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3:23 p.m. • 2-12-12

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Suspect in N.C. State Crime Spree Pleads Guilty


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James Lyons
James Lyons
A North Carolina State University student accused of going on a rampage of robbery and shootings last February entered into a plea deal Monday.

James Darnell Lyons, 19, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.

He will spend a minimum of 89 months in prison.

Raleigh police said Lyons and Timothy Williams, 19, both freshmen, robbed people and shot at several vehicles in the early-morning hours of Feb. 23, 2006.

Although no one was seriously injured, one victim was grazed by a .32-caliber bullet that was fired into her car as she sped away on Cates Avenue after a man who tried to enter her vehicle.

In another incidents that occurred earlier that morning, morning, a group of friends were robbed at gunpoint from inside their vehicle at Hillsborough Street and Ashe Avenue.

RELATED TOPICS: Hillsborough, Raleigh, NC State University

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19 Comments


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I know NC folks shy from yankees,BUT....89 months for gun offenses?????ROBERY???SHOOTING IN A CAR?The judges should sit in NY state courts.So what if he sits a year,WAITING.Go to NY ,do the same thing there,The real JUDGE would make that the least of his worries....HED BE GONE for 25 yrs. WAKE UP NORTH CAROLINA

Has anyone bothered to ask why this kid sat in jail for A YEAR waiting for a trial? This is such a common tactic used by prosecutors to coerce people into signing plea deals, it's not even JUSTICE anymore. Our Constitution GUARANTEES a speedy trial. I don't call 12 months, SPEEDY. I call it game-playing.

My point is, it starts at home.

I hate to break it to you people but when it comes to crime, there is no race, social status, parental guidance, family upbringing, economical status, menatal status...NOTHING! It doesn't matter who or what you are, you are a person with a free will and a choice. Bottom line!!!!

Good point wral_fake.

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