High-profile Raleigh defense attorney pleads not guilty in own case

A defense attorney known for taking high-profile cases will face a federal jury this week on charges he tried to hide cash from the Internal Revenue Service. Johnny Sherwood Gaskins pleaded not guilty Monday to charged he structured deposits at several RBC Centura banks to avoid federal income reporting laws.

Posted 8:22 p.m. Apr 23, 2009 — Updated 4:30 p.m. Oct 5, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. — A defense attorney known for taking high-profile cases will face a federal jury this week on charges he tried to hide cash from the Internal Revenue Service.

Johnny Sherwood Gaskins pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he structured deposits at several RBC Centura banks to avoid federal income reporting laws. The federal indictment charges Gaskins made numerous deposits, each just shy of $10,000, totaling more than $350,000 over a two-year period.

Deposits of more than $10,000 must be accompanied by a currency transaction report, which alerts the government of high streams of income that do not have a clear source.

Gaskins gained fame defending high-profile clients like Adam Sapikowski, the Chapel Hill teenager convicted of fatally shooting his parents in 2006.

Those in the legal community also credit Gaskins' skills as an attorney for getting a life prison sentence for Kawame Mays, a man convicted of shooting and killing Raleigh police officer Paul Hale in 1997.

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