Name: Some question lack of charges in alleged greenway attacks
Uploaded: 2021-03-30T18:13:49-0400
Duration: 187002
Description: Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said a man accused of verbal and physical attacks on a Cary greenway would likely be referred for mental health evaluation.

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Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said a man accused of verbal and physical attacks on a Cary greenway would likely be referred for mental health evaluation.

IMPORTANT DETAILS. >> SEEING THIS POLICE OFFICERS TAKE COVER BEHIND GRAVESTONES IS QUITE A SCENE. THANK YOU BOTH FOR THAT LIVE TEAM COVERAGE. >>> ALSO TONIGHT -- >> TOO MANY TIMES I SEEING THESE DAYS, MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESS OR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE BEING USED AS AN EXCUSE. >> Reporter: WAS IT A HATE CRIME OR WAS IT THE ACT OF A MENTALLY ILL PERSON WHO SHOULD NOT BE HELD LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS ACTIONS? THIS IS THE DEBATE RAGING SINCE CARY POLICE DECIDED NOT TO CHARGE A MAN IN TWO ATTACKS ON THE GREENWAY LAST WEEK THAT THE VICTIMS BELIEVED WERE RACIALLY MOTIVATED. >> IT HAS ALSO GOTTEN THE ATTENTION OF PRESIDENT BIDEN, ATTACKS ON ASIAN AMERICANS. WE ASKED  WRAL'S AMANDA LAMB TO INVESTIGATE THIS LOCAL INCIDENT. SHE SPOKE WITH THE WAKE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY TODAY AND JOINS US LIVE FROM THE WAKE COUNTY JUSTICE CENTER WITH WHAT SHE HAS LEARNED. >> Reporter: THESE ARE JUST A HANDFUL OF THE EMAILS WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM CONCERNED CITIZENS WONDERING WHY THIS MAN WAS NOT CHARGED. IT IS A QUESTION WE HAVE BEEN ASKING CARY POLICE FOR DAYS. TODAY THEY RELEASED MORE DETAILS AND  WE SPOKE TO DISTRICT ATTORNEY LAUREN FREEMAN HERE AT THE WAKE COUNTY JUSTICE CENTER, WHO SUPPORTED THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S DECISION. AS A THERAPIST, SHE DOESN'T BELIEVE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY ABSOLVE SOMEONE FROM CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. >> TOO MANY TIMES I SEEING THESE DAYS, MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESS OR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE BEING USED AS AN EXCUSE. >> Reporter: AS AN ASIAN- AMERICAN, SHE SAYS SHE AND MANY OTHERS WHO HAVE REACHED OUT TO HER BELIEVE THE ASSAULTS ON THE CHINESE MAN AND AN IRANIAN MAN ON A CARY GREENWAY BY A JOGGER LAST WEEK WHERE HATE CRIMES. >> THE TWO PEOPLE THAT WERE TARGETED WERE CLEARLY NON- CAUCASIAN. >> Reporter: WE HEAR FROM MANY PEOPLE IN EMAILS WHO ALSO TOLD US THEY BELIEVE THE ATTACKS WERE RACIALLY MOTIVATED. HATRED IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND SITUATIONS LIKE THIS ADD FUEL TO THE FIRES OF RACIAL INEQUALITY. >> THE LAST THING WE WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL IS WE DON'T TAKE THESE THINGS SERIOUSLY. >> Reporter: THE WAKE DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS CARY POLICE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED THE INCIDENT BUT FOUND NO EVIDENCE THE ASSAULTS WERE RACIALLY MOTIVATED. >> WE CAN PROVE THINGS, WE WILL BRING THOSE CHARGES. IN THIS CASE, THE EVIDENCE WAS JUST NOT THERE. >> Reporter: CARY POLICE POSTED THIS DETAILED EXPLAINER ON FACEBOOK TUESDAY MORNING TO RESPOND TO THE CRITICISM. FREEMAN SAYS THEY CONSULTED HER OFFICE ABOUT PROSECUTION. THAT IS SOMETHING SHE TELLS US IS IMPOSSIBLE UNDER THE LAW DUE TO THE SUSPECT BEST DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF MENTAL ILLNESS. >> THIS CASE ULTIMATELY WOULD NOT HAVE GONE FORWARD IN THE SYSTEM. THE INDIVIDUAL WOULD HAVE ULTIMATELY BEEN REFERRED FOR MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT. >> Reporter: FREEMAN SAYS THEY ARE WORKING TO GET THAT MAN THE MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT HE NEEDS. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS IS

