Federal Grand Jury Asked For Records Of Charlotte DSS Charity
A Federal Grand Jury last fall requested more than three years of financial documents from a now-defunct Giving Tree Charity program run by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Department of Social Services, according to a newly released copy of the Subpoena.
The August request came as authorities were conducting a criminal investigation into a "suspected felony," the subpoena states. It asked for, among other things, copies of all receipts, vouchers and paperwork on purchases made through the Charlotte DSS Giving Tree charity since 2006 and any communication from the county's finance department on donations received by the charity.
The document listed an FBI Special Agent as having applied for the subpoena, but an agency spokesman couldn't be reached Friday.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County officials released a copy of the subpoena on Friday, in response to a public records request by the Observer.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg County audited the DSS Giving Tree program last year after questions were raised about spending in the charity for needy children. Officials have said they believe they know how more than $162,000 was spent by the charity in 2008, but that poor records means they can't be completely sure the money was spent as intended.
The county asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg police to help it investigate the program, but a county spokesman previously said officials couldn't confirm whether a Federal Grand Jury was looking into DSS. Two county commissioners, however, said in December the board was told a Federal Grand Jury was involved.
The Observer first requested in December to see any subpoenas to county employees or elected officials related to the county's ongoing DSS probes, but the county said there were none to inspect.
But after a subsequent request that was worded more broadly, the county produced the document.
Asked why the August subpoena wasn't disclosed earlier, Deputy County Attorney Tyrone Wade said Friday that the Observer's first request asked for subpoenas of individuals. But he said the subpoena was for "county produced records" and not addressed to an employee or elected official.
"We gave the response to what was asked of us," Wade said.
Wade said he believes the county has given the grand jury the requested documents. He said doesn't know the status of the law enforcement probes.
Commissioners Chair Jennifer Roberts also said Friday the board knows the investigation is still ongoing, but did not have details.
The Charlotte DSS Money Mystery: Where $162,000+ Go?
Internal e-mails reveal new allegations of misspending at the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, raising more unanswered questions about what happened to money intended to help needy children.
Some of the more than 1,000 e-mails the Observer obtained through a public records request provide the most detailed account to date about the agency's accounting fiasco.
E-mails show:
Officials suspected an employee wrote $80,000 in checks to herself from donations.
An administrator questioned why other donations were used to buy $340 diamond earrings, leather coats and a $300 DVD player.
A top executive complained that a senior fiscal administrator frustrated co-workers with her "inability to explain the simplest concepts of revenue and expenses."
After nearly a year, officials have never said who was at fault for $162,000 that disappeared or whether anyone was disciplined.
No one has been charged in an ongoing police investigation and a county report says officials cannot be certain where the money went.
Meanwhile, Charity Donors are left to wonder whether their generosity ever helped buy Christmas gifts for those in need.
In one e-mail, a woman describes calling the county in 2007 to give $900 for single mothers at Christmas. The person who answered the phone told her to make a check payable to the worker's sister.
The donor said she grew suspicious and made the check out to the county, but the idea that it may still have been misused is "like a kick in the stomach."
In another e-mail, a founder of Second String Santa said he was concerned whether kids received the more than 50,000 toys his group had donated since 1989.
Will Miller said he believes some of the toys reached children, but he's not sure about the rest.
"Will we ever know? Probably not," he said.
Two commissioners said they have asked county administrators for a full accounting of what went wrong at DSS but have yet to receive answers. County officials have never explained who was responsible, they said.
"To fix it, you have to admit all the stuff that is messed up," Commissioner Bill James said. "They don't want to do too much digging."
County administrators declined interview requests. Instead, a county spokesman released a prepared statement saying appropriate fiscal controls have been installed in response to an outside audit and an internal investigation.
"Our review of the e-mails we provided and your follow up questions did not reveal any new information that would suggest any change in the audit findings or in management's response to those findings," the statement said.
Some commissioners said they have been told that the employees involved have either left county government or been placed in new positions.
Unusual spending patterns
DSS spends $176 million annually and employs 1,200 workers to assist Mecklenburg's poor and neglected. The agency administers everything from food stamps to foster care and child protection services.
Last spring, DSS Director Mary Wilson ordered financial audits following reports of suspicious spending.
Auditors looked at multiple spending programs and financial practices in the agency. They found a $10,000 check made out to an employee, missing and altered receipts and money for kids spent on office supplies.
County leaders responded by suspending the programs, putting DSS finance under direct county control, training workers on accounting procedures and ordering a review of financial procedures in each county agency.
The Observer reviewed e-mails dating from December 2008 to July 2009 for seven current and former county administrators, including Wilson, County Manager Harry Jones, County Finance Director Dena Diorio and Internal Auditor Cornita Spears.
E-mails show county officials noticed unusual spending patterns as early as last December but did not disclose problems to the public until March.
On New Year's Eve, Wilson told staff she had suspended a voucher program the agency used to purchase clothes and other items for clients at local stores. She wrote that officials were worried about a lack of oversight and a spike in spending.
One monthly retail bill leapt from between $5,000 and $6,000 to more than $20,000 in October 2008, the e-mail says. Employees turned in receipts only 30 to 35 percent of the time, she wrote.
At one time or another, workers possessed or had access to numerous credit cards and gift cards, including some to Bath & Body Works, Bass Pro Shops, Macy's, the Cheesecake Factory and Outback Steakhouse.
