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North Carolina Unjustly Holds Black Man In Captivity: Habeas Corpus Filed To Free Shannon Nyamodi In Bizarre Murder For Hire Case

He had just left a gig with a local band that he performed with for venues in small Youngstown, N.C.. Young Shannon Nyamodi was a recent high school grad working as an electrician assistant who had plans of joining the military later on in the year of 2012, but Shannon’s dreams of serving his country in the armed forces were soon dashed when he became embroiled in a murder for hire case, that landed the 18 year old Carolina native in a state jail cell. On April 16, 2012 Shannon arrived at a friend’s home after performing with his band. Exhausted from the show, Shannon fell asleep in his truck outside of the house. He was shortly awakened by the sound of gunfire, and as he looked around he saw a white woman running from an adjacent home bleeding profusely about her head.

Shannon immediately exited his vehicle and ran to the woman’s aid. She told him that someone had shot her and that her daughter was involved. Shannon gazed up at the house where the woman had fled and observed a white male running away from the house. Shannon notified emergency response personnel to aid the woman, and remained at the scene comforting her until help arrived. When the cops arrived, the woman also told them that her daughter was involved in the shooting. She told police that a bank envelope containing $50,000.00 dollars was in her bedroom, and believed that’s what the shooter was after.

Rhonda Maclean, 43 told cops that she heard a noise at her home and subsequently discovered some one had gained entry to the house. A man shot her in the face and while she lay wounded on the floor, she overheard her 16 year old daughter say “she’s dead, the money is upstairs, come on hurry up.” Maclean then told police that two people stepped over her and proceeded to the upstairs of the home. She said that’s when she got up an ran to a neighboring home (where Shannon was outside asleep) for help. The women’s minor daughter claimed to have been downstairs in the home when the incident occurred, but the victim’s statements to police contradicts her claim. After being shot the woman says she overheard her daughter directing someone to “hurry up”.

This would mean the daughter at least had to have been somewhere in close proximity upon her mom getting shot. In the child’s statements to police she said she overheard her mother screaming followed by gun shots, and she went upstairs to investigate while observing a white male fleeing from the home. As a seasoned investigator that statement drew suspicion on my part, because it’s highly doubtful that an unarmed teen girl would immediately run directly into harms way after hearing such horrifying occurrences upstairs. Common sense would illicit most people to wait, listen, and get a better feel for what’s going on while calling for help prior to running into what could be a potentially life threatening situation.

Besides, the shooting victim had already implicated her own daughter in the shooting which left a whole in her cheek with the bullet passing through her head and exiting somewhere behind her ear. The dynamics of the victims statements should have been sufficient probable cause to take the teen girl into custody that night. The girl and Shannon Nyamodi where arrested in the late morning hours the following day on April 17, 2012. Shannon’s arrest came as a complete surprise to his family and friends. The victim herself had told cops that young Shannon wasn’t involved. She would have known this because she described the shooter and possibly her daughter stepping over her, and she encountered Shannon Nyamodi outside when she ran for help. Shannon, the victim’s daughter, and other witness all describe a white male wearing a white T-shirt, black pants, and a blue Carolina panthers baseball style cap fleeing the home immediately after the shooting.

Shannon never fled the scene and even gave police a statement that night. After all, the aspiring soldier was doing the right thing any normal citizen encountering a bleeding woman in distress. However, somewhere between 2:30 a.m. (time of the actual crime) and late morning the next day, police obtained enough evidence to charge Shannon along side the victim’s daughter for attempted murder. Media reports reveal that cops say they have Facebook post and text messages which reveal a planned murder for hire plot between the teen girl and Shannon, but none of the police reports or investigative documentation obtained in the case point to such a scenario. In fact Facebook images indicate perhaps the cops knowingly falsely arrested Shannon Nyamodi from the start.

Days after the shooting rumors began to circulate throughout the community that two young white males were in fact responsible for the shooting and robbery at the Maclean home. One of the youth even posted pictures of himself with a lot of cash  the very next day. His clothing in the picture is identical to what witnesses say the allege shooter was wearing the night he fled the scene.