Amanda Lamb

Jamie Munden

Some question lack of charges in alleged greenway attacks

Get the latest WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast whenever you need it, including the DUALDoppler5000 and the 7-Day Forecast.

Hi, everyone. Happy Friday, meteorologist, Anthony Baglione here. We have just about made it to the weekend and of course, we have a lot to talk about as far as our weather is concerned. Let's start off here with our next weather maker that kind of comes in today into our Saturday and Sunday. What's going on is there's a warm front that's kind of going to lift in from the coast and then bring some increased moisture for us and then make it a little bit unsettled, especially for tomorrow and tomorrow night. So there's the warm front that comes in today. We have light rain chances cloud cover is going to be with us, especially later on this afternoon. Then that front kind of stalls. It doesn't move much into tomorrow and Sunday and that's going to lead to scattered showers here through the weekend. In addition, high temperatures near 70 both days, we take a through future cast here going through today around lunchtime, even later on, we could see a few light showers early this evening. Eight o'clock, there really is not much coverage by that point. If you have any plans this evening, I would not cancel them early tomorrow morning. Most of us starting off pretty calm, but we see some rainfall starting to push in from the south to the north as we go through the day, five o'clock in the afternoon. Again, there will be some breaks, but definitely that chance is there for at least some of us to see some scattered showers. We go eight o'clock in the evening, maybe another break and then another round by Sunday. So it's very, I don't want to say hit or miss necessarily, but it's kind of a dynamic system where you may be dry for a while, then you may get some rain, you may dry out. It's not going to be pouring all weekend long. We talk about how much rainfall we're looking at about a half an inch to three quarters around the triangle over the next seven days. There's a good summary for you 50% chance today and drops off tonight and then goes back up pretty substantially there for us tomorrow into tomorrow night and then maybe the first half of the day on Sunday look a little bit wet. So of course, I'll be here this weekend for the evening shows. Meteorologist Peter Sherwood will be in the morning. So we'll keep you covered as we go through the next couple of days. 62 our high temperature today, we see warmer weather into the weekend, upper sixties near 70. So should be feeling very comfortable but not a great couple of days to get outside and enjoy that comfortable weather. 60 today, we're at 67 tomorrow, upper sixties on Sunday and then dropping back in the fifties next week with more sunshine. It does look like a pretty calm pattern here once we get beyond this weekend.

WRAL WeatherCenter Forecast

Nightly N.C. Education Lottery drawings during the 11 p.m. News.

Good evening. I'm Gail Hurd. Welcome to tonight's joins for Thursday, November 30th 2023. Well, let's get started tonight with our Carolina pick three. Our first winning number is a three. Our second number is four and the third number tonight is a nine and our pick three fireball number is also a nine. Well, joining me for tonight's show is our editor from Connolly Jones L LP. Now let's move to the Carolina pick four. Good luck. Everyone. Who's that first winning pick four number. Here it comes. It's a three. Our second number is three again. Third number tonight is a one and our fourth number is two and our pick for a fireball number is five. We're turning now to the Carolina cash five. If no one wins the top prize tonight, the walls, our prize is estimated at $120,000. So luck, everyone is that first winning cash five number. It is an 11. Our second number is 36 3rd number tonight. It's 32. Our fourth number is 15 and the final number in our cash five this evening is 37. The North Carolina Education Lottery has contributed over a $10 billion education. Yet you're winning numbers right here every night in your exclusive station.