Outside auditors verified for county administrators that DSS workers possessed county-issued credit cards, including 10 credit cards for Sam's Club, three for Harris Teeter and an online charge account with amazon.com.
In February, county officials asked internal auditors to look into questionable spending, including purchases of diamond earrings, leather coats and a DVD player.
An e-mail to one of the auditors from a human resources consultant said the purchases raise "many questions and concerns."
According to the county's statement, most gifts were typical children's items such as toys, clothes and books. More expensive items such as diamond earrings and leather coats were approved purchases for foster children who reached special milestones like high school graduation, the statement says.
"Receiving a gift of some significant value was viewed as an incentive for other children who were in foster care to set goals and accomplish them," the statement said.
Commissioner Harold Cogdell said he spent part of his early childhood in foster care and believes the gifts are a good idea.
"It makes sense to me to show the kids some love," Cogdell said.
A new Accountant
DSS has endured multiple management shakeups in recent years. The latest came when Wilson reorganized the agency after she was hired in July 2008.
She laid out the reasons to hire a new finance director in a February e-mail.
Wilson wrote that the senior fiscal administrator who managed DSS finances failed to provide reports about oversight, alienated staff and lacked the ability to conduct productive discussions with senior county executives. The e-mail does not name the senior fiscal administrator.
DSS later hired accountant Angela Hurlburt to oversee its finances.
James, the commissioner, said he has asked for the names and background information on Hurlburt's predecessors. He wants them to answer questions from the Board of Commissioners' Audit Review Committee, which investigated accounting lapses at DSS.
He said administrators have failed to respond to his requests and complained that officials "keep us in the dark."
Other Commissioners disagreed.
Chairman Jennifer Roberts and Commissioner Dumont Clarke said county leaders have already put in place reforms that will protect taxpayer and donor money.
"The highest priority" is implementing new financial controls, Clarke said.
Shifting the Finances
Auditors from Cherry, Bekaert & Holland reviewed DSS and found that Mecklenburg officials responded appropriately. The county's Audit Review Committee came to the same conclusion.
But DSS Director Wilson bristled at one of the major reforms.
Leaders put DSS finance under the direct control of the county's main finance department after allegations of misspending surfaced.
In April, Wilson sent an e-mail to County General Manager Michelle Lancaster to complain. Calling the decision "premature" and "shortsighted," Wilson said there are emergencies when DSS workers must write checks immediately, including occasions when the agency takes children in custody who need clothes, toiletries and school supplies.
"I understand the urgency at the time, but there was a reason DSS had check writing capability and I think we threw the baby out with the bathwater instead of fixing the underlying issue, which is documentation and accountability," Wilson wrote.
Charity Donors left with Questions
Past supporters of the DSS Christmas charity include Young Lawyers, employees of Wachovia and Bank of America, and Project Joy, the holiday fund drive initiated by Observer columnist Tommy Tomlinson. The Christmas charity, known as the Giving Tree, is now run by the Salvation Army.
The donor who gave $900 e-mailed the county in July after learning about accounting failures from news accounts. She attached a picture of the check copy she made around Christmas in 2007.
She wrote that she did not remember the name of the woman she spoke with on the phone.
The donor said she and her family all pitched in to raise the money so she could assist women like her who had struggled as single mothers.
When she heard there were allegations of misspending in a DSS charity program, "It's like your stomach just drops."
Tiffany Wright's Baby DNA Lie & Her Tainted Murder Case (Charlotte DSS Cover Up)
Destroying Tiffany Wright's Character to free a Violent, Repeat Offender (Royce Mitchell) with a criminal background of Murder, is exactly what North Carolina & Charlotte DSS Officials are attempting to do.
Why?
Its a Charlotte DSS Cover up. Continuing reading and you'll learn more about this disturbing tragedy.
Here are 10 Important Facts in Tiffany Wright's Murder case:
1) The Charlotte DSS Director Mary Wilson is a friend of Charlotte County Manager Harry Jones, who is a friend of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioner Chairperson Jennifer Roberts.
2) The City of Charlotte hired Royce Mitchell a convicted Ex-Felon with a dangerous Criminal History.
3) Charlotte DSS Officials allowed Royce Mitchell a Convicted Felon with a dangerous criminal history which includes Drug Trafficking ($1M a year in Cocaine Trafficking) & Murder, to have temporarily custody of Tiffany Wright after her Foster Care Mother died.
4) Royce Mitchell had Sex with Tiffany Wright. According to NC Statutes, this constitutes as Statutory Rape:
§ 14‑27.7A. Statutory rape or sexual offense of person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old.
(a) A defendant is guilty of a Class B1 felony if the defendant engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with another person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old and the defendant is at least six years older than the person, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the person.
(b) A defendant is guilty of a Class C felony if the defendant engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with another person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old and the defendant is more than four but less than six years older than the person, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the person. (1995, c. 281, s. 1.)
After Tiffany Wright reported to Charlotte DSS Officials that she had Sex with Royce Mitchell, they still allowed her to remain in Mitchell's home for several more weeks.
5) If you believe Adrian Powell (Murder Suspect no. 2) is the REAL father of Tiffany Wright's dead baby, I have some swamp land in Florida I want to sell you.
(For the record I don't have any swamp land in Florida to sell.)
6) Tiffany Wright, Tiffany Wright's Family, Royce Mitchell and Mitchell's Co-Murder Conspirator Adrian Powell, all hail from Buffalo, NY.
7) Royce Mitchell was Indicted for another Murder but mysteriously acquitted at Trial.
