INC NEWS - Murder suspects out on bail (N&O)

[Caleb Southern]

Murder suspects out on bail
Durham magistrates are challenged on amounts set for those with violent
records

MATT DEES, Staff Writer, News & Observer

DURHAM - In the past two weeks, three men awaiting trial for murder have
been arrested on additional charges, only to post bail and leave jail the
same day.

Chief District Court Judge Elaine Bushfan, who oversees Durham County's 12
magistrates who book prisoners, said they should factor in criminal history
when setting bail amounts but sometimes don't.

She blamed a combination of human error, technical glitches and a vast
workload for the problem. Durham police and neighborhood groups are worried
that repeat offenders are rapidly returning to the streets.

There are striking similarities in each release of slaying suspects in
recent weeks:
* On Thursday, Anthony L. Copeland, 27, who is awaiting trial in a 1997
slaying, was arrested on possession of cocaine charges, posted his $10,000
bail and left the same day.
* On Aug. 12, Breon Jerrard Beatty, 17, accused of killing a man last year,
was charged with firing into an occupied apartment. Magistrates set his bail
at $10,000. He posted it that day.
* On Aug. 5, Roy Oswald Bodden, 21, suspected of killing a man, was charged
with carrying 23 small bags of marijuana. Once again, bail was set at
$10,000. It was the seventh time he had been arrested and released since
being charged with murder in 2004.

Durham police spokeswoman Kammie Michael said department officials have
spoken with the magistrate's office about the problem but, so far, to little
avail.

"This is a concern the Police Department has had for some time," Michael
said.

"I certainly think it's helpful to know a person's criminal background in a
situation like this. We are concerned when we have somebody out on bond on a
murder charge who commits another crime, particularly a violent crime, and
then is released on bond again. It does seem like we do deal with the same
people over and over."

Ken Gasch, a North Durham community leader, was particularly galled by
Beatty's case because of a violent crime that could have hurt someone.
"If the magistrate knew he was out on murder charges and set the bond at
$10,000, that's a problem," Gasch said. "If he didn't have access to that
information, that's a whole other problem. Both of them are serious failures
of the system."

Bushfan said magistrates have access to a database that allows them to check
a prisoner's background. But sometimes that system doesn't work, she said.
She also said magistrates are overworked, particularly on weekends. They
might have skipped the background check in haste, Bushfan said.

"There also has to be some allowances for human behavior, for humans to make
mistakes," she said.

Bushfan said she was particularly surprised to hear that it was magistrate
Eric Van Vleet who set Beatty's bail at $10,000.

She said she has never had a phone call complaining about Van Vleet's work.
The magistrate was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

Chasaray Lamont Newman, 22, another suspect in the shooting, had his bail
set at $30,000 and remains in jail. He and Beatty face identical charges.

Staff writer Matt Dees can be reached at 956-2433 or
matt.dees at newsobserver.com.