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Thread: Demarcus Ivey Gets Life In Prison in 2009 NC Murder of Adrian Youngblood

  1. #1
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    Demarcus Ivey Gets Life In Prison in 2009 NC Murder of Adrian Youngblood





    Charlotte death-penalty case goes to jury


    By MICHAEL GORDON
    The Charlotte Observer

    Demarcus Ivey's freedom --- and perhaps his life --- hinges on whether a Mecklenburg County jury believes he is the hooded gunman in a grainy 2009 video, pausing at the door of the Charlotte strip club he has just robbed to fatally shoot a man kneeling on the floor.

    Adrian Youngblood, 25, died almost instantly at Club Nikki's on Little Rock Road.

    On Tuesday, seven men and five women began deliberating whether to hold Ivey accountable for the Sept. 10, 2009, killing. If convicted, the 33-year-old Charlotte man and career criminal faces a possible death sentence.

    Lawyers began picking a jury within days of the fifth anniversary of Youngblood's death. After more than two months in the courtroom, Ivey's attorneys told the jurors on Tuesday that the prosecution had not proved their case.

    Grady Jessup and Norman Butler argued that the weeks of evidence fell on their client's side. They said no witnesses had identified Ivey as the gunman at the robbery. They said police botched the DNA testing, never tested Ivey for any gunshot residue nor produced any weapon linking their client to the crime.

    Butler told the jurors that Assistant District Attorneys Bill Stetzer and Bill Bunting "want to take you for a ride."

    "They want you to do what they can't do --- to figure out this case because they can't. ... It's one thing to imagine what happened. But that's not what the law tells us to do. They don't know what happened. They don't know who did this."

    During his final remarks, which stretched out over two days, Jessup picked up a Bible by the witness stand and tapped on it to emphasize what he described as the lack of sworn testimony incriminating his client.

    He said the evidence presented falls far short of what is needed to send Ivey to prison for the rest of his life or even to death row.

    "Make the state prove its case," Jessup said, his voice climbing to a roar. "Hold them to that burden of proof. Make them follow the law."

    Given the final say with the jurors, Stetzer focused on what he described as the stubbornness of facts. Follow them, the prosecutor said, as he strode across the courtroom to where Ivey sat, and they lead to one person and one conclusion: Demarcus Ivey shot and killed a helpless man. Stetzer described it as a "sport killing."

    The centerpiece of Stetzer's 90-minute closing was a compilation surveillance video from Club Nikki's. It opens with two men driving up to the club in a Ford pickup. Stetzer said the driver was Kevin Bishop, now serving a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder in connection with the case. His passenger wears a dark gray sweatshirt. That's Ivey, Stetzer said.

    Inside the club, the video shows the two gunmen ordering about a dozen of the club's patrons, dancers and staff on the floor. The robbers go group to group, taking cash, cellphones, jewelry and other items.

    As they leave, the man in the dark sweatshirt stops by Youngblood and rips something off the back of his neck. He steps to the doorway and then looks back into the club. Then he fires his handgun directly down at Youngblood, who crumples to the floor.

    At 2 p.m. that day, police began chasing a Ford pickup up Interstate 85. The truck crashed shortly after exiting onto Beatties Ford Road. Two men fled. Bishop and Ivey were arrested nearby.

    Inside the truck, police found loot taken from Club Nikki's, Stetzer said. They also found a dark gray sweatshirt on the passenger side.

    Tests later revealed that it carried Ivey's DNA.

    The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon. The case will then be on break until Monday.

    If they find Ivey guilty, the jurors will begin a sentencing trial to decide whether Ivey should be sent to prison for the rest of his life or placed on death row.

    http://www.thestate.com/2014/11/25/3...#storylink=cpy

  2. #2
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Mistrial declared in Charlotte capital murder case

    After a trial lasting more than two months, a jury deadlocked Tuesday and a mistrial was declared in the capital murder case against Demarcus Ivey.

