Just a quick followup diary on a new development in the Jonathan Ferrell case. Today, we learned the North Carolina Attorney General will seek an indictment against Randall Kerrick, the Charlotte-Mecklenberg police officer now charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell, an unarmed accident victim. See my earlier diaries from 9/15/13, 9/16/13, and 11/3/13 for background.
More on today's news below.
From The Charlotte Observer, 1/13/14:
The N.C. Attorney General’s Office announced Monday that it will seek an indictment against suspended officer Randall Kerrick. He was charged with the Sept. 14 shooting death of Jonathon Ferrell, a former college football player and recent Charlotte transplant.
According to a prepared statement, state prosecutors say they reached their decision after reviewing the investigations of the shooting by the State Bureau of Investigation and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
George Laughrun, Kerrick’s attorney, called the announcement, “just one step in the legal process. It’s not anything we were surprised about.”
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/...
It is but one step in a long process, but it appears the Attorney General intends to prosecute aggressively.
STATEMENT FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE
At the request of the Mecklenburg County District Attorney, Special Prosecutors in Attorney General Roy Cooper’s Office agreed to handle the case of the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell by Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Officer Randall Kerrick.
Following an investigation by the SBI and a legal review by the Attorney General’s Office of both that investigation and the investigation conducted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, we have decided to take the case before the Mecklenburg County Grand Jury to seek an indictment on the charge of voluntary manslaughter.
The Attorney General’s prosecutors will present their evidence to the Grand Jury on Tuesday, Jan. 21. If the Grand Jury returns a true bill of indictment, we will move forward to prosecute the charge in the Sept. 14 shooting death of Mr. Ferrell.
The Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Section is available to all District Attorneys in the state when there is a conflict of interest or when there are other issues that prevent a District Attorney from handling a case.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/...
The Observer also reports that the Ferrell family is expected to file civil suit tomorrow against Kerrick, the CMPD, its Chief Rodney Monroe, and the City of Charlotte.
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