THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 23, 1996 TAG: 9604230336
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ESTES THOMPSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
U.S. Attorney Janice McKenzie Cole did no wrong in her handling of a carjacking case, despite allegations of collusion with her political sponsor, the Justice Department said Monday.
U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C., complained that Cole refused to prosecute a suspect in a Raleigh carjacking case and that as a result, the suspect was still free when a Nash County woman was killed in another carjacking.
Faircloth complained last May that the suspect's attorney was the son of Rep. Eva Clayton, D-N.C., who sponsored Cole for her job.
``The investigation resulted in a determination that U.S. Attorney Cole did not engage in professional misconduct,'' said a Justice Department statement issued by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
The report said Cole had no discussions with Clayton or her son, Theaoseus Clayton, about the case. The report also said Clayton's son did not represent the suspect and that Cole was not involved in the decision not to prosecute.
Cole declined comment on the report, her office said. Faircloth was traveling and couldn't be reached immediately for comment.
In the Raleigh case, a woman was stuffed in the trunk of her car on Feb. 9, 1995, and driven around several hours by a man and a juvenile. Dexter Harris was held on a drug charge. Raleigh police asked federal authorities to charge the juvenile under federal carjacking law on the theory that the younger suspect would be intimidated and identify Harris in the carjacking.
But federal authorities refused to file charges and Harris was released.
On March 23, 1995, Jodie Plew of Rocky Mount was murdered and her car stolen. Harris and another suspect were found in Florida with Plew's car. Both were charged under the federal carjack statute and North Carolina murder laws.
Harris was convicted of kidnapping in the Raleigh case last month and sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison. He could face the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping and murdering Plew.
The Justice Department said Faircloth argued that if Cole's office had charged the juvenile in the first case and made him identify Harris, the slaying in the second case wouldn't have occurred.
``OPR found this argument to be fraught with unfounded assumptions,'' the statement said.
The Justice Department said the federal prosecutor's office has not decided whether to prosecute Harris or the other man in the second case.
Cole will not participate in any future discussions of the case, the report said. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Janice M. Cole
Lauch Faircloth
by CNB