    Ivey was accused of shooting 25-year-old Adrian Youngblood during a 2009 robbery at a strip club on Little Rock Road. His freedom depended on whether a Mecklenburg jury believed he was the hooded gunman in a grainy, black-and-white video from the club.

    Ivey, 33, faced a possible death sentence if convicted. After the mistrial, he remained in the Mecklenburg jail with no bond, still charged with murder. Prosecutors declined to comment and have not said whether they will seek a new trial.

    On Tuesday afternoon, the jury of seven men and five women sent a note to Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin, saying they couldn’t reach the required unanimous verdict.

    The mistrial hinged on one juror, Jacqueline McCain, who said in a note to the judge that she felt Ivey was innocent.

    For about an hour, Judge Ervin listened to prosecutors and defense attorneys debate whether to clarify the law for jurors or give them more time to help them come to a unanimous decision.

    Norman Butler, one of Ivey’s defense attorneys, argued that such a move could be seen as coercive.

    “This lady has the ability to consider fairly what she heard,” Butler told the judge. “And she’s done that to her satisfaction and to ask her now what further do you need or is there anything else that we can do for you to try to get you to change your position seems coercive.”

    Ervin polled the jurors, asking if they believed they could agree on a verdict if given more time. When they indicated they couldn’t, he declared a mistrial.

    Afterward, outside the courtroom, McCain approached Butler and said her conscience would not allow her to vote guilty.

    “I thanked the judge for not making me do something I didn’t want to do,” McCain told the Observer. “I did not believe that man was guilty.”

    McCain did not expound on why she believes Ivey wasn’t guilty. She said she was the only holdout.

    Butler said he couldn’t remember ever having a mistrial declared, but he said the result was a “testament of a trial by jury.”

    “Different people can look at the same evidence and draw a different conclusion,” Butler said. “And that’s OK, even though it may be different from their fellow jurors.”

    During closing arguments last week, Ivey’s lawyers told jurors that the prosecution had not proved their case. Butler and Grady Jessup argued that the weeks of evidence turned up no witnesses who identified Ivey as the gunman at the robbery. The defense team argued that police botched DNA testing, never tested Ivey for gunshot residue and did not produce a gun linking him to the crime.

    In his closing arguments, prosecutor Bill Stetzer said the facts led to a logical conclusion that Ivey shot and killed a helpless man. Stetzer described it as a “sport killing.”

    The centerpiece of Stetzer’s 90-minute closing was a compilation surveillance video from Club Nikki’s. It opens with two men driving up to the club in a Ford pickup. Stetzer said the driver was Kevin Bishop, now serving a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder in connection with the case. His passenger wears a dark gray sweatshirt.

    Inside the club, the video shows the two gunmen ordering about a dozen of the club’s patrons, dancers and staff on the floor. The robbers go group to group, taking cash, cell phones, jewelry and other items.

    As they leave, the man in the dark gray sweatshirt stops by Youngblood and rips something off the back of his neck. He steps to the doorway and then looks back into the club. Then he fires his handgun directly down at Youngblood, who crumples to the floor.

    Later that day, police began chasing a Ford truck on Interstate 85. The truck crashed shortly after exiting onto Beatties Ford Road. Two men fled. Bishop and Ivey were arrested nearby.

    Inside the truck, police found loot taken from Club Nikki’s, Stetzer said. They also found a dark gray sweatshirt on the passenger side.

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...#storylink=cpy
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    Juror who caused Ivey mistrial: I want to know without a doubt

    Could you stand up to eleven fellow jurors who disagree with you and say "I believe he's innocent?" That's what a Charlotte woman did in a capital murder trial that ended Tuesday. The judge declared a mistrial in the Demarcus Ivey case, who is accused of killing Adrian Youngblood at a strip club in 2009.

    The district attorney's office said Wednesday it has decided to retry the case. Jacqueline McCain, the juror who thought he was innocent, says she'll pray for that new group of jurors.