8) Royce Mitchell's Wife filed a complaint against him for Domestic Violence and separated from him.
During that time Tiffany Wright was allowed by Charlotte DSS Officials to remain alone with Mitchell in his residence.
9) Royce Mitchell tried to influence and force Tiffany into having an Abortion because he thought the baby she was carrying was his. When she refused not longer after she was Murdered. Shot three times while standing at her school bus stop.
Strangely enough Tiffany Wright was shot after her Foster Care mother who usually waits with Tiffany at the bus stop until the bus arrives, went back in the house to get something.
Is this a coincidence? I think not.
10) The Charlotte D.A.'s Office and Charlotte's Criminal Justice System has a long history of practicing Racial Discrimination, including intentionally failing to prosecute Killers of Charlotte's Black Youth.
On September 14, 2009 Tiffany Wright 8 months pregnant, was shot to death while standing at her school bus stop.
Due to extreme Negligence, Charlotte DSS is TOTALLY responsible for Tiffany Wright's Death, just as they are TOTALLY responsible for the recent deaths of Orgal Orpata's two young children.
Since the Charlotte Observer (Community nickname: "the Charlotte Disturber") is paid (by Democrats) to publish Partisan Lies on a regular basis, Charlotte's "Powers that be" are telling the Observer what to print which will make Charlotte DSS look favorable in the Public's eye, while destroying Tiffany's Character and making Royce Mitchell appear Innocent.
Please DON'T believe this crap!
Tiffany Wright a bright, African-American 15-year-old teenager who'd spent most of her life in North Carolina's Corrupt Foster Care system, was shot to death in a Murder Conspiracy on September 14, 2009.
Charlotte DSS allowed Royce Mitchell, a Violent 36-year-old Federal Ex-Convict still on Probation, to have custody of her after her elderly Foster Mother died.
While in Mitchell's care he slept with this 15-year-old child.
In North Carolina when a 36-year-old man sleeps with a 15-year-old girl, according to North Carolina's General Statutes it constitutes as Statutory Rape.
§ 14‑27.7A. Statutory rape or sexual offense of person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old.
(a) A defendant is guilty of a Class B1 felony if the defendant engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with another person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old and the defendant is at least six years older than the person, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the person.
(b) A defendant is guilty of a Class C felony if the defendant engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with another person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old and the defendant is more than four but less than six years older than the person, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the person. (1995, c. 281, s. 1.)
Since Mitchell was on Federal Probation, that act violated his probation and landed him back in Jail per a Fair, Honest Federal Judge.
Prior to this incident Royce Mitchell served 5 years in a New York Federal Prison for Trafficking more than $1Million a year in Cocaine.
He was also Indicted for another Murder but somehow mysteriously acquitted at Trial.
After serving 5 years in Federal Prison, he was released for "good behavior".
Mitchell's criminal past also includes stabbing people.
Yet....
He was released early for "good behavior"? Go Figure.
I guess his Colombian Drug Lords paid off New York Prison Officials just like they probably tried to influence Charlotte Officials.
After his release Royce Mitchell moved to Charlotte and was hired by the City of Charlotte.
Oh!
I almost forgot to tell you that Royce Mitchell was also a Freemason with connections.
His Freemason connections, his Light-Skinned, Bad Boy looks and most likely FEAR helped him land a job with the City of Charlotte despite his terrible past.
Can you believe someone with his background was hired by the City of Charlotte?
Well believe it because he was! Just like Marcus Jackson was.
Royce Mitchell was also married however later he and his wife separated.
Why were they separated?
Because Royce beat his wife!
That's right his wife filed a complaint against him for Domestic Violence.
In fact Royce Mitchell probably intentionally beat is wife so she would leave because he probably had been wanting to sleep with Tiffany anyway.
So while separated and living alone, Charlotte DSS allowed Tiffany Wright to live with Royce Mitchell. Did I mention alone??
No one in the home but this Violent Drug Dealer and a 15-year-old girl of which NC DSS Officials didn't care two cents about.
A recipe for Statutory Rape disaster don't you agree?
Of course since Tiffany Wright was a Low Income, Black Girl it didn't matter to Charlotte DSS officials.
Now if she had been related to a Black Fraternity/ Sorority or Black Politician member it would have been a different story. But unfortunately she wasn't.
During Tiffany's young life she had been Molested and had engaged in numerous Sexual encounters.
To Tiffany having sex with Royce Mitchell was normal because NO One had taught her differently.
What about her Foster Mother?
Its obvious she had not.
I'm not saying Tiffany Wright's Foster Mother Alma Wright wasn't a good person but most of the time people just adopt or raise Foster Care Children to get a Check, not because they really love those Children.
However despite her unstable, tragic life Tiffany's Teachers stated she was a good student, who dreamed of becoming a Lawyer like Michelle Obama (one of her idols).
Tiffany became pregnant and reported her sexual encounters with Royce Mitchell to Charlotte DSS, who reported it to Charlotte Police.
Charlotte Police detectives interviewed Tiffany.
The detectives recorded Tiffany's interview during which she admitted to having Sex with Royce Mitchell.
It doesn't matter if Royce Mitchell forced Tiffany or not, in North Carolina its still considered Statutory Rape.
After Tiffany reported having sex with Mitchell, it took DSS several weeks to remove her from Mitchell's residence.
They didn't remove her immediately! It took them several weeks!
Tiffany was a North Carolina Foster Care Child and a Ward of the State.