Evening Pick 3 Pick 4 and Cash 5

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday plans to name a replacement for State Auditor Beth Wood, who previously said she would step down in the wake of charges related to her use of state-issued vehicles.

A qualified successor uh professional to succeeded her in this critical role. The state auditor is our watchdog. The person entrusted to make sure that taxpayer dollars are being minded and efficiently invested. The auditor serves as the lead evaluator of state government, local governments, the judiciary, among others, evaluating financial controls and performance measures and ensuring that the government is accountable to all of us. The auditor's job is not just about calling out mistakes. It's also about ensuring that public servants can do their jobs, right and well, our state relies on the professionals in the auditor's office to objectively look at state processes, help ensure that best practices are followed and work collaboratively to find solutions that benefit the people of North Carolina. This is a role that's not suited for people who simply want to be in the spotlight or who aren't ready to roll up their sleeves and dive into complicated issues. It takes a smart, hard working person who isn't afraid to get into the details and who isn't afraid to ask the hard questions. I appreciate the service of Auditor Wood and her professional staff. They have built a reputation over the years of independence, finding problems and holding leaders accountable. This has served our state well, in searching for our next auditor, I was gratified by the willingness of some people to disrupt their lives on short notice to step into this important role. I wanted someone known for integrity, intelligence work ethic and willingness to speak truth to power. Someone committed to public service who understands government and believes it should be held accountable. Someone who understands that our ultimate goal is to make sure that government serves people as efficiently and effectively as possible. And I wanted someone to stand before the voters and be accountable for their critical work. I'm confident that I found that person today. I'm announcing that I will appoint Jessica Holmes as North Carolina's next state auditor. Jessica will bring years of government and legal experience to the state auditor's office as well as a deep commitment to public service. Jessica is a native of Pender County fellow North Carolina, Eastern North Carolinian like me, a double tar heel, like me with an undergraduate and law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill like me. She's a talented attorney on the North Carolina Industrial Commission. She's working to ensure all parties and workers compensation claims are treated fairly in accordance with the law. She has worked for our teachers and educators as the general counsel to the North Carolina Association of Educators and she has been elected and re elected by the people of this county. In 2014, she was the youngest person ever elected to the Wake County Board of Commissioners and she was even elected by her fellow commissioners as the chair of the board twice under her leadership and attention to budget and financial details. Wade County managed a budget in excess of $1.5 billion she created and chaired Wake County's first affordable housing and infant mortality task forces and advocated for increasing affordable child care options and for paid parental leave which the state has now adopted. Jessica understands how government can be a force for good but that the details matter and it's important that we do things the right way. I'm confident that thanks to her intelligence, integrity and experience, she will make major contributions to the success of our state. Congratulations Jessica on becoming our next state auditor. And I wanna thank you for the service that you've already given the state and the service that you are about to give. And now I introduce to you our next state auditor, Jess go first. Allow me to say that I want to acknowledge that Beth Wood was the first woman ever elected to serve as auditor in the State of North Carolina. The professional staff that she has put together is excellent, phenomenal and ready to continue to do the work. As for me, I grew up in a small town in rural eastern North Carolina called Maple Hill and Yes. It's as small as it sounds. I grew up loving to climb trees. A bit of a tomboy. I actually have a few scars to still show for it. I remember picking strawberries from my grandmother's garden. I remember my great grandmother told me to go fetch eggs for breakfast from the chicken coop. I remember in the hot North Carolina Sun, we would pick blueberries. My grandmother and I we'd earn about $5 a slat and at the end of each day, she would give me all we had earned so that I could purchase school clothes. And I used we loosely because I probably ate more blueberries than I actually put into the sweat. I also watched my mother who is here with me today heroically fight to support and provide ends meet for five young Children coming from humble beginnings. I know the value of a dollar and how to make it stretch. I also know that you can't turn 15 cents into a dollar. But what I