State and Local Briefs: Smith's supporters challenge police report

Smith's supporters challenge police report

Concerned residents and innocence activists urged a Winston-Salem City Council committee Monday night to reject an internal police report about the investigation into Kalvin Michael Smith, who was convicted in 1997 of beating a clerk at a silk-plant store on Silas Creek Parkway.

Smith, who is serving 23 to 29 years in prison, confessed in writing to being in the store during the attack, which left the clerk, Jill Marker, needing 24-hour care. Smith has maintained his innocence in the beating, though, and his supporters said his statement is unreliable.

Winston-Salem Police Chief Scott Cunningham presented the internal report to the council's Public Safety Committee in November. Monday was the first opportunity Smith's supporters have had to challenge it.

The committee took no action on the report and will discuss it in March.

Committee members asked City Manager Lee Garrity to report back to them about what the council's options may be.

Steve Boyd, a supporter of Smith's, said he believes the council could join an amicus brief in support of Smith or could ask District Attorney Jim O'Neill to reconsider the case. An amicus brief is an opinion written by a third party not connected to a particular legal case, but one who has an interest in the outcome.

Laura Graff

Panel puts off action

Forsyth County commissioners postponed action Monday night on a proposal to allow a bed-and-breakfast near Kernersville to have outdoor weddings.

The owners of Dewberry Manor Farm off Old Valley School Road want to rezone their 12-acre property to have outdoor weddings. But many speakers during Monday's public hearing said the weddings would create too much noise and that traffic to and from the site would raise safety concerns.

The commissioners will reconsider the proposal Feb. 28. Several commissioners said they want to visit the site.

Wesley Young

Murder trial begins

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a Raleigh doctor charged in the death of a Winston-Salem ballerina.

Former plastic surgeon Raymond Dwight Cook is charged with second-degree murder, driving while impaired and felony death by vehicle. Authorities say Cook was driving 85 mph when he struck the car driven by Elena Bright Shapiro, 20, in September 2009.

The trial originally was scheduled in November, but a paperwork mistake prompted it to be delayed.

Cook has surrendered his license to practice medicine.

The Associated Press

Hickory teen accused of killing roommate

Authorities say a Hickory teenager shot his roommate and then used a wood splitter on the man.

Capt. Joel Fish of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office said Michael Anderson, 19, has been charged with murder in the death of Stephen Starr, 36. Fish said Anderson called 911 on Monday shortly before 5 a.m. and told dispatchers that he had shot his roommate.

Authorities said Anderson used a wood splitter on Starr after the shooting. They said Starr's body also had a word carved with a knife and writing with a pen.

Anderson is being held without bond.

The Associated Press

Reynolda Road store robbed at gunpoint

A man wearing a ski mask robbed a convenience store on Reynolda Road on Monday, police said.

The robber entered the Quality Mart in the 2800 block of Reynolda Road just after 5 a.m. The man, armed with a handgun, approached an employee and demanded cash, police said

The robber fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

No one was injured.

Paul Garber

Legislator's store has sweepstakes games

The North Carolina legislator who led a closed-door meeting on the gambling industry makes some money of his own from gambling machines.

Sanford Rep. Mike Stone owns a grocery store where customers can play sweepstakes games on computer terminals.

There were also video poker-style terminals that Stone, a Republican, says he removed Friday.

Stone led a meeting last week between Republican legislators and representatives of the gambling industry.

Jane Pinsky of the N.C. Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform says Stone's business interests are troubling in light of the meeting.

The Associated Press

Track upgrades to disrupt train service

Passenger train service between Raleigh and Charlotte will be disrupted for the next 10 weeks as the tracks undergo improvements.

Norfolk Southern Railway will begin reconditioning tracks, signals and bridges along the route with completion scheduled for April 21.

To accommodate the work, the Piedmont midday service will be temporarily suspended Monday through Thursday, and there will be no alternate transportation. The midday service will operate on the weekend but on a modified schedule.

The Associated Press