA Montgomery-Blinn successfully argued that the defendant had taken advantage of a position of trust in order to commit the offenses and that the offenses had caused trauma to the child, resulting in an aggravated sentence.
ADA Sotomayor Resolves Domestic Violence Cases with Treatment
ADA Joshua Sotomayor resolved a domestic violence case with a thorough and tailored substance abuse treatment plan. The defendant had been charged with assaulting his mother, who desired to see her son receive treatment rather than incarceration. Working with defense counsel and the Department of Community Corrections, ADA Sotomayor developed a probationary sentence with treatment in lieu of an active sentence. The sentence includes three years of inpatient and then outpatient substance use treatment, allowing the defendant to build upon treatment he began receiving in the Durham County Detention Facility and address the underlying reasons behind his behavior. The defendant pleaded guilty on November 10 to assault by strangulation, assault on a female, communicating threats and attempted kidnapping.
DA’s Office Continues to Expunge Teenaged Offenses
In mid-November, District Court Judge Amanda Maris approved petitions by the DA’s Office to expunge hundreds of misdemeanor charges from the criminal records of people who were 16 or 17 at the time of their offenses, but prosecuted as adults. Under today’s laws, the same offenses would be handled in the juvenile justice system with a focus on diversion and rehabilitation and without a public criminal record.
In 2019, North Carolina raised the age of juvenile jurisdiction, shifting most offenses involving 16 and 17 year-olds to the juvenile justice system. However, that law was not retroactive, creating a disparity between how teens were treated by the courts before and after 2019. Expunction petitions initiated by the DA’s Office seek to address this disparity and lift barriers to employment, scholarships, housing and most.
The Office previously completed known eligible felony expunctions in April. In total, the Office has now successfully petitioned the court to expunge more than 3,100 misdemeanors and low-level felonies for about 660 people. The Office plans to submit an additional 8,000 petitions for cases going back to 1979. Prosecutor’s gained the ability to initiate such petitions under the bipartisan Second Chance Act, which was passed in 2020. In order to be eligible for an expunction, a person must have completed their sentence and must not owe any restitution.
In The News
The 9th Street Journal featured the Office’s new clothing closet for victims and witnesses in an article about the meaning of clothes at the courthouse. The closet contains about 60 items of professional clothing that victims and witnesses can borrow to wear in court if needed. The clothing serves to ensure victims and witnesses are comfortable in what can be an intimidating court setting, and that they are viewed with the respect that they deserve.
“[Clothing] matters in terms of feeling comfortable and feeling like you belong there.” — Deputy Chief of Staff Michelle Cofield
ADA Blake Norman spoke to the 9th Street Journal about the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, a multi-agency and victim-centered effort to close cold case sexual assaults. As Durham police submit previously untested sexual assault evidence kits for testing, the Police Department’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit, the Durham Crisis Response Center, and a designated prosecutor in the DA’s Office review cases and determine how to proceed, considering the evidence as well as the victim’s wishes. Through this initiative more than a dozen people have been charged and the DA’s Office has secured convictions against four defendants in connection with six assaults. The article highlights a recent conviction in a 2015 attack on the Ellerbe Creek Trail.
WUNC and CBS17 featured efforts by the DA’s Office to expunge criminal records for teenagers who were prosecuted as adults before North Carolina raised the age of juvenile jurisdiction.
“Long after someone has completed their sentence, or their probation, or whatever their accountability was for that, a criminal record can continue to undermine their ability to get employment, to get housing or childcare, if they were going back to school it would impact their ability to get scholarships and loans.” — DA Deberry