220052_355844831156558_183353782_o

 

This is only circumstantial evidence related to the youth’s potential involvement, but rumors within the community naming him as the actual gunman are predicated primarily on witness statements provided to Shannon’s mother that he boastfully bragged about having committed the shooting and robbery hours after the crime had occurred. These details have always provided police agencies with enough suspicion to at least bring a potential suspect in for questioning, but it’s the identical match in clothing of this youth compared to statements witness told police at the scene that night, coupled with a volume of cash that creates serious suspicion why the cops never even pursued this possible lead in the case. The youth is described by citizens within the community as a troubled, unemployed youth, living at home in his parent’s trailor.

Perhaps other rumors that have surfaced regarding this particular youth having relatives working in the town’s sheriff department investigating the case may explain why he never became a person of interest. Ironically, the money along with the gun allegedly used in the crime, strangely and mysteriously found it’s way into the hands of the sheriff’s office, and all while Shannon Nyamodi and his alleged teenage accomplice had already been taken into custody and charge with the shooting. Clearly this indicates involvement of at least another individual, who at the very minimum conspired with the perpetrator(s) in this bizarre shooting and robbery scheme. Who had the money? Is it possible that the cops allowed someone to simply turn in tangible culpable evidence related to a serious violent crime? Even if they simply dropped it off while no one was looking, that individual should possibly have been identified via security surveillance at the sheriff’s office. If you think these facts are over the top, just hold on to your seat, because it’s even more bizarre.

The victim’s teenage daughter (a white girl) has already had her charges and criminal case subsequently disposed of in the juvenile courts. Shannon’s mother tells TPC that the family has since left the town, and simply moved on. Ms. Elizabeth Crudup says she has been fighting tooth and nail to have her soon cleared of these charges, but she discovered the the state attorney’s office has requested the case be temporarily removed from the court’s docket system, and a judge Henry W. Hignt Jr. granted the state’s motion on February 20, 2013.  Take a glimpse of the court order below.

case removal

 

Take note that the order classifying the case as Exceptional, according to Judge Hignt was a mutual request by the state’s attorney and the attorney for the defendant. It’s simply unheard of for any defense counsel to agree on such a motion, especially considering the state of North Carolina no longer has a speedy trial statue, and while condoning such a motion would leave a defense client in limbo within the North Carolina criminal justice system indefinitely. Agreeing on such a condition is highly ill advised for any defense counsel. If the state fails to present sufficient evidence for a trial against a client, or good cause for postponement, the defense lawyer should counter with a motion to have the case thrown out or Nule Processed.

Although North Carolina repealed it’s speedy trial statue in 1989 (which required a case began within 120 days) North Carolina defendants have constitutional speedy trial rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. But those rights generally don’t “kick in” until a year has passed, at which point, courts apply a four-factor test to determine whether a defendant’s constitutional speedy trial rights have been compromised. Additionally, considering that Shannon’s co defendant’s case, who was implicated by her own mother, has been disposed of, it’s clear that the state has resolved to hold Shannon Nyamodi completely responsible for the entire ordeal. Other factors in Shannon’s defense debacle highlights efforts by his own lawyer’s repeated encouragement that the youth “cop a deal” with the state. The counselors endorsement of “Exceptional” status of this case may in fact be direct retaliation for the youth’s refusal to plea guilty to a crime for which he did not commit.

Similar tactics have been meted out in cases related to criminal defendants of color throughout the U.S. Criminal Justice System, but in North Carolina, one of the most stringent penal systems in the country, it’s legislation is designed to warehouse defendants for as long as possible regardless of their innocence or guilt. Even if the paperwork smells bad, state prosecutors are traditionally unrelenting in ushering weak criminal cases through the court system when the defendants are of a colored ethnicity. For example in Shannon’s case, one of the charges indicated that he is believed to have stolen the victim’s .22 caliber rifle, and an actual search warrant was issued for Elizabeth Maclean’s home. A close look at the bottom of the first row in the warrant reveals that it was never executed. Does this mean that police no longer believed that Shannon had stolen the victim’s rifle? He couldn’t have stolen the weapon, because cops  say the gun along with the cash had been mysteriously returned to police.

Search Warrant

Moreover, upon the sheriff’s office obtaining the weapon and money, the items didn’t yield Shannon’s fingerprints nor DNA. In fact, no compelling culpable evidence exist that points to Shannon Nyamodi’s alleged involvement in the shooting, robbery, or even a conspiracy related to this crime. Youngstown police reports only indicate that a police officer obtained information from a man who says that he overheard the victim’s teen daughter discussing her and Shannon’s plans to kill her mother weeks prior to the shooting. He is only implicated through hearsay witness statements, evidence which would never be allowed in a criminal court of law in most states. That information could be utilized by the state to build a case against the teenage defendant, because the man says he overheard the conversation. Most judges would not allow such testimony regarding a defendant who was implicated based on a conversation that some one overheard an alleged accomplice implications of him in a crime. It’s all hearsay and appears to be the only thing connecting Shannon Nyamodi to alleged involvement in this crime.