It wasn't Charlotte Police's responsibility to immediately remove her from Mitchell's home, it was Charlotte DSS's responsibility!
After she was finally placed in another Foster Care home, Charlotte DSS allowed Tiffany to continue communicating with Mitchell and knowingly allowed Mitchell to continue communicating with Tiffany.
Royce Mitchell stalked Tiffany and tried to force Tiffany to have an Abortion but she refused to do so.
Not long after she was shot to death while standing at her school bus stop on September 14, 2009.
Strangely enough Tiffany Wright was shot after her Foster Care mother who usually waits with Tiffany at the bus stop until the bus arrives, went back in the house to get something.
Is this a coincidence? I think not.
Her dreams of one day attending College and becoming an Attorney like Michelle Obama, died right along with her.
Still.....
Charlotte's current D.A. Peter Gilchrist, a man widely known for NOT doing anything to punish Killers of Charlotte's Black Youth, didn't want to do anything to bring Royce Mitchell to Justice.
Peter Gilchrist considers ALL of Charlotte's Black Youth to be "thugs" who don't deserve to live, much less walk on the same of the sidewalk he walks on.
Gilchrist claims because Tiffany was dead she couldn't defend herself.
Let's see how many Killers of dead White Women has Peter Gilchrist prosecuted?
I'll remind you of one, Kim Thomas.
Kim Thomas was a Wealthy, White Charlotte Woman murdered in 1990.
Charlotte's Criminal Justice System prosecuted and punished Kim's Killer even though she wasn't alive to "Defend" herself either.
Kim Thomas' Wealthy White, Influential husband was eventually charged with her Murder but the charges were dropped after he raised a ruckus.
A Black Man was later linked to and imprisoned for her death.
Now a New probe has been opened into the Kim Thomas Murder Case.
All of this "Justice" has taken place and yet Kim Thomas NEVER testified to defend herself because she's DEAD! Just like Tiffany Wright.
In addition there were no Character Assassination tactics being used against Kim Thomas, as in the case of Tiffany Wright.
How was Charlotte's D.A. able to prosecute someone for Kim Thomas death but yet NOT do so for Tiffany Wright's?
Both were Murdered, neither could testify to defend themselves, however their cases were handled with different levels of Justice.
So other than Racism what's Peter Gilchrist's excuse?
I presume that since Tiffany Wright was Black and Poor, she wasn't a victim of Statutory Rape.
No since she was Black, she was just a Whore in Peter Gilchrist's, in the eyes of Charlotte DSS and in the eyes of Charlotte Observer Editorial Staff.
Did Charlotte Police botch Kim Thomas's case? NO!
Did Charlotte Police botch Tiffany Wright's case? NO!
Charlotte Racist D.A.'s Office did!
(North Carolina's Criminal Justice System is extremely Racist. No doubt Gilchrist is a part of that racism. How else can he explain NOT doing anything to punish Killers of Charlotte's Black Youth?)
Even though the Charlotte Police had collected evidence linking Royce Mitchell to Tiffany Wright's Murder and despite Mitchell's terrible, Violent past Gilchrist claimed "he didn't have a case".
Even though Charlotte's Police department presented ALL their evidence to Peter Gilchrist and was willing to fully cooperate, he still claimed "he didn't have a case".
I wonder which North Carolina and Charlotte's "Powers that be" influenced him NOT to pursue this case.
I wonder if any of Royce Mitchell's Freemason or Drug Lord Connections also influenced Peter Gilchrist NOT to prosecute Royce Mitchell.
Don't forget Royce Mitchell a $1Million a year Drug Dealer, was previously Indicted for Murder in New York but somehow mysteriously acquitted at Trial.
Also Don't forget that Gilchrist is a part of North Carolina's Racist Criminal Justice System.
Thanks to a Federal Judge and Federal Prosecutors, at his Probation Violation Hearing, Royce Mitchell was found to have violated his Probation for sleeping with Tiffany (Statutory Rape).
He was than sent back to jail for a measly 30 months.
Now its time to charge him with Murder.
Do I believe Royce Mitchell is directly linked to Tiffany's Murder? Yes!
Do I believe Royce Mitchell paid Adrian Powell to shoot and kill Tiffany? Yes!
Do I believe Adrian Powell is the father of Tiffany's baby? No
Do I believe Royce Mitchell is the REAL father of Tiffany's baby? Yes!
Do I believe Royce Mitchell should spend his life in Prison? Yes!
Do I believe Charlotte Officials are afraid of Royce Mitchell? Yes!
Do I believe the Federal Gov't needs to remain involved in this Murder case because the local Legal System is Corrupt & Racist? Yes!
Do I believe Charlotte DSS is solely responsible for Tiffany's death due to their extreme Negligence?
Yes and they know it which is why they are trying to destroy her name with these Charlotte Observer Character Assassination articles.
Do I believe there is definitely a Charlotte DSS Cover Up taking place? Yes!
Double Jeopardy won't allow the American Criminal Justice to try Mitchell again for the previous Murders (he was acquitted at Trial) but his past is proven to be extremely Dangerous and Violent.
Since the people responsible for Tiffany's death are Corrupt Democrats and Pres. Obama is a Democrat known for slinging "Chicago Politics" because he only cares about the next election, its obvious we can't count on him to help.
Pres. Obama is so desperate for votes to pass his Health Care Plan which is going to hurt our nation more so than help it (Debt), I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't somehow involved in Tiffany Wright's Murder Case Cover Up just to get enough votes.