    "I pray for them and pray for everybody that even has to go through this even as the next people have to go through. You just have to pray. That's all I can do, because prayer can go where I can't,” McCain said.

    Demarcus Ivey is still behind bars. He will have to await his next trial, which has not been rescheduled yet.

    Police say Ivey shot and killed Adrian Youngblood at Club Nikki's on Little Rock Road in 2009. If he is found guilty, he could face the death penalty.

    “That's deep, somebody's life. If it was me, I would want somebody like me, you know, to just be there because - one hundred percent - totally, totally, I had to be convinced. I just wasn't,” McCain said.

    McCain says she was picked to sit on the jury for the capital murder case back in September. She started hearing testimony at the beginning of November.

    The Charlotte Observer attended part of the trial and reported prosecutors showed surveillance video of Youngblood being shot by a man in a gray hooded sweatshirt.

    “I couldn't see him, and that's a very big part for me before I make a big decision. I want to know without a doubt,” McCain said.

    She says the deliberations lasted for a while. “We were supposed to convince each other. So, it worked both ways. They listened, I listened,” McCain said.

    Finally, she sent a note to Judge Ervin and spoke with him, saying that she couldn't be swayed and the judge declared a mistrial.

    “I just pray the best works out for him because I believe it wasn't him,” McCain said.

    McCain said she did not see Adrian Youngblood's family's reaction to the mistrial announcement because the jury was in another room. She said she prays for them.

    The other jurors on the case did not comment because the court has not released a list with their names.

    McCain said she only knows their first names.

    http://www.wbtv.com/story/27541774/j...ithout-a-doubt
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    Capital murder case to be retried, Mecklenburg prosecutors announce

    By Joe Marusak and Cleve R. Woodson, Jr.
    The Charlotte Observer

    Mecklenburg prosecutors will retry the capital murder case against Damarcus Ivey, after a jury deadlocked Tuesday and a mistrial was declared.

    Ivey is accused of shooting Adrian Youngblood, 25, during a 2009 robbery at a strip club on Little Rock Road. His freedom depended on whether a Mecklenburg jury believed he was the hooded gunman in a grainy, black-and-white video from the club.

    Ivey, 33, faced a possible death sentence if convicted. After the mistrial, he remained in the Mecklenburg jail with no bond, still charged with murder.

    A trial date has yet to be set, as prosecutors must work to reschedule the case at an appropriate time in the courts’ trial calendar, the Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.

    “As the matter remains a pending case, prosecutors’ ethical obligations prevent them from commenting further at this time,” the statement said.

    On Tuesday afternoon, the jury of seven men and five women sent a note to Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin saying they couldn’t reach the required unanimous verdict.

    The mistrial hinged on one juror, Jacqueline McCain, who said in a note to the judge that she felt Ivey was innocent.

    For about an hour, Ervin listened to prosecutors and defense attorneys debate whether to clarify the law for jurors or give them more time to help them come to a unanimous decision.Norman Butler, one of Ivey’s defense attorneys, argued that such a move could be seen as coercive.

    Ervin polled the jurors, asking if they believed they could agree on a verdict if given more time. When they indicated they couldn’t, he declared a mistrial.

    Afterward, outside the courtroom, McCain approached Butler and said her conscience would not allow her to vote guilty.

    “I thanked the judge for not making me do something I didn’t want to do,” McCain told the Observer. “I did not believe that man was guilty.”

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...l#.VIDfGn_pvjI


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    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
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    Prosecutors drop death penalty in Ivey retrial

    Demarcus Ivey goes back on trial in a year, but this time it won't be for his life.

    Prosecutors announced Thursday that next February, Ivey again will be tried for the 2009 shooting death of Adrian Youngblood during the robbery of a west Charlotte strip club.

    One big change: The District Attorney's Office won't be seeking the death penalty, and it won't say why.

