Judge seals some papers

One motion is made public in Plouff case

By: Dan Galindo | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: December 13, 2008

A Forsyth Superior Court judge agreed yesterday to seal some documents in the case of Keith Carter, the man accused of shooting Winston-Salem police Sgt. Howard Plouff in 2007 outside a nightclub.

Attorneys for Carter asked Judge Stuart Albright to grant two motions and to seal each of the requests during a closed hearing in chambers yesterday.

Kimberly Stevens, an attorney for Carter, asked for the hearing to be held in the small office because she said that she and Carter's other attorney, Mark Rabil, would have to talk about their trial strategy in making their requests.

"We are," Rabil said, "trying to preserve the atmosphere for the ability to have a fair trial in Forsyth County."

After the 45-minute hearing, Albright said he agreed to grant both motions and seal one of them until the case is over.

The motion that was not sealed asks the State Bureau of Investigation for raw data for ballistics tests on the bullet recovered from Plouff's body and Carter's gun, and any other tests done in the case.

Albright said he agreed to seal the second request because of the high "level of tension" in the case and the possibility of tainting the pool of possible jurors. He said he believes that if the trial had to be held in another county because of publicity, it would be a public-safety issue because of the number of officers who would have to travel to testify in the case.

Carter is accused of fatally wounding Plouff, 41, in the early morning of Feb. 23, 2007, in the parking lot of the Red Rooster, a former nightclub on Jonestown Road. Plouff had gone to the club to help off-duty sheriff's deputies who were trying to control fights after a concert.

It was the first time a Winston-Salem police officer was killed in the line of duty since 1996. The case led District Attorney Tom Keith to ask a judge for a gag order last year, after comments by Rabil to the Winston-Salem Journal. That request was denied.

Keith and David Hall, Keith's chief assistant district attorney, did not join Carter's attorneys in asking for the documents to be sealed, but did not argue against the request.

■ Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at dgalindo@wsjournal.com.