What about Charlotte's Black Leaders?
Forget It!
With the exception of perhaps one or two people (NOT Mayor Anthony Foxx), Charlotte doesn't have any real, Bold, Black Leaders who are willing to stand up for our Black Youth.
Certainly NOT the tired local NAACP! (Charlotte's NAACP is a Joke.)
However we can count on JESUS to be her Advocate and to vindicate her!
Tiffany Wright's Killers WILL be bought to Justice along with everyone involved in the cover up of her Murder.
God Almighty is going to deal with them before they leave this Earth and on Judgment Day.
Jesus loves the little children, even Poor, Black Children living within a Southern Foster Care System.
Now check out the articles & videos below which help to prove that Charlotte DSS is Negligent for Tiffany Wright's death, to learn more about Charlotte DSS's Cover Up scheme and Charlotte Racist D.A.'s Office.
Time Line Of Events Leading To Tiffany Wright's Death
Timeline compiled from court and prison records and interviews with family members and police:
NOV. 4, 1993: Tiffany Wright is born in Buffalo, N.Y.
1995-1996: At age 2, Tiffany is put in foster care in Buffalo, N.Y., with Alma Wright, who later adopts her.
1999: Royce Mitchell, Wright's grown son, is indicted in Buffalo and later convicted in connection with a drug trafficking operation.
NOV. 2003: Mitchell is indicted in a 1998 murder but acquitted at trial.
2004: Wright and Tiffany move to Kings Mountain.
APRIL 2007: Mitchell is released from federal prison and is under four years' post-release supervision. He moves to Charlotte and gets a job as a city street maintenance worker.
JAN. 25, 2009: Wright dies of natural causes at age 77.
JAN. 30, 2009: Tiffany's adoptive brother, Mitchell, seeks to become her legal guardian.
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2009: Tiffany gets pregnant.
FEB. 5: The court appoints Mitchell as temporary guardian.
FEB. 27: A court orders a home study of Mitchell's household. Tiffany is soon placed in foster care again.
JULY 27: DSS reports allegation of statutory rape by Mitchell, police say.
AUG. 19: Police interview Tiffany.
AUG. 20: CMPD detective Teresa Johnson leaves message for Mitchell to come talk to police. When he doesn't respond, she phones social workers and a probation officer over the next two weeks to get the message to Mitchell.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 11: Detectives leave a message for Mitchell's wife, asking her to call back to talk about Tiffany.
MONDAY, SEPT. 14: Tiffany is shot and killed at her school bus stop. Her daughter, named Aaliyah, is delivered at Carolinas Medical Center. Mitchell is arrested and charged with statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a child.
SUNDAY: Baby Aaliyah dies after a week in critical condition.
WEDNESDAY: Tiffany is buried in Bessemer City.
DNA proves father of Tiffany Wright's baby
It's a tragedy that's taken many twists and turns. A pregnant Charlotte teen gunned down at a bus stop.
The latest twist ... who the baby's father is.
Sources tell NewsChannel 36, DNA proved 17-year-old Adrian Powell, a former West Meck student, was the father of Tiffany Wright's baby. (a Charlotte DSS/ Royce Mitchell Cover Up Lie)
"It does give me some pause," says Dr. Jennifer Hartman, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at UNCC.
Wright and Royce Mitchell have been linked. She was 8-months pregnant when she was murdered last September at her school bus stop. Mitchell was initially named as a person of interest.
Testifying at a hearing for Mitchell, Powell told a federal judge Wright kept calling and telling him he was the daddy.
But Powell said he wore a condom and they had sex last May, and the timing was all wrong.
Hartman says none of the new information looks good for Powell.
"Did he lie, I think it’s a convenient defense right now and I think it will be interesting to see what happens as this case unfolds," says Hartman.
Powell moved to Buffalo, N.Y., shortly after the killing.
Wright's grandmother also lives there.
"I think at this point it's time for Charlotte to make Adrian Powell come down and answer a few questions like 'why did you lie?' " says Shirley Boston, Tiffany Wright's grandmother.
Police still have not made an arrest in this case, but say they are confident that they will.
"Person Of Interest" In Kim Thomas' Murder Mystery
Police are investigating “a person of interest” other than Dr. Ed Friedland in the murder 20 years ago of his wife Kim Thomas.
Though Charlotte-Mecklenburg police declined Tuesday to say whether Friedland is no longer a suspect, it is the first time since the mid-1990s that the department has acknowledged investigating anyone other than Friedland.
This latest development in the high-profile murder case comes two weeks after police revealed that new evidence had surfaced. They won’t say what that evidence is.
In a Feb. 24 letter to the chief of police and the district attorney, Friedland’s lawyer asked they indicate that the new evidence does not relate to Friedland, “preferably stating that Dr. Friedland is no longer a suspect.”
Attorney David Rudolf’s letter noted that a newspaper in Pensacola, Fla., where Friedland now lives, planned to publish a story about the case. Without a statement exonerating Friedland, Rudolf wrote, the newspaper story would “do enormous damage to the medical practice he has worked so hard to build in that community.”
A response from CMPD police attorney Mark Newbold stopped short of clearing Friedland. “I have been advised,” Newbold wrote, “that a person of interest other than Dr. Friedland is currently being investigated by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in connection with the murder of Kim Thomas.” Newbold declined to elaborate, either about Friedland’s status in the case or about the other person.
