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It's about the money Carruth's attorneys try to block sale of assets
Posted: Sunday April 30, 2000 01:47 PM
CHARLOTTE (AP) -- A judge is considering whether to allow an independent overseer to sell former NFL player Rae Carruth's house and other assets so he can pay child support for his baby son. Carruth is charged with masterminding the slaying of 5-month-old Chancellor Lee Adams' mother in November. During a hearing Thursday before Judge Yvonne Mims Evans, Carruth's attorney, Bill Diehl, said his client did not understand the consequences of his actions when he agreed to an order naming Charlotte lawyer Elizabeth Hodges as a receiver in the case. Carruth's attorneys want to vacate the February order, which gave Hodges permission to sell Carruth's south Charlotte home and clear out his bank accounts to free up child-support money. "Let's not liquidate everything he's got," said Diehl, who estimated Carruth's net worth at less than $250,000. The former Carolina Panthers wide receiver and three codefendants are charged with first-degree murder for the drive-by shooting of Cherica Adams, 24, on Nov. 16 in Charlotte. Diehl argued that Carruth was advised by his former attorneys, Kenneth Spaulding and Tamela Wallace, to sign the receivership agreement without telling him enough about it. Carruth fired Spaulding on Feb. 15, one day after he and Wallace agreed to Hodges' appointment. Spaulding and Wallace maintained that Carruth signed papers showing he understood the arrangement. Wallace testified Thursday that she explained the order at least three times before it came up during a Feb. 14 hearing. "I remember him saying it was just money and that he didn't really care about money," she said. Wallace also testified that she was never fired by Carruth, yet she did not consider herself to be his attorney any more. In requesting an independent overseer, lawyers for Adams' family said Carruth spent more than $260,000 in cash between Adams' shooting Nov. 16 and Feb. 8. They contended a receiver was needed to ensure he fully disclosed his assets in the child-support case. "The need for a receiver is even more prevalent than it was three months ago," said Frank Porter, the attorney for the infant's grandfather, Jeffrey Moonie. After hearing arguments for four hours, Evans adjourned without making a ruling. She did not indicate when she will rule. Attorneys never got to several other key issues, including a request by Carruth to visit with his infant son as he awaits trial on murder charges. In court documents filed Monday, an attorney for the child's grandmother called the request "no more than a desperate attempt on his part to appear to be human and to avoid death row using the very child he has been charged with trying to destroy." The document was filed by Billie Ellerbe for Saundra Adams, who has temporary custody of Chancellor Lee Adams. Carruth's attorneys last week filed court papers asking that he be permitted 'limited, safe contact' with Chancellor. The lawyers said Carruth may not stand trial for his former girlfriend's slaying for more than a year, and the baby would be more than a year old by the time he might win acquittal. Prosecutors have said Carruth was upset over Adams' pregnancy and already was making support payments for a child in California. The next hearing in the child-custody case is scheduled for May 16, when Evans will hear arguments on a request by the Adams' family to find Carruth in contempt of court for bouncing his last child support check. The $3,000 check, dated March 8, was returned for insufficient funds. According to the motion, Carruth violated a court order freezing his assets when his bank withdrew two mortgage payments from the account. Evans also scheduled a hearing for July 31 on Carruth's visitation motion.
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