can tell you that as state auditor, I will ensure that every taxpayer dollar get to the people and the causes that we all care about. My administration will focus on accountability, eliminating wasteful spending and ensuring that all money allocated goes where supposed to go. My experiences have led me to this moment and have prepared me for this task. As mentioned, I am a tar heel through and through born and raised right here in North Carolina on good old fashioned North Carolina values and not to shout it out twice. But I am also a double tar Heel. You shot that twice. But as auditor, I will be fair, I will be unbiased and I will put the people first. People need to be able to trust that their government is working hard for them. They also need to be able to trust that their taxpayers, their tax dollars are working hard for them as well. Some people know me as Commissioner Holmes. Some people know me as chair homes. Some people call me deputy Commissioner Holmes. Some people call me Professor Holmes. My family calls me a nickname, but I'm not gonna get to that part, but today I am so proud and honored to stand before you as North Carolina's next state auditor and I just want to thank Governor Cooper for his confidence in me. Ok. Uh, both of us will be glad to answer questions. Let's start here with Gary. Yeah. Um, MS Holmes, are you gonna be seeking the full four year term in 2024? And while you have a lot of you have AJ D behind your name, one thing you don't have is a CPA and many of your predecessors have had certified public accounting experience. Do you see that as any sort of liability or do you feel like that helps you see things differently? Um, I, I think it gives me a different perspective. Coming into the office, I have worked at government in various different levels and direct experience regarding budgets has allowed me to understand the auditing process ensuring that dollars go where they are supposed to go. And I've done that in various levels from government to nonprofit organizations and consulting. I'm sorry. And follow up on the first question. I will absolutely be seeking the four year term for state auditor and I look forward to filing on Monday. Sorry. Um, I just wanna governor, your reaction to the, uh, decision this morning regarding the election law. And also, um, we talked to speaker more about that and they basically this case to go to the State Supreme Court where it seems, they feel like they're looking at the outcome they want. Um, we say all that, well, the law is crystal clear and I'm grateful that these judges followed the law and I hope that the Supreme Court will follow the law as well. A question. All right, one more. LA what do you say to people who say that, that, uh, that the auditor's office should have caught what was going on with auditor law and our mileage? I mean, is that a failure on the part of the office or is that? I mean, I don't even know who audits the auditor. So, what, what are you, what are you talking about? The, what happened to her? Oh, yes. So that happened almost immediately. And an auditor's job is usually to come behind months and years afterwards to uh examine records. But, um, I have confidence in the professionals in the auditor's office and I think, uh I'll let the new state auditor speak, speak for herself. Um I will just note for the record but that I will not be uh accepting or uh receiving a state vehicle. All right. T for maybe one more from anyone. Have you, uh, have you met with Auditor Office of State Auditor staff yet, or is that all you? Um, absolutely. Um, I've had a conversation with the State Auditor Wood and she, um, she and I go away, um, we've had a relationship for a long time and I respect her and the service that she has given to this state over multiple years, decades of service. And I'm really glad that she is willing to, um, hand over the reins and support me in that transition. All right. Last one here. I'm sorry, I just to make clear, II, I believe you'll be the first African American woman on the Council of State. Is that, is that accurate? And if so, uh, what do you think about that? I mean, that's got being, having a first like that. Yes, it is. My understanding that I will be the first African American woman to ever serve on the North Carolina Council of State in our state's entire history that said, um, I'm here today. Not because I'm black or not because I'm a woman, but because I'm the person to do the job and my credentials back that up, that said, I learned this when I was a county commissioner, I had this quote. It's hard to be what you can't see. And when I look at some political offices, it's hard to imagine myself in those offices. So regardless of what this year, what comes of it, I can guarantee you a few things, no one will work harder than I will to get up to speed. And I will by virtue of this office continue in my public service, encouraging girls and women and people that are interested in serving to have the opportunity to do so. And by me serving in this seat, hopefully, um it will allow others to see themselves in it as well. Thank you. Great. Thanks guys. Thank you. Ok. Mhm. Oh, ok, great. Not that a request. That's good. No, so yeah, that's all right. Hm. Ok. There's another sorry.

