Man Who Calls Self ‘Anti-Christ’ Gets 666 Months in Prison for Sex Assaults

From WBTV.com – June 30, 2011

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – A man who was on trial this week for sexually assaulting two girls, and who also called himself the “Anti-Christ”, was found guilty of all six charges.

Christopher Guy was charged with sexually touching two young girls, ages 8 and 9. He represented himself during the four-day trial which began on Monday.

 

 

The jury announced its verdict Thursday afternoon finding Guy guilty on all six charges including three counts of indecent liberties with a child, two counts of first-degree sex offense, and one count of attempted first-degree sexual offense. They deliberated for an hour an a half.

Guy was sentenced to 55 1/2 years in prison, which is 666 months, according to an assistant district attorney.

Once the verdict was read, the mother of one of the victims addressed the courtroom.

First, she thanked the jury. She then said she hoped Guy receives the help he needs, and that it will take time for her forgive him. She also said she was happy with the sentence.

Guy maintained his innocence, but he apologized to his family as well as the families of the two victims.

Earlier in the day, Guy told the court there was no evidence to prove the young girls’ claims of abuse. 

Guy said he lost everything important to him because of the allegations, and that he is a good-hearted person who loves everyone and never lies.

But prosecutors told the court the victims had no reason to lie about the abuse. They said Guy fondled the girls during a sleepover where he tried to make them perform oral sex.

The prosecution went on to say that Guy was the only person to gain anything from lying.

On Wednesday, Guy took the stand in his own defense and put himself up for cross-examination by prosecutors.

“I have no regrets,” said Guy. “I promise you though, I didn’t do it. I’ll say it again. I didn’t do it.”

He started his testimony by saying he always tried to be a good person. He said the girls had the wrong version of events.

During cross-examination, prosecutors also brought up a letter Guy wrote to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office in which he claimed to be the “Anti-Christ.” The letter, however, was stricken from the record.

During a special hearing, Judge Jesse Caldwell read a portion of the letter to decide whether the jury could hear anymore. The letter stated that Guy was “omniscient” and that “they were playing with the wrong one.”

Caldwell said the letter would not be allowed in court.

An 11-year-old girl testified Tuesday about the alleged abuse. She had to answer Guy’s questions during cross-examination.

The girl walked into court and did not even look at Guy. She handled questions from prosecutor Leslie Cooley very well, until Cooley asked her to get specific about the abuse.

The girl struggled for words. She looked up and down before crying.

Judge Caldwell called for a recess while Cooley and prosecutor Tim Sielaff tried to comfort the girl and help her to continue.

During cross examination, Guy asked the girl about their relationship and whether she had ever been harmed by him before.

The line of questioning and her answers seemed to demonstrate Guy still had a grip over her, and that she still cared about her alleged abuser.

Jury selection finished Monday. The prosecution team questioned potential jurors for more than an hour, but Guy told the judge he was happy with the jury and had no questions.

During opening statements, prosecutor Cooley told the jury that Guy stole a child’s innocence during a Memorial Day sleepover. She woke to find Guy fondling her. She cried and told her family, who reported the case to police.

At that point, the second young girl came forward and reported she had been molested by Guy as well.

During opening statements, Guy said anyone who would commit such crimes deserved the electric chair. However, he claimed he was innocent.

He said the first alleged victim was upset with him for trying to correct her potentially promiscuous behavior. He told the jury any evidence against him was speculation.

CMPD Charges 2 in Fight at ‘Girls Gone Wild’ High School Grad Party

By Jeff Rivenbark, Web Content Producer / WBTV.com – June 29, 2011

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – Two people were arrested after a massive fight broke out at a high school graduation party in northeast Charlotte.

The party was held Friday, June 17, at the Shriners Temple located at 604 Doug Mayes Place in the University City area.

According to the police report, a promoter leased the venue to host the ‘Girls Gone Wild’ high school graduation party. Juveniles and young adults were invited to attend the party.

Around 12:16 a.m. on Saturday, a fight broke out between a group of patrons outside the facility.

The police report says security staff tried to break up the fight.

When police officers arrived, they charged two people with Assault and Battery/Affray.  

One of the suspects is 17-year-old Richard Ray Hunter. He was taken to the Mecklenburg County Jail and received a $2,000 secured bond. 

Richard Hunter (Photo courtesy of the Mecklenburg County Jail)

Police were unable to tell us the name of the second person arrested.

CMPD Arrests 3 Men For Shooting Man Who Died After Being Dropped Off at Hospital

  By Kristin Cronenberger, Producer – June 30, 2011

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – Police have arrested three people for allegedly shooting a man during a drug deal who later died after being dropped off at a hospital in northeast Charlotte late Tuesday night.

The CMPD said Sigbay Mulbah, 32, went to the 5400 block of Pin Oak Circle in east Charlotte to sell drugs to three men.

Ramses Arthur Malloy Ratcliff, 28, Kevin Dewayne King, 20, and his brother Brandon Gregory King, 23, intended to rob Mulbah of his drugs and money, police say.

 

Kevin DeWayne King, Brandon Gregory King and Ramses Arthur Malloy Ratcliff (Photos courtesy of the CMPD).

Investigators said Mulbah ran from the three men during the attempted robbery and the trio began shooting at Mulbah, hitting him in the femoral artery.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Mulbah was dropped off at Carolinas Medical Center-University around 9 p.m. by his brother.

According to the CMPD, Mulbah was rushed into the emergency room and died from his injuries at 9:49 p.m.

Police say there are no charged pending around Mulbah’s brother and this case remains an open investigation.

If you have any information about this incident, call 704-432-TIPS or Crimestoppers at 704-334-1600.

Charlotte Has a Serious Heroin Problem!