Friedland, a kidney specialist, has claimed for 15 years that Marion Gales killed Thomas. Gales lived nearby and did yard work for the couple, and was seen in their neighborhood the morning of her murder, July 27, 1990.
Police said in court that Gales and at least five people other than Friedland were suspects early in the investigation, but they had been cleared through fingerprint analysis or interviews. Police contended Friedland killed Thomas as a way out of their marriage.
The killer handcuffed Thomas, chased her through her home off Wendover Road and slashed her more than 20 times. The murder gripped the city not only because of its brutality, but also because of suspicion that Friedland was the killer.
Police charged him four years later, and since then the case has been in and out of the news. A prosecutor dropped the criminal charge in 1995 due to insufficient evidence. Then Friedland sued Gales in civil court for wrongful death and a jury in 1997 awarded Friedland $8.6 million.
Friedland also filed a malicious prosecution suit against police, but a judge dismissed that lawsuit in 2001, ruling that authorities had reasonable grounds to prosecute him.
To families involved in the case, it looked as if the murder might never be solved. But in 2008, two things happened that brought the case back into the news:
Gales was charged with killing a female acquaintance, and is now in prison in Tabor City.
Investigators turned to a new "touch DNA" technology that allows forensic scientists to scrape evidence for skin cells left by someone who may have briefly touched the items. The extracted genetic material can help identify a suspect.
Police won’t say whether that’s the new evidence in the case or to whom the evidence points.
Charlotte Court Documents Tell Of Pressure For Abortion
Royce Mitchell was pressuring 15-year-old Tiffany Wright to end her pregnancy - and took her to an abortion clinic - according to new court documents that may shed light on why police say Mitchell should be prosecuted for statutory rape.
The documents, released Tuesday, say Mitchell took Tiffany - his adopted sister - to a Charlotte abortion clinic in mid-July but was turned away because, at 21 weeks of pregnancy, she was too far along.
Within days, Mitchell planned a trip to an Atlanta clinic where Tiffany's pregnancy could be terminated, the documents say. Tiffany refused to go.
On Sept. 14, Tiffany, a Hawthorne High junior, was fatally shot as she waited for her school bus on Mallard Creek Road. Doctors delivered her baby girl, but the infant died.
The new information comes in affidavits from the day of the killing, when police sought search warrants for Mitchell's south Charlotte home and an apartment police say he visited that day.
Police call Mitchell, 36, a "person of interest" in the killing, but they haven't charged him. On the day of Tiffany's death, Mitchell was jailed on charges of statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with Tiffany.
But those charges were dropped last week by prosecutors after a DNA test showed Mitchell was not the father of her baby. Without Tiffany alive to testify about her relationship with Mitchell, prosecutors said the case lacked enough evidence.
The move angered Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, who criticized the prosecutors' decision. Police said they believe there's "probable cause" based on "evidence gathered" to prosecute Mitchell on the sex charges - even without DNA evidence.
The affidavits released Tuesday say Tiffany's foster parents reported that Mitchell picked her up on July 20 at about 10:30 p.m. "to take her to visit a dying relative." Tiffany later reported she was really being held against her will by Mitchell and an unidentified female "as they attempted to convince Tiffany to engage in an abortion by non-medical personnel," the affidavits say.
The documents also say that Mitchell scheduled an abortion in Atlanta for the next day and wanted to pick up Tiffany at 5 a.m. from the foster home. But Tiffany refused.
The affidavit also says that Mitchell moved away from his wife and kids in July, at the request of the Department of Social Services, because of allegations he'd committed statutory rape with Tiffany. But Mitchell's wife told detectives that he showed up at the house at 6:45 a.m. on Sept. 14, less than an hour after Tiffany was shot. He took a shower and changed his clothes, the affidavit says.
Police seized a T-shirt, shorts, a tank top and a letter during their search of the home.
Police declined to discuss how Mitchell's actions alleged in the affidavits might have aided the prosecution. Deputy Chief David Graham said he can't comment, but said, in general: "No one piece of evidence standing alone means much, but when tied together helps establish direction for an investigation and possible motive."
Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist stood by his decision to drop the sex charges, saying his office knew about the information in the affidavits.
That evidence, he said, can't be used in court because it's hearsay evidence, and Tiffany can't testify to corroborate it. "What a person who is dead may have told someone else is not admissible," Gilchrist said.
He said defendants must be able to cross-examine those who testify against them.
Mitchell remains in the Mecklenburg jail. He's accused of violating the conditions of his release from federal prison in 2007 because sex charges were brought against him.
Mitchell served five years for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy in Buffalo, N.Y., and remains under federal supervision. The conditions of his release require that Mitchell have a job, meet regularly with a federal officer and stay out of trouble.
Mitchell lost his job on a street crew for the city of Charlotte after he was charged with statutory rape. A city news release said he was fired for "falsifying his employment application, which is in violation of city policy."
Mitchell has a hearing set for Thursday in federal court. A judge must decide whether there's probable cause that Mitchell violated the conditions of his release and whether he should remain jailed without bond while the federal case proceeds.
If a judge later finds that Mitchell violated the terms, he could be sent back to prison.
To prove a violation, prosecutors have a lower burden than they would at trial. They must prove only that the preponderance of the evidence shows that Mitchell committed sex acts with Tiffany, but need not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
"When state prosecutors dismissed the charges, they didn't say he didn't do it," said Greg Forest, chief of the federal probation office in Charlotte. "They said they didn't feel like they had the evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt....We don't have to have proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
Charlotte DSS Confirms Orgal Opata Had Left Children Unsupervised Before
New details have emerged over the case of a mother who police say left her kids home alone and they later died in a house fire.