Replacement named for State Auditor Beth Wood

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 drawings are held at 3 p.m. daily. They can be seen as live or on-demand video.

Good afternoon. I'm Gayle Hurd. Welcome to today's joins for Thursday, November 30th 2023. Well, let's get started today with our Carolina pick three. Our first winning number is a five. Our second number is nine and the third number is zero and our pick three. Fireball number is a two. Joining me for this afternoon's joining is our auditor from a Conal Jones L LP. Now let's move to the Carolina pick four. Good luck. Everyone. Who's that first number. It's a five. Our second number two. Third number today is eight and our fourth number is a six and our pick for a fireball number is zero. The North Carolina Education lottery has contributed over $10 million education. Thanks to your support, get your winning numbers every day at three o'clock and again, 11:22 p.m. here on your exclusive station with the North Carolina Education Lottery. Thanks for playing.

Daytime Pick 3 and Pick 4 Drawing

N.C. High School Athletic Association Commissioner Que Tucker and President Chris Blanton hold a press conference following the winter board of directors meeting in Chapel Hill.

NCHSAA press conference following winter board meeting

According to Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats, authorities identified the body as that of Tyrone Taylor II. Coats held a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday to discuss the details of the case, including a suspect they have in custody.



<p>Ok, good morning. Um, I don't thank everybody for coming this morning. Um, we're here today. Um, unfortunately, we're here. Say, unfortunately, um, we'll go ahead and give you a timeline of what, what happened. Uh, in this case, as you all know, uh, Mr Tyrone Taylor Junior, uh, he went missing and Dunn on September the seventh. Uh, he was reported missing and this has been a joint effort from the Hunter County Sheriff's office, Dunn Police Department SB I, uh, in trying to locate this gentleman. And, uh, so with that said, the last confirmed contact with, uh, Tyrone Taylor Junior was during the morning hours of September the sixth, uh, Ty Tyrone Taylor vehicle was found burned on LA Ray Road in Cumberland County on September the eighth. A t-shirt belonging to Tyrone Taylor was located in the urban riverside community on September the 10th. Um, Dayquan Thomas was identified by the Taylor family as a person of interest very early due to his violent and abusive relationship with their daughter, Tanisha Taylor, the sister of Tyrone Taylor Junior. Daquan. Uh, Thomas was arrested on October 10th for charges stemming from domestic violence against Tasha Tanisha Tago Uh, on November the 20th, skeleton remains were located off of Shady Grove Road. Um, here in Harnett County. Uh, uh, the skeletal remains are identified by the office of the Chief Medical Examiner Raleigh as Tyrone Taylor Junior on November the 29th trauma was identified on the remains that indicate foul play in this incident. Investigation efforts by the Hornet County Sheriff's office, Dunn Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation identified Dayquan Thomas as being involved with the disappearance of Tyrone Taylor Junior. Dayquan Thomas has been charged this morning for the murder of Tyrone Taylor Junior and concealment of the body. This is still an active investigation and no other details concerning the events will be released at this time. What I wanna say right now is this is the time of year when we should all be rejoicing Thanksgiving and Christmas and sharing these times with your family members and your loved ones. But today, because of these actions by this individual, MS Ross and Mr Taylor unfortunately have to sit there in an empty seat that would have been a seat for their son at Thanksgiving and now Christmas because of this senseless act. And as I've told the family this morning and the chief and I, you know, there's no words I can say to ease the pain that they're going through. I've never lost a child. But what we can bring to them through the working together with these agencies is we can bring closure that the body has found and that we have brought this gentleman. Excuse me, let me rephrase gentlemen. We've brought this man to be held accountable for his actions. That the family again, I've spoken with them. I think it's their preference that they don't want to say anything right now afterwards, after we go off camera, they may or may not, if they choose not to please respect that because they are still grieving. But I thought some prayers go out to this family. Uh and their loved ones again. I wanna thank Chief Jackson and her, her um, fellow officers over there that help work with us. Once it, we, we saw that it came out of the city