|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Probe continues Carruth attorneys to prosecutors: Submit more evidence
Posted: Monday May 01, 2000 02:51 PM
CHARLOTTE (AP) -- Attorneys for former NFL player Rae Carruth and three co-defendants urged a judge Monday to direct prosecutors to turn over more evidence in the murder case, including the autopsy report on Cherica Adams. Carruth and the other defendants, who were not in court Monday, are charged in Adams' fatal drive-by shooting. Adams, 24, was shot four times as she drove through a southeast Charlotte neighborhood Nov. 16. She gave birth to Carruth's son, Chancellor Lee Adams, by emergency Caesarean just after the shooting. Adams died Dec. 14. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Carruth, Van Brett Watkins, Michael Eugene Kennedy and Stanley Drew "Boss" Abraham. All four are charged with first-degree murder. At Monday's hearing, attorney Jim Gronquist, who represents Abraham, asked Superior Court Judge Jerry Braswell to order the state to turn over all of its evidence in 14 days. The judge gave prosecutors until May 30 to turn over the material. Outside the courtroom, Carruth's attorney, David Rudolf, said he could not prepare a defense until the discovery process was complete. "The holdup is entirely discovery," he said. "We cannot proceed with our defense until we have all the evidence." Noting that Carruth, a former wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, has been in jail for months, Rudolf told the judge: "We need to move this case along." Prosecutors told Braswell that more than 2,000 pages of evidence had been turned over to the defense. However, they said, they were awaiting the autopsy report and results of forensic tests on a handgun that might be connected to the case. Rudolf said he was optimistic the case could go to trial this year if the pre-trial proceedings can proceed quickly. "We are going to be pushing for a trial this year," he said.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