Youngtowns Police Report

If North Carolina state officials prosecuting this case had sufficient evidence to go to trial they would have never motioned for “Exceptional” status for this case. It’s quite apparent that the state is well aware that it’s case against this youth is extremely weak, and the test or standard to this perception is more indicative by the disposition of Shannon’s alleged co defendant’s case. If the state had plans to seriously pursue this case, it would simply have motioned for a postponement to have sufficient time to build it’s case, but we see they have utilize a common strategy of incarcerating young black men, and it’s legislation provides the legal muscle to accomplish such a task. Meanwhile, the state has removed the case from it’s system altogether, when young Shannon Nyamodi is being held in captivity indefinitely with no indication as to when the state will resume prosecution of the charges filed against him.

Now after Shannon has been incarcerated for over a year, his constitutional rights will kick in, but it’s a process that could take 4 years to test whether his constitutional rights have been compromised. His mother has desperately attempted to speak with the judge hearing the case and other court officials unsuccessfully. Recently a criminal justice advocacy group has composed a Habeas Corpus on behalf of her son. The document was presented to the warden of the prison in which he is being housed. The Corrections official has promised to present the document to the courts as early as Monday morning. The Habeas should present a strong argument requesting that the court release Shannon Nyamodi or present a lawful reason as to why he is being held in custody. An “Exceptional” status for any criminal case doesn’t mean forever, and hopefully a judge will wise up and realize that you cannot hold a defendant in captivity in America without any pending charges.

If all else fails I plan to assist Ms. Crudup in taking her son’s case to the Department of Justice in order that a Civil Rights investigation be launched into this case. Please follow this disturbing story, as our black children are continuously being targeted by unjust criminal justice systems within the American South. God be with this family and all of our youth who could fall prey to such injustice in the 21st century.

To Be Continued ..

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m David Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

He had just left a gig with a local band that he performed with for venues in small Youngstown, N.C.. Young Shannon Nyamodi was a recent high school grad working as an electrician assistant who had plans of joining the military later on in the year of 2012, but Shannon’s dreams of serving his country in the armed forces were soon dashed when he became embroiled in a murder for hire case, that landed the 18 year old Carolina native in a state jail cell. On April 16, 2012 Shannon arrived at a friend’s home after performing with his band. Exhausted from the show, Shannon fell asleep in his truck outside of the house. He was shortly awakened by the sound of gunfire, and as he looked around he saw a white woman running from an adjacent home bleeding profusely about her head.

Shannon immediately exited his vehicle and ran to the woman’s aid. She told him that someone had shot her and that her daughter was involved. Shannon gazed up at the house where the woman had fled and observed a white male running away from the house. Shannon notified emergency response personnel to aid the woman, and remained at the scene comforting her until help arrived. When the cops arrived, the woman also told them that her daughter was involved in the shooting. She told police that a bank envelope containing $50,000.00 dollars was in her bedroom, and believed that’s what the shooter was after.

Rhonda Maclean, 43 told cops that she heard a noise at her home and subsequently discovered some one had gained entry to the house. A man shot her in the face and while she lay wounded on the floor, she overheard her 16 year old daughter say “she’s dead, the money is upstairs, come on hurry up.” Maclean then told police that two people stepped over her and proceeded to the upstairs of the home. She said that’s when she got up an ran to a neighboring home (where Shannon was outside asleep) for help. The women’s minor daughter claimed to have been downstairs in the home when the incident occurred, but the victim’s statements to police contradicts her claim. After being shot the woman says she overheard her daughter directing someone to “hurry up”.

This would mean the daughter at least had to have been somewhere in close proximity upon her mom getting shot. In the child’s statements to police she said she overheard her mother screaming followed by gun shots, and she went upstairs to investigate while observing a white male fleeing from the home. As a seasoned investigator that statement drew suspicion on my part, because it’s highly doubtful that an unarmed teen girl would immediately run directly into harms way after hearing such horrifying occurrences upstairs. Common sense would illicit most people to wait, listen, and get a better feel for what’s going on while calling for help prior to running into what could be a potentially life threatening situation.

