September 21, 2013
Clapp Trial Now Capital
By Michael D. Abernethy
Burlington Times-News
GRAHAM — Alamance County District Attorney Pat Nadolski will seek the death penalty against at least one of six defendants charged in a grisly March murder and cover-up.
The body of Kenneth Joel Clapp, 47, was found March 29 in a vacant lot on Louis Graham Road in northern Alamance County. Clapp’s body had been burned. Medical examiners later determined he died of gunshot wounds to the back and abdomen.
Cameron Romero Graves, 24, of Mill Street, Graham, and Marteese Rasheed Martin, 25, of Hall Avenue, Burlington, were charged in April with first-degree murder. Since then, four others have been charged with accessory after the fact of first-degree murder, allegedly aiding Graves and Martin with disposing of Clapp’s body or hiding evidence.
In a Sept. 9 hearing, Alamance County Assistant District Attorney Gene Morris announced that Graves will face the death penalty during trial.
Morris said the state made the decision to try the case capitally based on Graves’ criminal record, which includes convictions for armed robbery, burglary and second-degree kidnapping.
Under state law, murder cases can only be tried as capital offenses after meeting at least one of 11 aggravating factors. A previous conviction of violent crimes is one of those factors.
In the same hearing, the state was given an extra 60 days to determine whether it could proceed capitally against Martin. Morris said Martin didn’t have the same violent criminal history as Graves.
Nadolski will prosecute the cases but is in the midst of trying the capital murder trial of Robert Dennis Dixon — accused of hiring men to kill his stepmother, Sara Dixon, in 2007 — and was unable to attend the Sept. 9 hearing.
Asked Friday about whether it would alter his prosecution of Graves’ case as a capital offense if there isn’t enough evidence to try Martin under the death penalty, Nadolski declined to comment. He cited ethical issues about discussing the facts of a pending case.
But even if a murder case meets the requirements for capital punishment, prosecutors aren’t bound to pursue the death penalty. The law grants “prosecutorial discretion,” and allows the state to agree to a life sentence “at any point in the prosecution of a capital felony, even if an aggravating circumstance exists.”
The gruesome nature of Clapp’s homicide has left his family distraught. Some of his relatives at the Sept. 9 hearing made outbursts as the alleged facts of the case were recited and the co-defendants were brought into the courtroom. At least one person was escorted from the courtroom by bailiffs.
That outcry led one co-defendant to waive his right to appear at a Thursday hearing on his motion to lower bond. During that hearing, Superior Court Judge Wayne Abernathy called the crime “heinous” and attempted to assuage the family by explaining what he was weighing from the bench. He also asked for considerate conduct during that hearing and the pending trial.
“My job is to make sure they get a fair trial. The worst thing in the world that can happen to a victim’s family is to have to go through another trial and another chance for them to get off … all because a judge made a mistake,” Abernathy told members of the Clapp family. “I’m very sorry for your loss. To not be able to say goodbye is one of the worst things … There’s going to be a trial and I hope you are able to be here for every minute of it.”
CASES AGAINST the four accused accessories are proceeding.
Authorities believe Graves told at least one person he planned to kill Clapp after suspecting him of stealing drugs. On March 28, Graves and Martin allegedly lured Clapp to 325 Hall Ave., Burlington, where Graves was staying. Graves allegedly shot him. In search warrants, investigators wrote that Martin left Graves in the home with Clapp’s body.
Graves allegedly called friends to the home to assist in disposing of the body. His girlfriend, Ebony Nyeisha Franklin, 29, of Mebane, told investigators she was inside the home when Clapp was killed. She said Graves called Solomon Gerard Tate, 23, of Garrett Street, Greensboro, for help. Tate allegedly brought his girlfriend, Sacorya Kateka Spinks, 26, of High Point, with him.
Franklin is accused of allowing Graves to use her Ford Taurus to transport the body and purchasing the gasoline with which Clapp’s body was burned. Investigators collected several items that appeared to be covered in blood in a search of her car’s trunk several weeks after Graves was last seen, search warrants said.
On April 23, Tate’s father — Phillip Jerome Tate, 52, of South Benbow Road, Greensboro — was charged with being an accessory. Detectives searched his home after recording phone conversations between the father and son. They allegedly found a shotgun believed to be the murder weapon inside the home.
During Thursday’s hearing, defense attorney Keisha Bluford motioned for Phillip Tate’s bond to be reduced from $75,000 to $25,000. She argued that the 52-year-old wasn’t an active participant in the killing and didn’t know what the gun had been used for when Solomon Tate brought it to him.
Under Abernathy’s questioning, Nadolski cautiously agreed with Bluford’s assessment of the case against her client.
“Without having to be held to this, we believe the shotgun was taken to his house and he found out about (the murder) later,” Nadolski told the judge.
Abernathy reduced Phillip Tate’s bond to $30,000 and added conditions that he not be in Alamance County unless attending court or meeting with an attorney and he not have contact with Clapp’s family.
Only Franklin had posted bond as of Friday. The other defendants remained in the Alamance County jail.
Abernathy denied a motion to reduce Solomon Tate’s $250,000 bond in June. A motion to reduce Spinks’ bond from $50,000 to $10,000 is scheduled to be heard Nov. 20.
The road to six arrests
Search warrants in the investigation of Kenneth Joel Clapp’s March 28 homicide show how detectives with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office pieced together Clapp’s last hours. Those documents describe what is believed to be a plot against Clapp’s life and the involvement of others after the killing.
March 27
Cameron Romero Graves allegedly tells one person he plans to kill Clapp for stealing drugs.
March 28, 4:21 p.m.
Last time Clapp is seen by family members, leaving with a man in a blue Nissan SUV.
March 29
Clapp’s body is found in a yard of an abandoned home on the 300 block of Louis Graham Road in northern Alamance County but can’t be identified. The body is shot and burned.
March 30
The medical examiner determines ClappÂ’s death was caused by shotgun blasts to the back and abdomen at close range.
April 4
Body identified as Kenneth Joel Clapp, 47, of Ivey Road, Graham, by reconstructing receipt found in pants pocket.
April 10
8:50 p.m. — Search of 325 Hall Ave. Investigators collect kitchen tile, vinyl flooring and carpet “containing the blood path” where body was dragged from the kitchen to the back door.
April 11
Cameron Romero Graves charged with first-degree murder after being picked out of lineup as man allegedly heard bragging about killing Clapp.
April 18
Search of Ebony Nyiesha Franklin’s 2000 Ford Taurus. She is Graves’ girlfriend. Officers seize a “toy guitar containing blood” and a “pair of black Nike shoes containing blood” from the trunk.
April 19
Franklin says she was at 325 Hall Ave. when Clapp was killed. She says Marteese Rasheed Martin, lured Clapp to the home and left after the murder. Also says Solomon Gerard Tate and his girlfriend, Sacorya Kateka Spinks, came to the home to help transport the body.
Marteese Martin charged with first-degree murder.
Tate, charged with accessory after the fact of first-degree murder, arrested by Greensboro police.
April 23
Search of Phillip TateÂ’s home at 1016 Benbow Road, Greensboro, yields shotgun believed to be the murder weapon. Phillip Tate is Solomon Tate’s father.
Phillip Tate charged with accessory after the fact of murder.
June 27
Franklin charged with accessory after the fact of first-degree murder.
July 18
Spinks charged with accessory after the fact of first-degree murder, arrested by High Point police.
Sept. 9
Alamance County District Attorney’s Office announces it will try Graves for capital murder. Still determining whether it will pursue the death penalty for Martin.
http://www.thetimesnews.com/20130921...ital/309219884
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