Durham County Sheriff’s Office uses Mangum trial as pretense to investigate

Although The News & Observer printed newspaper never bothered to write an article about the Durham district attorney deciding not to retry Crystal Mangum on the trumped up arson charge, it did write one about the Durham County Sheriff’s Office conducting an investigation on Crystal Mangum supporters. The article, by staff writer Jesse James DeConto appeared in the January 26, 2011 edition of the paper and was titled “Crystal Mangum supporters investigated.” According to the article Major Paul Martin of the Sheriff’s Department is investigating Mangum supporters for alleged witness intimidation, and he stated that he would decide whether to bring charges against anyone next month.

What is particularly troublesome is that Maj. Martin would not tell the reporter what sort of intimidation may have occurred. If this were a legitimate cause of action, the specifics of the witness intimidation would not be under wraps. For example, what action does he feel warranted the charge? How many “Mangum supporters” are being investigated? How in depth does he plan carry out the so-called investigation? There is no doubt in my mind that these questions are not being answered by the major because he is using it as a pretense to conduct an investigation into everyone who has shown support for Crystal Mangum and/or Mike Nifong. It is a fishing expedition in which he hopes to be able to reel in peaceful law-abiding activists who seek justice for Mike Nifong and Crystal Mangum. And it is apparent that he wants to give himself at least a month’s worth of time to cast his wide net and see what he’s able to dredge up against the civic minded citizens.

This action by the Sheriff’s Office of Durham once again exemplifies how the law enforcement agencies and courts of the cash-strapped city will go to extreme lengths to appease the Carpetbagger families of the Duke Lacrosse defendants and their attorneys. When it comes to the Duke Lacrosse case, Mike Nifong, Crystal Mangum, or anyone considered by the Powers-That-Be to be on the wrong end of the Duke Lacrosse case, no pretext is considered too mundane or trivial to capture the full attention of the law enforcers. They are following the Carpetbagger Jihad Agenda handbook to the letter.

The city of Durham should be pleased to win a conviction on the misdemeanor charges and walk away without any collateral damage to its police and fire departments… something that Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby and Prosecutor Tom Ford failed to do in the Gregory Taylor case when they unintentionally exposed long standing unethical practices by the SBI lab. The Sheriff’s Office should let this travesty of Durham justice regarding Mangum slink away, and not continue to beat the dead horse.

Now if this was a homicide case, in which a witness or witnesses was threatened, then I could understand conducting such an investigation. However the charges against Ms. Mangum which stemmed from the February 2010 incident were trumped up by Durham’s finest. The only crime committed that night (Ms. Mangum being assaulted by her ex-boyfriend) was totally ignored by police, the courts, and the media.

According to Major Martin during a television news interview, a serious drug war is about to break out in the city. There are plenty of homicides already on the Durham ledgers, as well as rapes, robberies, and other violent and cold case crimes that have yet to be solved. To me it does not seem that the Sheriff Department has the time or luxury to investigate a group of non-violent supporters in an attempt to bring up more bogus charges. What is the Sheriff’s Office’s end game... to take a couple of Nifong and Mangum supporters off the streets and house them behind bars at taxpayer expense? Not only that, but an investigation into Mangum and Nifong supporters eats up taxpayer dollars and distracts law enforcement resources and manpower from the important issues of protecting the citizens and property of Durham.

Let there be no doubt that the investigation into Mangum supporters is nothing more than a fishing trip, because otherwise Maj. Martin would have given specifics to The News & Observer writer Jesse DeConto. Unfortunately, with the media’s help, the public has swallowed Maj. Martin’s investigation into members of Mangum supporters hook, line, and sinker. 


Notice: A link will follow to Part 5 of Episode V of “The MisAdventures of Super-Duper Cooper.” Be sure to look at the commentary, insight, and analysis that follow the comic strip to get the most out of this feature.

LINK: http://justice4nifong.com/direc/sdcDirec/sdcEpv/sdc121.htm