Besides, the shooting victim had already implicated her own daughter in the shooting which left a whole in her cheek with the bullet passing through her head and exiting somewhere behind her ear. The dynamics of the victims statements should have been sufficient probable cause to take the teen girl into custody that night. The girl and Shannon Nyamodi where arrested in the late morning hours the following day on April 17, 2012. Shannon’s arrest came as a complete surprise to his family and friends. The victim herself had told cops that young Shannon wasn’t involved. She would have known this because she described the shooter and possibly her daughter stepping over her, and she encountered Shannon Nyamodi outside when she ran for help. Shannon, the victim’s daughter, and other witness all describe a white male wearing a white T-shirt, black pants, and a blue Carolina panthers baseball style cap fleeing the home immediately after the shooting.

Shannon never fled the scene and even gave police a statement that night. After all, the aspiring soldier was doing the right thing any normal citizen encountering a bleeding woman in distress. However, somewhere between 2:30 a.m. (time of the actual crime) and late morning the next day, police obtained enough evidence to charge Shannon along side the victim’s daughter for attempted murder. Media reports reveal that cops say they have Facebook post and text messages which reveal a planned murder for hire plot between the teen girl and Shannon, but none of the police reports or investigative documentation obtained in the case point to such a scenario. In fact Facebook images indicate perhaps the cops knowingly falsely arrested Shannon Nyamodi from the start.

Days after the shooting rumors began to circulate throughout the community that two young white males were in fact responsible for the shooting and robbery at the Maclean home. One of the youth even posted pictures of himself with a lot of cash  the very next day. His clothing in the picture is identical to what witnesses say the allege shooter was wearing the night he fled the scene.

220052_355844831156558_183353782_o

 

This is only circumstantial evidence related to the youth’s potential involvement, but rumors within the community naming him as the actual gunman are predicated primarily on witness statements provided to Shannon’s mother that he boastfully bragged about having committed the shooting and robbery hours after the crime had occurred. These details have always provided police agencies with enough suspicion to at least bring a potential suspect in for questioning, but it’s the identical match in clothing of this youth compared to statements witness told police at the scene that night, coupled with a volume of cash that creates serious suspicion why the cops never even pursued this possible lead in the case. The youth is described by citizens within the community as a troubled, unemployed youth, living at home in his parent’s trailor.

Perhaps other rumors that have surfaced regarding this particular youth having relatives working in the town’s sheriff department investigating the case may explain why he never became a person of interest. Ironically, the money along with the gun allegedly used in the crime, strangely and mysteriously found it’s way into the hands of the sheriff’s office, and all while Shannon Nyamodi and his alleged teenage accomplice had already been taken into custody and charge with the shooting. Clearly this indicates involvement of at least another individual, who at the very minimum conspired with the perpetrator(s) in this bizarre shooting and robbery scheme. Who had the money? Is it possible that the cops allowed someone to simply turn in tangible culpable evidence related to a serious violent crime? Even if they simply dropped it off while no one was looking, that individual should possibly have been identified via security surveillance at the sheriff’s office. If you think these facts are over the top, just hold on to your seat, because it’s even more bizarre.

The victim’s teenage daughter (a white girl) has already had her charges and criminal case subsequently disposed of in the juvenile courts. Shannon’s mother tells TPC that the family has since left the town, and simply moved on. Ms. Elizabeth Crudup says she has been fighting tooth and nail to have her soon cleared of these charges, but she discovered the the state attorney’s office has requested the case be temporarily removed from the court’s docket system, and a judge Henry W. Hignt Jr. granted the state’s motion on February 20, 2013.  Take a glimpse of the court order below.

case removal

 

Take note that the order classifying the case as Exceptional, according to Judge Hignt was a mutual request by the state’s attorney and the attorney for the defendant. It’s simply unheard of for any defense counsel to agree on such a motion, especially considering the state of North Carolina no longer has a speedy trial statue, and while condoning such a motion would leave a defense client in limbo within the North Carolina criminal justice system indefinitely. Agreeing on such a condition is highly ill advised for any defense counsel. If the state fails to present sufficient evidence for a trial against a client, or good cause for postponement, the defense lawyer should counter with a motion to have the case thrown out or Nule Processed.