and into the county, they still help and, and were alone with us. They've been working with the family as well, keeping them informed and this investigation is still ongoing. Um, and we will be, um, keeping in touch with the family as well. We'll have to keep the news media up to date as much as we can, can put out there. So at this time, has anybody got any questions we'll try to answer what we can at this time, sir. Are you able to speak anymore on the relationship between uh Thomas and Mr Taylor? Uh That, that, that what I know is that he was dating their daughter and that was the domestic violence and that's what we arrested him for and had him in custody at the time. Sure, it may take you and Chief Jackson both to answer this question. But how many man hours do you estimate have been put into this investigation since September 5? Well, it's never stopped since September the fifth. Uh, Officer Jackson and her crowd worked around the clock. I'm sure as we have since we got involved in, um, I, I couldn't give you an amount of man hours, but it was every day, every day since September the fifth on her part, as well as ours. Um, we're looking what November the 30th. So that tells you it was just not put down for 11 person to handle this. I think we had three and four or five working on it from the sheriff's office. And, um, how many of y'all have we had at least four or five ourselves? And also, um, emergency management. There's other agencies that also stepped in to help that. Uh, we would like to thank as well because we did do a lot of, uh, as the tips came in. We did a lot of walking in the woods, uh, along the river. Um, and we especially want to thank all those volunteers that came out to help look and bring and try to locate this for the family. Mr Taylor's mom had originally said that they thought somebody was involved that he wouldn't have just gone off on his own was there anything that made you think about the suspect in the disappearance of Mr Taylor Chief says it started with you. I believe the information we received was, um, from the sheriff's office about the domestic violence incident that had occurred previously and that kind of put the relationship there between, um, Tyrone Taylor the second and, uh, the suspect, that's kind of how we made a connection that, that could possibly be, um, the connection with the case. Did Tyrone confront the suspect about the domestic violence? That's something we're not able to answer at this time. Thank you sure. What she did the, the medical examiner give you uh preliminary, what they think is the cause of death. I know you said that it was not natural causes, but no, they did not because the deterioration of the body, they are still working on that at this time. So it, it may be a little while before we get the results of it because of the condition of the body at the time. It was fine. If was there a protection? W that was in? Not to my knowledge, it was not, have there been any previous incidents with uh the suspect? And Denisha, did I say that? Right? Did you all have any in the city? Not that I'm aware of in our jurisdiction? All right, if there's no other questions again, velvet cake that will conclude this and please respect the privacy of the family. Um Thank you so much for coming. Thank you. Mhm. Yeah. In this past two years old in the mass you travel for. So this is the only exactly she was there to. I used to be. And how about the old office center last week? You smoking? Yeah. So we have a picture at the easy the baby and then last Sunday I just took the baby and rested me. They put the and ok, this is simply. Yes.</p>

Harnett County Sheriff provides update on death investigation of Tyrone Taylor

The NCHSAA Board of Directors wraps up its winter meeting with affiliate reports and votes on a number of different proposals.

2023 NCHSAA winter board meeting, day two

Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday Powerball drawings, as shown live on WRAL.

We have another life changing jackpot. It's worth an estimated $373.9 million. Get your tickets ready because here comes tonight's winning numbers. Let's start things off this evening with the number 47. Right after that America. We have the number 50 congratulations to Ruth Chris and Jones from Virginia. She won 100 and $50,000 playing powerball right there. You're winning number 68 6 and let's round it out tonight with the number 61 and tonight you're winning powerball number, that's gonna be four and your power play multiplayer is two. Let's take another look at tonight's winning numbers. Remember there are multiple ways to win. Good luck, everyone. We'll see you back here on Saturday night. It's time to play America's favorite jackpot game. This is Power.

Some question lack of charges in alleged greenway attacks

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