Newschannel 36 has learned the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services had been investigating Orgal Opata for repeatedly leaving her child home alone with claims going back two years.
One-year-old Gabriel Hawthorne and his big brother, two-year-old Josiah, were both killed in that fire.
They were left home alone with their four-year-old brother and seven-year-old sister when fire swept through the family's home on Rowan Street.
“It’s a tragedy for all of us,” says Mecklenburg County Commission Chair Jennifer Roberts.
But could the tragedy have been prevented?
NewsChannel 36 has learned DSS had been called to the home in October, 2009.
Court documents show that's when Josiah was found wandering the street in his diaper.
DSS released a statement showing the agency had actually been dealing with Opata since June 2008, when DSS got a referral alleging the children were left unattended.
DSS provided sleeping materials and recommended services for Opata and the case was closed in august of 2008.
But then came the October 2009 incident.
In a statement from DSS they say a social worker was assigned to the case and had regular contact with Opata.
They go onto say all information obtained by DSS indicated the children were receiving appropriate supervision.
The deadly fire happened just four months later.
The county oversees DSS and the commission chair plans to figure out if the agency could have done more to save these kids.
“Once something has happened you never feel like it was enough, you always ask 'could we have done something more, could we have noticed one more thing, one more phone call or one more intervention?' We may ask for additional information just for a comfort level, to know that protocols were followed and things were done as they should have been,” Roberts says.
Charlotte Agencies Claim They Tried To Help Tiffany But Did Too Little, Too Late
Tiffany Wright stood alone in the dark, waiting for her school bus.
It was just before 6 a.m., and her foster grandmother had walked back home to get Tiffany's water bottle.
Tiffany, 15, was eight months pregnant but determined to stay on track in school. She wanted to be a lawyer. And after just a few weeks at Hawthorne High, she had impressed teachers as smart and ambitious, despite a difficult childhood.
At 5:51, Tiffany sent a text.
"Wheres the bus?"
One stop away, replied her friend, already on the bus.
At 5:55, as the bus lumbered toward Tiffany's stop, people began calling police to report gunshots.
A school bus dispatcher radioed Tiffany's bus driver: Change course - something's happening ahead.
Tiffany lay dead in the road, shot in the head, that morning, Monday, Sept. 14. Her baby girl was delivered at the hospital and lived a week, but died Sunday.
Nobody's charged in the killings, but police call Tiffany's adoptive brother, Royce Mitchell, a "person of interest."
In the months before she died, local agencies took steps aimed at stabilizing her home life and keeping her safe. But her story exposes failures in the system that was supposed to protect her.
Among the missteps:
•In February, a Mecklenburg court clerk appointed Mitchell as Tiffany's temporary guardian - even though he was a felon who served time in federal prison. He was also tried in 2006 for murder, but found not guilty. And last year, he was accused of domestic violence, though the case was dismissed.
•In July, social workers told police that Mitchell, 36, might have committed statutory rape with Tiffany, but police didn't question him about it for seven weeks, and didn't charge him with the rape until after Tiffany was killed.
•This month, Mecklenburg social services failed to cut off communication between Tiffany, who was in foster care, and Mitchell, said a source close to the investigation.
On the day of Tiffany's killing, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police jailed Mitchell for statutory rape and indecent liberties with a child, naming Tiffany as the victim.
Police defend their work, saying they followed the industry's best practices - which takes time. Police didn't feel a need to rush, they say, because they believed Tiffany was secure, hidden in a foster home with no threat to her safety.
Police say it's hard to prove statutory rape: Of the 262 reports of statutory rape police received over three years, only 16 percent - 42 cases - were accepted by prosecutors.
Experts say statutory rape cases are complicated because they involve victims ages 13, 14 or 15 who often consider themselves voluntary participants in sex with someone at least six years older. So victims can be reluctant to help police.
But child advocates say in cases like Tiffany's, police should act more aggressively. An immediate arrest sends a signal to a suspect and can persuade them to stay away from victims.
"The cases may be difficult to win, but they're not difficult to charge," says Brett Loftis of Charlotte's Council for Children's Rights.
UNCC criminologist Paul Friday says: "Often, nothing is done in these kinds of cases because they're based on improper assumptions about the rationality of someone that age. But the minors are often unaware of disease, birth control and they can be exploited by someone."
Adopted by foster mother
Tiffany first entered the child welfare system as a toddler in Buffalo, N.Y., when her mother lost custody.
She was adopted at 4 by her foster mother, Alma Wright, an older woman with eight grown children, who was excited about raising another child.
One of Wright's grown sons was Royce Mitchell, a star quarterback in high school who'd gone on to play for a semi-pro team in Buffalo. But Mitchell also was indicted in 1999 as part of a drug trafficking ring and went to federal prison.
While he was in prison, authorities also charged Mitchell with an earlier murder, but a jury found him not guilty.
In 2004, Alma and Tiffany left Buffalo for North Carolina, settling near Kings Mountain. Tiffany made friends easily at school and church. She ran track at Bessemer City High School.
In 2007, Mitchell was released from prison and followed his mother to North Carolina.
But last fall, Alma Wright got sick. Friends at church helped out with Tiffany, inviting her for dinners and weekends. Tiffany spent time with Mitchell and his wife, too.
