INC NEWS - BOND WATCH: Duncan's bail reduced - then he executes 4 people

[Caleb Southern]

"Duncan's bond was set at $500,000 at the time of his arrest [11/4]. It was
reduced to $100,000 and he was released Nov. 5.

"[District Attorney] Nifong said the lower amount was 'still a substantial
bond' and was not similar to controversial bond reduction issues in recent
months that have allowed criminals to get out of jail quickly.

"Duncan, Nifong suggested, might have been able to post such a 'substantial'
bond because he was 'a very good customer' of a bondsman."

 (Herald-Sun article, copied below)

---

** Who was the JUDGE that reduced Mr. Duncan's bond - to 1/5 of the original
amount? **

I don't buy D.A. Nifong's comments:

1) Why is our chief prosecutor standing up for the accused, in regard to
lowering his bond? (Who represents the VICTIMS?)

2) Why would a bail bondsman risk losing $100,000 for a "good customer"?
(This doesn't pass the smell test - maybe risk $1000, but not $100K.)

3) Based on the fact that Mr. Duncan was found guilty of a *federal* drug
trafficking offense, it seems likely that he (or his associates) easily had
$15,000 in cash (in a shoebox) that allowed him to make the $100,000 reduced
bond (15% down from a bondsman is all you need) -- and then go free, only to
execute four young men -- within weeks of his release.


This is all unacceptable. We, citizens of Durham, must demand change - and
judicial reform in Durham.

Caleb Southern


***

Grand jury indicts man in quadruple homicide

By BriAnne Dopart : The Herald-Sun
bdopart at heraldsun.com
Oct 17, 2006 : 12:04 am ET

DURHAM -- An admitted drug trafficker was indicted Monday in last year's
execution-style quadruple homicide, and District Attorney Mike Nifong said
the Breckenridge subdivision slayings were the most senseless act of
violence in Durham history.

A news conference called by Nifong and Durham Police Chief Steve Chalmers
came 11 months after what authorities labeled drug-related bloodshed and
after Chalmers said investigators had "strong leads." The probe remained
mostly dormant -- at least in public release of any developments -- since
then.

Rodrick Vernard Duncan, 27, was released from jail on a vastly reduced bond
just two weeks before he allegedly took part in the mass murders, according
to details released at the news conference.

Duncan, who lists a Durham address, was indicted by a grand jury on four
counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder
and one count of armed robbery. Chalmers would not say if Duncan was the
gunman in the Nov. 19, 2005, slayings at 2222 Alpine Road.

Lennis Harris Jr., 24, LaJuan Coleman, 27, Jamel Holloway, 27, and Jonathan
Skinner, 26, were pronounced dead at the scene of what police termed a
"drug-motivated homicide." Each was shot in the back of the head. Digital
scales, a white powder and a green leafy substance were recovered from the
scene, as were a 9 mm handgun, spent shell casings and unfired ammunition.

One man survived the attack with serious gunshot injuries and another jumped
through a second-story window to safety. It is The Herald-Sun's policy not
to name crime victims.

Duncan is in federal custody awaiting sentencing for a 2005 drug trafficking
offense that took place only weeks before the brutal slaying, Chalmers told
a roomful of reporters and photographers.

Durham Police investigators arrested Duncan Nov. 4, 2005, and charged him
with two counts of drug trafficking by transport; two counts of drug
trafficking by possession; two counts of possession of cocaine with the
intent to manufacture, sell or deliver; maintaining a vehicle for the sale
of drugs; possession of a stolen firearm; possession of marijuana;
possession of drug paraphernalia; and resisting, delaying and obstructing a
police officer.

Duncan's bond was set at $500,000 at the time of his arrest. It was reduced
to $100,000 and he was released Nov. 5.

Nifong said the lower amount was "still a substantial bond" and was not
similar to controversial bond reduction issues in recent months that have
allowed criminals to get out of jail quickly.

Duncan, Nifong suggested, might have been able to post such a "substantial"
bond because he was "a very good customer" of a bondsman.

Once Duncan was released, a federal task force assumed the armed trafficking
case and took him into custody on April 5, 2006. Duncan pleaded guilty July
5 to the trafficking charges and is being held in Winston-Salem, police
said.

Chalmers said police suspected Duncan of the quadruple slayings for some
time before he and Nifong made Monday's announcement. He would not elaborate
on when Duncan became a named suspect in the murders.

Early in the investigation, police said the one investigator assigned to the
case was pursuing leads aggressively. At Monday's press conference, Chalmers
said the investigator got "overwhelmed," so more men were assigned to the
case after Jan. 1. However homicide investigator S.W. Vaughan told the
Herald-Sun last spring that he was the sole investigator working the case.

In the following months, the department claimed it assigned at least three
more investigators to the probe. Still, no new information was released
about the case with the exception of a returned search warrant and the
autopsies of the four young victims.

Chalmers promised Monday that police would be making additional arrests in
the homicides and that the investigation was "ongoing."

Lennis Harris Sr., a fire inspector with the city of Durham and father of
one of the slain men, said he was too emotional to speak about the arrest in
the case.

"You think you'd be happy," he said, his voice breaking, "but there's just
so many emotions."

Attempts to reach parents of the other victims were unsuccessful.

While the investigation into the shocking quadruple homicide in an upscale
neighborhood disappeared from headlines in the past several months, the
murders hadn't faded from the minds of residents of the Breckenridge
subdivision.

A resident who lives a few doors down from 2222 Alpine Road asked not to be
named but said she was familiar with three of the victims from going to
Durham high schools. Skinner, a Raleigh resident, grew up in Winston-Salem.

The victims she knew were kind people who she believed could not have been
involved in the sale of drugs, as search warrants and police news releases
have suggested, the resident said.

"I couldn't believe it happened here ... I thought 'Oh, man, that's three
doors down!'" She added that she never thought police would solve the case.

Another resident who had the case on her mind and also asked not to be
named, said she was both thrilled and surprised to know police had charged
someone in the case.

"I thought they were never going to solve it," she said. "I thought it was
just a hit, you know?"