Although North Carolina repealed it’s speedy trial statue in 1989 (which required a case began within 120 days) North Carolina defendants have constitutional speedy trial rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. But those rights generally don’t “kick in” until a year has passed, at which point, courts apply a four-factor test to determine whether a defendant’s constitutional speedy trial rights have been compromised. Additionally, considering that Shannon’s co defendant’s case, who was implicated by her own mother, has been disposed of, it’s clear that the state has resolved to hold Shannon Nyamodi completely responsible for the entire ordeal. Other factors in Shannon’s defense debacle highlights efforts by his own lawyer’s repeated encouragement that the youth “cop a deal” with the state. The counselors endorsement of “Exceptional” status of this case may in fact be direct retaliation for the youth’s refusal to plea guilty to a crime for which he did not commit.

Similar tactics have been meted out in cases related to criminal defendants of color throughout the U.S. Criminal Justice System, but in North Carolina, one of the most stringent penal systems in the country, it’s legislation is designed to warehouse defendants for as long as possible regardless of their innocence or guilt. Even if the paperwork smells bad, state prosecutors are traditionally unrelenting in ushering weak criminal cases through the court system when the defendants are of a colored ethnicity. For example in Shannon’s case, one of the charges indicated that he is believed to have stolen the victim’s .22 caliber rifle, and an actual search warrant was issued for Elizabeth Maclean’s home. A close look at the bottom of the first row in the warrant reveals that it was never executed. Does this mean that police no longer believed that Shannon had stolen the victim’s rifle? He couldn’t have stolen the weapon, because cops  say the gun along with the cash had been mysteriously returned to police.

Search Warrant

Moreover, upon the sheriff’s office obtaining the weapon and money, the items didn’t yield Shannon’s fingerprints nor DNA. In fact, no compelling culpable evidence exist that points to Shannon Nyamodi’s alleged involvement in the shooting, robbery, or even a conspiracy related to this crime. Youngstown police reports only indicate that a police officer obtained information from a man who says that he overheard the victim’s teen daughter discussing her and Shannon’s plans to kill her mother weeks prior to the shooting. He is only implicated through hearsay witness statements, evidence which would never be allowed in a criminal court of law in most states. That information could be utilized by the state to build a case against the teenage defendant, because the man says he overheard the conversation. Most judges would not allow such testimony regarding a defendant who was implicated based on a conversation that some one overheard an alleged accomplice implications of him in a crime. It’s all hearsay and appears to be the only thing connecting Shannon Nyamodi to alleged involvement in this crime.

Youngtowns Police Report

If North Carolina state officials prosecuting this case had sufficient evidence to go to trial they would have never motioned for “Exceptional” status for this case. It’s quite apparent that the state is well aware that it’s case against this youth is extremely weak, and the test or standard to this perception is more indicative by the disposition of Shannon’s alleged co defendant’s case. If the state had plans to seriously pursue this case, it would simply have motioned for a postponement to have sufficient time to build it’s case, but we see they have utilize a common strategy of incarcerating young black men, and it’s legislation provides the legal muscle to accomplish such a task. Meanwhile, the state has removed the case from it’s system altogether, when young Shannon Nyamodi is being held in captivity indefinitely with no indication as to when the state will resume prosecution of the charges filed against him.

Now after Shannon has been incarcerated for over a year, his constitutional rights will kick in, but it’s a process that could take 4 years to test whether his constitutional rights have been compromised. His mother has desperately attempted to speak with the judge hearing the case and other court officials unsuccessfully. Recently a criminal justice advocacy group has composed a Habeas Corpus on behalf of her son. The document was presented to the warden of the prison in which he is being housed. The Corrections official has promised to present the document to the courts as early as Monday morning. The Habeas should present a strong argument requesting that the court release Shannon Nyamodi or present a lawful reason as to why he is being held in custody. An “Exceptional” status for any criminal case doesn’t mean forever, and hopefully a judge will wise up and realize that you cannot hold a defendant in captivity in America without any pending charges.

If all else fails I plan to assist Ms. Crudup in taking her son’s case to the Department of Justice in order that a Civil Rights investigation be launched into this case. Please follow this disturbing story, as our black children are continuously being targeted by unjust criminal justice systems within the American South. God be with this family and all of our youth who could fall prey to such injustice in the 21st century.

To Be Continued ..

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m David Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

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