The Shelby Star article about this incident gives a pretty good account of the crooks criminal record, so I won’t repeat all of that. The Star didn’t say much about the robbery details as I have described above for your information. Perhaps the Star Editor edited the details out of their article for some reason.
But the Star, this time, did hit upon a major problem–that the local criminal justice system does not work. The Star quoted Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman stating that very thing. But lots more was left out of the Star article that I will speak about in this article.
First of all, these two young gang members might have Gastonia addresses, but their felony criminal activity spanned Gaston AND Cleveland Counties, Maybe more. Cleveland County records showed felony convictions too. Followed by light sentences that resulted in revolving doors at the jailhouse and prison. Both these gang members were three time losers who could have been put away for ten years on Habitual Felony laws. But Nooo. Cleveland County justice was just as lenient as Gaston County justice. Letting hardened and armed criminals loose on Fallston.
I would suggest that for every felony conviction these gang members had, they probably had three to five charges that were consolidated or plea bargained down to nothing. Not counting the crimes they committed but were never caught. These gang members never learned that crime does not pay.
I would also suggest that these two black gang members didn’t just turn criminal over night. They were most likely juvenile delinquents when in school and put into programs like Communities-In-Schools, Turning Point Academy, Math Academy or some other school related program that cost lots of tax money and produces few results. Former Cleveland County Communities-In-Schools Mentor Coordinator and presently a Cleveland County School Board Member Donnie Thurman, Jr. once posted on his Facebook page that young men such as these were “kings” and basically advocated a “coming together” that seems to advocate joining groups to carry on the fight. Thurman should have realized that many in such groups could be easily radicalized into criminal gangs. Scroll on back to my September 28, 2018 article for the full text of Thurman’s post. Also note that the shooting death of the 23 year old mother at a Kingstown party attended by over 100 people has yet to be solved. 100 people bound by a “Code of Silence” that has been enforced by what??? Local Gangs??? Go back to my October 24, 2016 article for more on the death of the 23 year old mother.
Even worse than that, a convicted First Degree murderer with a life sentence is walking the streets of Cleveland County. Margaret Heller was convicted of the premeditated murder of her boyfriend and given a life sentence. Heller’s lawyer, Paige Morgan, had not used the abuse excuse in Heller’s defense and after Heller had served about seven years in prison a liberal Superior Court judge concluded that Heller’s attorney should have brought up Heller’s contention of abuse in the trial and ruled the case would have to be re-tried. Only thing was, the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office under DA Mike Miller had lost all the evidence so DA Miller dismissed the case.
Miller’s DA Office dismisses lots of cases.