    Following a brief hearing Thursday in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, Assistant District Attorney Bill Stetzer declined to comment on why prosecutors won't try Ivey as a capital case.

    Stetzer, head of his office's homicide team and a co-prosecutor in Ivey's trial last fall, cited professional rules that block prosecutors from commenting on ongoing cases.

    Ivey's first trial last 11 weeks. It ended in a mistrial when one juror, Jacqueline McCain, refused to convict.

    Norman Butler, Ivey's defense attorney, called the decision to drop the death penalty a significant step for his client.

    "When you're defending someone for their life, and anytime that's removed, it's a big relief," Butler said. "But it does not remove the challenge of a life sentence."

    Members of Youngblood's family could not be reached Thursday.

    If Ivey is found guilty of first-degree murder, he'd receive a mandatory life sentence without parole.

    In capital cases, jurors first decide guilt or innocence. They then hold a sentencing trial before choosing between life without parole and death.

    Death-penalty cases are decreasing across the country as well as in Charlotte and North Carolina. The trials are lengthy, expensive and predictably lead to years of appeals.

    The state has been under a veritable moratorium on capital cases since a series of 2006 lawsuits challenged the fairness and humanity of state-sponsored executions. North Carolina put one person on death row in 2013. Last year, they added three more.

    Mecklenburg District Attorney Andrew Murray says his office handles dozens of first-degree murder cases annually but reserves the death penalty for crimes "that shock the community."

    Mecklenburg, the state's largest county, now has one capital case on its 2015 calendar. That's the trial of Linny Barcliff, accused of the 2011 slayings of a 4-year-old girl and her parents.

    The county's prosecutors held one death-penalty trial in 2013 and two last year. Two of those three cases led to convictions, with juries in both opting for life sentences rather than death row.

    Eleven jurors were willing to convict Ivey last year. Cain blocked them during several days of deliberations, leading to the mistrial being declared on Dec. 2.

    "Ms. McCain's decision was based on reasonable doubt," Butler said. "She clearly would not and could not convict him."

    New trial, new jurors


    The Sept. 10, 2009, afternoon robbery of Club Nikki's is caught on camera.

    Surveillance videos show two gunmen in sweatshirts --- police identified them as Ivey and Kevin Bishop --- ordering the club's staff, patrons and dancers to get on the floor.

    The video also shows that one of the gunmen, wearing a dark sweatshirt, stepped back into the club on his way out the door to shoot Youngblood from close range. In his closing arguments to Ivey's first jury, Stetzer described the shooting as a "sport killing."

    After a chase in both car and on foot, Bishop and Ivey were captured a few miles away, police say. Loot from the club was found in their truck, as was a dark sweatshirt.

    During the first trial, prosecutors offered DNA evidence, which they said indisputably linked Ivey to the crime.

    Butler and co-counsel Grady Jessup, though, argued that police botched the DNA testing and never produced witnesses or a weapon that proved Ivey's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

    During deliberations, McCain sent a note to the judge. She said she believed that Ivey, an habitual felon with a long history of violent crime, was innocent.

    Eleven months from now, prosecutors will choose a new jury and try again.

    http://www.thestate.com/2015/03/05/4...#storylink=cpy
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Defendant in killing at Club Nikki’s now faces federal charges

    A Charlotte man facing a second trial this year in connection with a 2009 shooting death at Club Nikki’s now faces federal charges in the case.

    A federal grand jury in Charlotte this week returned a two-count indictment charging Demarcus Ivey, 34, with Hobbs Act robbery and use of a firearm during a crime resulting in death, acting U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose said Wednesday.

    “Given the factors and circumstances of this case, Ivey’s federal prosecution will best meet the ends of justice,” Rose said in a news release.

    In 2009, Ivey was charged with murder in the death of Adrian Youngblood, who was fatally shot during a robbery at Club Nikki’s, a west Charlotte strip club. Youngblood was a patron at the club, police have said. But an 11-week trial on capital-murder charges ended in a mistrial last year when one juror refused to convict Ivey in Youngblood’s death.