Alma Wright died Jan. 25, and Tiffany moved in with the Mitchells in Charlotte.
On Jan. 30, Royce Mitchell asked a Mecklenburg court to appoint him and his wife as Tiffany's guardians.
On his application, he wrote: "We are seeking guardianship because we were requested to do so by Mrs. Alma Wright before she died."
He wanted to transfer Tiffany to West Mecklenburg High School.
The court set a hearing for Feb. 5 and appointed a child advocate to study the situation and look after Tiffany's best interests in court.
There's no transcript of what happened in court, and the clerk who handled Tiffany's case declined to discuss his decision.
Frederick Benson, a Mecklenburg assistant clerk of superior court, appointed Mitchell the temporary guardian of Tiffany's welfare.
It's unclear if Benson, a lawyer, knew about Mitchell's criminal background. Court clerks are not required to perform background checks in guardianship cases, says Clerk of Superior Court Martha Curran. It's up to each clerk to decide what checks are necessary, and they often rely on court-appointed child advocates to advise them in such cases.
Tiffany's advocate, lawyer Martha Efird, declined to discuss her actions in the case.
It was in the weeks surrounding the Feb. 5 court hearing that Tiffany got pregnant, if hospital estimates are accurate.
But friends say Tiffany, who started at West Mecklenburg High in February, wouldn't realize for four or five months that she was pregnant.
On Feb. 27, clerk of court Benson ordered DSS to conduct a "home study" of the Mitchell household. Officials won't release their findings.
But Mitchell didn't keep custody long, according to several of Tiffany's friends in King's Mountain.
In late March, Mitchell left Tiffany at a group home called With Friends in Gastonia, according to Marlene Jefferies and Cruceta Jeffeirs, two adult family friends who watched Tiffany grow up.
The group home wouldn't confirm that. But the friends say the home reported to social services that Tiffany was abandoned. And she was soon back in foster care.
On March 31, Jeffeirs, a Shelby pastor, wrote a letter to Benson seeking custody of Tiffany: "My desire is to see Tiffany accomplish all the goals that she has set for herself and I believe she can do that in a stable environment with lots of guidance and love."
DSS officials in Gaston and Mecklenburg won't discuss Tiffany's case or answer questions about what steps they took to protect her.
But friends and family say Tiffany was eventually placed in the care of foster parent Susan Barber, in a townhome off Mallard Creek Road in Derita.
By July, it was clear Tiffany was pregnant, friends say.
Barber tried to shield Tiffany from talking to those she believed might be bad influences, according to Tiffany's cousin Brittany Page. But a source close to the investigation said Tiffany and Mitchell continued communicating.
Despite repeated attempts, Barber could not be reached.
As the school year approached, Tiffany prepared to change schools again, this time to Hawthorne High in Charlotte, which offers a special program for pregnant students.
Delayed investigation
On July 27, social workers reported to police that Royce Mitchell might have committed statutory rape with Tiffany.
It took eight days for a detective to look at the case, and three days more for it to be officially assigned to Teresa Johnson, a detective with CMPD's youth crime and domestic violence unit.
Another 12 days passed before Johnson interviewed Tiffany.
It's unclear when detective Johnson discovered Mitchell's background, but it wasn't enough to ramp up the investigation. Investigators say they believed Tiffany was safe in a foster home and faced no threats from Mitchell.
Police say their performance in the case followed procedure and met standards.
Police interview alleged victims immediately if the crime has occurred within the previous 72 hours, so they can gather evidence that may remain. But in cases like Tiffany's - where months had elapsed since the alleged offense - police try to arrange just one interview when children and teen victims of abuse are involved.
Police acknowledge that strategy takes time but minimizes trauma and reduces the chances that young victims might be led into inaccurate testimony by repeated questioning.
Police also let such victims decide when they want to be interviewed at the county's child-victim center called Pat's Place. There, specially trained interviewers talk to victims, while social workers, psychologists, police and others watch from another room.
Tiffany chose an Aug. 19 interview. She didn't say much during the formal interview. But later that day, Johnson won her trust and obtained enough information to move forward with the investigation.
No response from Mitchell
The next day, Aug. 20, the detective made her first call to Mitchell to ask him about the charge, she says. Johnson left a message and gave him a few days to call back.
When Mitchell didn't respond, she made calls over the next two weeks to social workers and a federal probation officer to ask Mitchell to come talk to police.
Police say they didn't immediately arrest him because they believed they could get better information if he talked voluntarily.
On Sept. 9, a federal probation official told Johnson that Mitchell was not coming in.
On Sept. 10, a team of social workers, police and other agencies held a standard follow-up meeting to discuss how to proceed in Tiffany's case.
On Friday, Sept. 11, detective Johnson phoned Mitchell's wife and left a message. She asked her to call back to discuss Tiffany, Johnson says, but didn't give details of the rape allegation.
That Monday, Tiffany was shot and killed.
As emergency vehicles rolled to the scene, Tiffany's school bus was diverted from its normal route. But the students could see flashing lights. Tiffany's friends on the bus, Cimone Black and Tamia Corpening, began to worry.
"I kept texting her phone...," Cimone said. Then she started calling, but all she got was voice mail.
The bus continued on to Hawthorne. For Tamia, the hourlong ride was excruciating.
Nobody said a word.
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Sources: The State, McClatchy Newspapers, WCNC, AP, Sex Laws.org, Black Political Thought, Google Maps
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