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| Kenan Wells Gay Mug Shot Meck Co. |
Gay is charged with dragging Robert "Bobby" Kingston to the edge of Park Road and throwing him into on coming traffic where he was struck and killed.
Gay’s attorney has argued that the victim, Kingston had been harassing Gay’s girlfriend, the relationship of which has long since ended.
The Charlotte Observer reported that Kingston repeatedly approached on Gay’s girlfriend:
Over about a 30-minute period, [defense attorney David] Rudolf said, the video shows that Kingston first talked with the girlfriend, next rubbed up against her and then put his arm around her shoulder.
The girlfriend was dancing by the open door, Rudolf said, when Gay overheard Kingston tell friends, “Watch this.” Kingston then approached the girlfriend again, the motion said, put his arms around her, “grabbed her by her buttocks and attempted to kiss her on the mouth.”
“To stop Kingston from assaulting Elizabeth, (Gay) simply grabbed Kingston and pushed him outside the bar,” the motion said. “He did not punch Kingston, or otherwise retaliate…. What happened thereafter, according to several witnesses, was that Kingston, who was intoxicated, stumbled into the street in front of a passing car.”
That’s a different story than what the bar owner and other witnesses have told police immediately after the event.
The Mecklenburg County DA's Office contended that Gay muscled and intoxicated Kingston right up to the sidewalk and pushed him into traffic.
Gay has been out of jail on a $100,000 bond. Word among those who seem to know these things is that Murray offered a deal the included a limited amount of prison time and house arrest. The offer was turned down by the defense.
New City Manager - Ron Carlee has is work cut out for himself as the Charlotte Observer's Editorial points out. The Observer points out the obvious and asks to transparency.
Cedar Posts makes a much more direct suggestion, maybe it is time for some serious house cleaning. The Charlotte City Clerk Stephanie Kelly has been a poor performer for as long as I can remember, so lets see some heads roll!
The first and most important role of the City Clerk is to record the minutes of each Council meeting. The City's web site states: "City Council minutes are semi-verbatim and are available on the web and for general distribution approximately two to three weeks after a Council meeting date."
However a check shows that the current back log is four months. The most recent minutes available are from October 2012. Charlotte City Council minutes are here.
Last year Cedar Posts contacted Council member Andy Dulin about the delay and he replied that he had no idea why they were so far behind. Emails to City Clerk Stephine Kelly went unanswered.
In July Kelly told Charlotte City Council:
"The Clerk’s Office experienced significant staffing challenges in FY12 resulting in a backlog of minutes. After remaining vacant for half of FY12, a new minutes clerk has been hired and will work in conjunction with a retired minutes clerk to bring minutes up to date and to stay within established performance targets."
Kelly however did point out many positive accomplishments including:
"Staff made great contributions to our community by conducting a pizza fundraiser to benefit United Way, a hot dog sale and cornhole tournament to benefit the Arts and Science Council. "
Stephine Kelly's FY 2013 Strategic Operating Plan is here.
Cedar's Take: If Ron Carlee is serious about his job Kelly should be relieved of her command otherwise the new City Manager's nick name will be Ronnie Carefree.
CDIA - Orr Wars - Hard to tell who will come out of top over the Charlotte Douglas International Airport turf wars, but the tide may have shifted, as the fast track push to free CDIA from Charlotte has apparently stalled.
Don't let that stop Jerry Orr from planning ahead.
Last week Orr and his staff held meetings with Charlotte Aviation Department employees.
Reports from one source stated Orr outlined the following changes a coming once the new authority is in place:
All city of Charlotte airport employees will become private employees and will no longer be in the local government retirement system.
Long term plans are to push the TSA out of the airport and go back to post 911 private contracted security workers at the checkpoints.
He will still be in charge and apparently stated that he would be appointed to the head of the board.
But Jerry Orr's down fall may be his never ending quest to "build" the airport. All that construction has come at a staggering cost, funded by the nearly $800 million in public debt and while tied to CDIA revenue the fail safe is that it is also tired to the City of Charlotte.
Off Duty CMPD Officer - ends up on the wrong end of pepper spray. From the Charlotte Observer:
York County authorities are investigating after an off-duty Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, Arthur Sommerville said he was pepper-sprayed while trying to sell a phone to someone he talked to on Craigslist.
The incident happened around 1:15 a.m. Thursday at a Circle K on Carowinds Boulevard.
Deputies are looking for two male suspects in the case.
Sommerville told the Sheriff’s Office that he met a man near the pumps at the gas station to sell his iPhone. But he says the man seemed “very nervous” and hesitant to shake his hand.
The officer told deputies he had let the man hold the phone when the suspect pepper-sprayed him before taking off with the iPhone.
The officer ran after the suspect, who then tried to get into a nearby Ford Crown Vic, according to a report from the York County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities say the officer then pulled out his back up weapon and yelled “Police! Police!” at the suspect.
The officer told deputies that the suspect broke away as he tried to bring the man down, and threw the cell phone.
The suspect then got into the Ford, hitting the officer as he closed the car door. The officer suffered a three-inch cut on his leg, deputies said.
Another man was waiting in the Ford Crown Vic, authorities said.
The officer gave the Sheriff’s Office a description of the suspect and the telephone number he used to contact the man.
Police said no surveillance footage was available on the incident, and a store clerk said he did not see anything. But another man who was pumping gas and waiting for the officer said he saw what happened.
Cedar's Take: WTF (Well That's Funny!) There is clearly more to this story and CP is working to determine what is what.
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