Remaining UNC pro-Palestine encampment charges dismissed | Anti-gun Durham DA not prosecuting gun crimes
No. 103 — Dec. 15-Dec. 21, 2024
UNC pro-Palestine encampment charges - how they were resolved
The remaining six outstanding court cases from the dispersal of the Triangle Gaza Solidarity Encampment at UNC this spring have been dropped by District Attorney Jeff Neiman after a judge dismissed one of the cases last week.
Gina Lynn Balamucki, leftist activist and member of the "collective defense team" representing the dozens of defendants, made a motion to dismiss the Second Degree Trespass charge against Charles William Soeder on first amendment grounds, arguing that the encampment was a "constitutionally-protected activity in a public forum" and that the notice to disperse issued before the police moved in to make the arrests was "impermissibly vague."
Judge Samantha Hyatt Cabe granted a motion to dismiss at the close of the state's evidence at trial, finding that no "reasonable juror" could convict based on the testimony provided:
The State presented its evidence to the court, including the testimony of Deputy Jeter with the Cumberland Co. Sheirff's [sic] Office. At the close of the state's evidence, Defendant's counsel made a motion to dismiss.
This Court, considering all evidence in light most favorable to the state, finds and concludes that the state failed to present sufficient evidence to pursuade [sic] a reasonable juror of Defendant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and as a result, that the charge of 2nd Degree Tresspassing [sic] should be dismissed.
Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED, that the charge of 2nd Degree Trespassing in the above-captioned case be dismissed.
In addition, six more of the cases were dismissed by Nieman due to the fact that the arresting officer was not able to be identified.
Out of the total of 36 cases from the pro-Palestine encampment I have been able to identify, 23 accepted deferred prosecution or conditional discharge agreements (probationary pretrial dispositions allowing for dismissal after the completion of community service), and 13 had their cases dismissed:
(I may flesh this item out into a fuller/more shareable article coming soon)
Jury finds Raleigh shop owner guilty of fatally stabbing shoplifter
NC v. Taiseer ‘Taz’ Zarka: Killing in a Convenience Store Trial - Court TV
Owner of Taz’s sentenced in stabbing death of man at Raleigh convenience store - N&O
Raleigh store owner found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in murder trial - WRAL
Taiseer “Taz” Zarka, 61, has been found guilty of killing Mark Thomas Garrity Jr., 27, who he stabbed repeatedly as he attempted to steal a bottle of Gatorade from Taz's convenience store on S. Wilmington St. in downtown Raleigh in April 2023.
Surveillance and cell phone video of the killing show that Zarka approached Garrity with a closed pocket knife in his hand, attempting to restrain him and search the backpack where he had hidden the bottle of blue Gatorade, which the prosecution presented at trial.
When Garrity resisted and a scuffle ensued, Zarka stabbed him three times. Garrity was able to make it out of the store into the street before succumbing to the stab wounds, one of which had reached his heart.
Zarka's defense argued that Zarka was a "good man" who was legitimately defending himself from one of the many shoplifters who targeted his establishment.
Two Raleigh Police officers called by the defense testified that they had been called to the store "hundreds" of times over the years, describing how Zarka generally had a good reputation with community members, and would cooperatedwith law enforcement investigations unrelated to his own business by providing security footage.
Zarka testified how he had grown up in the Gaza Strip, emigrated to Kuwait, where he helped foreigners (including Americans) evacuate the country during the Gulf War, before attending college in the United States and opening his Raleigh store approximately 25 years ago.
As to the key legal question at issue, Zarka testified that when he asked Garrity whether he had a pistol in his bag, Garrity responded that he would "stick my pistol up your a--." However, Zarka's testimony was undercut by the fact that it does not appear to have been corroborated by any other witnesses, according to Court TV's reporting, and he did not mention this threat of lethal force when interviewed by the police after the killing.
Although North Carolina law allows merchants to detain suspected shoplifters with probably cause, lethal force is only justified in self-defense against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury; it is not justified to prevent crime (such as theft) or to defend against non-lethal force.
Records from the Wake County Bureau of Forensic Services show that Garrity had been arrested by local law enforcement departments at least six times in the decade before his death on charges ranging from resisting a public officer to possession of heroin and cocaine, including most recently in Cary where he plead guilty to breaking and entering just over a week before his death.
Although Garrity's mother told WRAL before the trial that Garrity had "conquered" his history of drug addiction and was sober, the state's medical examiner testified that he had cocaine and fentanyl in his system when he died.
After more than a full day of deliberation, the jury found Zarka guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a lesser included charge to the second-degree murder sought by the prosecution. Zarka was sentenced to 64-89 months in prison after the jury could not reach a consensus on the aggravating factor of minors being present for the stabbing.
Pro-gun control Durham DA has policy to drop gun possession charges for non-violent felons
No consequences: Records reveal Durham DA's policy not to prosecute gun charges - WRAL
Emails obtained by WRAL's investigative team indicate that Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry has a policy to drop firearm possession charges for non-violent felons, despite engaging in gun control activism at the state and federal level.
In response to an inquiry by a Durham Police officer over a particular possession of a felon charge which had been dismissed, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Ingram wrote the following:
I didn’t think that particular case was a good one for constructive possession. DA Deberry also has a particular philosophy/policy when it comes to firearm by felon charges that are not accompanied by violence or threats of violence. In keeping with that policy, I dismissed this case.
In response, Deberry's office claimed that there is no "written or blanket policy," and that felon firearm possession charges are reviewed on a "case-by-case" basis.
The disparity between arrests and prosecutions for this charge in Durham dates back to before Deberry's tenure as DA, with a 2019 report finding that over half of the 100+ possession of a firearm by a felon charges each year were voluntarily dismissed.
Her own office's apparent unwillingness to enforce the gun laws on the books hasn't stopped Deberry from referring to the post-COVID purchase of firearms by law-abiding citizens as "worsening this nation's gun epidemic" and advocating for gun control, as evidenced in testimony to a US House Judiciary subcommittee in 2022: "We need to address the proliferation of guns through effective policies that impose waiting periods, increase required training, and limit access to guns for young people and individuals at significant risk of harming themselves or engaging in violence."
Deberry also supports red flag laws, telling the News & Observer in 2021 that they can be a "life-saving intervention."