    Mecklenburg prosecutors announced they would retry Ivey, but won’t seek the death penalty this time. If Ivey is found guilty of first-degree murder, he’d receive a mandatory life sentence without parole.

    Contacted Wednesday morning, Assistant District Attorney Bill Stetzer, head of District Attorney Andrew Murray’s homicide team, said his office “will coordinate with federal prosecutors regarding the disposition of the state charges pending the outcome in Ivey's federal prosecution.”

    Murray joined Rose and other federal and local officials in announcing the new federal charges.

    Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said the indictment “sends a very strong message to those who engage in violent criminal activity.

    “The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and our partner agencies will continue to be steadfast in our focus to keep the community safe,” Putney said in the news release from the U.S. District Attorney.

    The federal robbery offense carries a maximum 20 years in prison. The firearms charge carries up to life in prison.

    Ivey was in the Mecklenburg County jail early Wednesday. He will be transferred to the custody of U.S. marshals to appear in court on the federal charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...e40579113.html

  7. #7
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    April 4, 2017

    Man convicted in west Charlotte club killing

    By Blaine Tolison
    WSOC

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Prosecutors got the conviction they've been seeking for eight years after a violent robbery and murder in west Charlotte.

    A trial for one of the two men involved wrapped up in federal court Tuesday.

    U.S. Attorney Jill Rose announced the conviction of Demarcus Ivey, who she said robbed patrons and shot two people, killing one of them.

    "Certainly, that's a dangerous person, a person who doesn't value human life, doesn't value others," Rose said.

    It took two trials to get a conviction in the case.

    The first trial in 2014 ended in a mistrial when jurors could not come to a conclusion, despite state prosecutors having strong evidence.

    "It was a real tragedy because they spent several months trying the case," Rose said.

    Prosecutors say they had surveillance video inside Club Nikki showing Ivey and his accomplice going in during broad daylight, robbing everyone inside, including the dancers, then shooting and killing Adrian Youngblood.

    Ivey and Kevin Bishop took off in a car and led police on a short chase down Beatties Ford Road before crashing.

    Ivey was facing the death penalty before his first trial ended in a hung jury.

    "There were certainly other factors that were not disclosed to the court, which affected that juror's ability to be a fair and impartial juror," Rose said.

    Rose worked with state prosecutors retry the case at the federal level.

    She said it was important to the community to find justice in this high-profile case.

    Rose says Ivey, who is awaiting his sentence, is facing up to life in federal prison without parole.

    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/wsoct...ling/509110331

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    April 17, 2018

    Man Convicted In 2009 Charlotte Robbery, Murder Case Sentenced To Life In Prison

    By Justin Pryor
    wccbcharlotte.com

    CHARLOTTE, NC — A Charlotte man who was convicted last year on murder and robbery charges related to a 2009 incident at a club in west Charlotte will spend the rest of his life in prison.

    Demarcus Donte Ivey, 35, was sentenced Tuesday by a federal judge. He was convicted in April 2017 of Hobbs Act Robbery and committing murder while using and possessing a firearm during and in furtherance of the robbery, according to a release.

    The incident happened at Club Nikki’s on Little Rock Road on September 9, 2009. Officials say Ivey and another man, Kevin Bishop, robbed patrons and staff at gunpoint after ordering them all to get on the floor. While taking items from the victims, investigators say Ivey shot and killed a man.

    Ivey and Bishop took off in an F-150, but were quickly located by CMPD. Officers chased the pair until they crashed the truck and attempted to run on foot. The men were arrested and officers say they found items from the robbery inside the vehicle.

    Bishop was convicted on state charges in 2014, and was currently serving a sentence of 16-20 years for his role in the robbery.

    http://www.wccbcharlotte.com/2018/04...y-murder-case/

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