"The Red Springs Police Department’s chief and captain
have been ordered to explain in court why a box of evidence related to
the 1983 rape and murder of a Red Springs girl was not turned over to
investigators until four years after it was initially requested. Chief
Ronnie Patterson and Capt. Kevin Locklear were served with an order to
show cause on April 17 and a hearing on the matter is tentatively
scheduled for May 15 in Wayne County Superior Court. The order
requires the men to show why the department should not be held in
criminal contempt of court for not following judge’s orders, beginning
in 2010, to turn over to the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission
any evidence related to Leon Brown or Henry McCollum, who were
convicted in 1984 of raping and killing Sabrina Buie. While
investigating a 2009 claim of innocence submitted by Brown, the
commission found no physical evidence tying McCollum or Brown to Buie’s
death, and after an evidentiary hearing in September, the half-brothers
were released from prison, their convictions overturned. The murder
charge against Brown had been previously dropped. According to
an April 29 motion by the commission requesting the order to show
cause, about $4,000 in rush fees were incurred to process the remaining
box of evidence, found in Red Springs in August, in time for the
September hearing. “RSPD’s failure to comply with the court
orders impaired the Commissioner’s ability to conduct a full and timely
investigation. The Commission relied upon the information provided by
RSPD that RSPD did not have any files or evidence for the Commission’s
investigation,” the motion says.".........Erich
Hackney, investigator for the county District Attorney’s Office, said
issuing such an order against a police officer is “not taken lightly” as
the state’s Law Enforcement Training & Standards commissions are
often notified of such orders. Hackney recently took custody
of all evidence culled by the Innocence Inquiry Commission, including
the box found in Red Springs. He declined to discuss the contents of the
box, citing two ongoing investigations by that office and the State
Bureau of Investigation. One investigation is being conducted
to determine if McCollum and Brown are culpable in Buie’s death before
Gov. Pat McCrory grants them a pardon of innocence. The other looks at
whether anyone else should be charged for the crime.........Hackney
said the newly found evidence isn’t the first troubling find in the
department’s evidence room, which he visited several years ago after its
previous chief departed because of “accountability issues” there. According
to Hackney, he found “hundreds of items,” including firearms and drugs,
which were destroyed, and large amounts of money, which were given to
the Public Schools of Robeson County. “Given what has happened
of late, it does not appear there has been much improvement in their
evidence room. In fact, this was one of the very reasons why the
original evidence in the Buie case, as well as the recently found
evidence, was turned over to the District Attorney’s Office by the
Innocence Commission three weeks ago instead of the police department,”
he said."
Friday, May 8, 2015
Bulletin: Leon Brown; Henry McCollum: North Carolina; Red Springs Police Department’s chief and captain have been ordered to explain in court why a box of evidence related to the 1983 rape and murder of a Red Springs girl was not turned over to investigators until four years after it was initially requested. The Robesonian; Hearing set for May 15.