People are dying; “They are mostly young.. they are white. They are affluent. They are intelligent and many of them believe that they are too smart to get addicted,” says Dr. Paul Friday of UNC Charlotte’s Criminal Justice Department.

From WBTV.com By Jeff Atkinson, Reporter – June 29, 2011

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – New information about that string of stick ups at local tanning salons and cell phone stores.  The suspects may have done it for the drug money.

Police say Kristie Welch is the common denominator in a whole slew of robberies.  Police say she was in cahoots with Charlsy Honeycutt and Bryan Gale.

Charlotte’s Heroin Problem

Welch has a seriously deep rap sheet.  And a lot of her arrests are drug related – heroin possession.  It’s a highly addictive drug of choice for a lot of desperate criminals.

In fact, Charlotte’s got a serious heroin problem.  Dealers are slinging black tar in our streets.  Police say kids are tying off behind the mall.

The junk is not particularly expensive, dangerously addictive and sometimes deadly.

People are dying.  And today police are talking about it.  It’s been a problem for awhile but it’s now getting front-and-center attention among our elected leaders.

Charlotte is one of the five worst cities in the nation for black tar heroin, which surprises many people.  Also surprising is where the drug is taking hold.

It was a bombshell dropped Monday night.

“The best way to hit this thing head on would be to get folks to stop buying it.”

Black tar heroin.. found in balloons.  Stuffed in cheese.  Heated on a spoon.  The most potent, the most widely distributed heroin in the U.S.  And the least expensive, which accounts for its popularity among suburbanites in their teens and 20s.

“They are mostly young.. they are white. They are affluent. They are intelligent and many of them believe that they are too smart to get addicted,” says Dr. Paul Friday of UNC Charlotte’s Criminal Justice Department.

They are getting addicted.  And they’re showing up in the majority of cases at Substance Abuse Services and other drug treatment centers.

In Charlotte at least 23 overdoses have been linked to BTH in the first six months of the year.  The victims are all Caucasians, five people have died.

Black tar heroin is coming here from western Mexico – run here by cartels – a marketing and distribution plan that rivals Fortune 500 companies.  In Charlotte they have an extensive support network.

The heroin comes in from Mexico.  The organization uses a local “dispatch” system.  Buyers call a phone number and a dispatcher directs the buyer to a location.  A “runner” then meets the buyer and conduct the transaction.

Sometimes it’s behind shopping malls.  Sometimes it’s neighborhood streets.

“Areas that seem to suffer from heroin sales and distribution seem to be the same areas that have those property crime spikes,” says Major. Glen Neimeyer of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The link to drugs and crime is undeniable.  Recent numbers indicate 67 percent of those processed into the Mecklenburg Jail test positive for at least one drug.  15-percent test positive for two or more drugs at the time of their arrest.

“Addiction is something that continues to hurt our society. We’ll continue to address the associated criminal behavior that goes along with that addiction,” says CMPD Chief Rodney Monroe.

Police say they’re tightening their grip on BTH dealers and uses.  Because it’s use is so high here the city’s been awarded more than 223 thousand dollars in federal grants to get at the problem.

“We’re attacking this on every level of the organization,” says Neimeyer.

With the federal grant  the city’s bought equipment to do wiretapping.  They’re listening in on the cartels operating in Mexico and here.  The money is also paying for overtime for police and informants.

Why are we such a hotbed for black tar heroin?

There are several reasons.  Law enforcement officials tell us there’s less competition inside the drug trade here than in the nation’s biggest cities.

And being at a crossroads of two major interstates provides for a so-called “hub” effect for drug transporters.

To watch a video report on this subject use the link below:

http://www.wbtv.com/story/14993292/cover-story-charlotte-5-in-black-tar-heroin

Hundreds of CMPD Officers Will Be Out for 4th of July

By TONY BURBECK / NewsChannel 36 – http://www.wcnc.com June 29, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Expect hundreds of police officers and volunteers in uptown Monday for 4th of July security.

Police expect more than 100,000 people.

What city leaders don’t want is a repeat of what happened Memorial Day when thousands milled around, crowded streets and sidewalks and some got in trouble.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said “it’s just a place to be,” about why so many young people come uptown on holidays.

Most just hang out.

Some cause trouble and get into fights and others violate curfew.

“It only takes one that may go out to seek to do something that’s not appropriate,” Monroe said.

Wednesday, city leaders outlined their 4th of July security plan, hoping to avoid a repeat of past holidays.

The plan includes hundreds of police officers, although Monroe won’t say how many.
Focus areas will be the Transit Center. If you’re not riding, you’re leaving.

Another focus area will be the route from fireworks at Memorial Stadium to uptown.

The square at Trade and Tryon will be police-heavy. College Street with its bars and restaurants is a focus area too.

“It will be all about keeping vehicle traffic moving and pedestrian traffic moving,” Monroe said.

Monroe said if people don’t comply it is possible they will be charged with loitering.
“We’re not looking to arrest our way through this. We’re looking to manage the crowd,” Monroe said.

Video cameras like the one that caught the Memorial Day melee will be used as well.

Police will also monitor the crowd in sky towers. Troublemakers will be removed from the crowd.

“This weekend we have an enormous opportunity to show we can do this in a safe and fun way,” said Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.

If it doesn’t work, it will remain a reason why some families say they won’t come uptown on holidays.

The Charlotte Area Transit System will have extra buses operating Monday and more frequent light rail trips to handle the crowds.

Restaurants at the Transit Center will close at nine to keep people from loitering.

A newly-formed group called “Men Who Care Global” is hoping to have 500 volunteers out here in orange T-shirts, simply providing a presence, giving an example of how to act in a crowd and offering young men information about school and careers.

CMPD Looking for Suspect Who Fired Shots into Church

June 29, 2011 From http://www.ten8.wordpress.com

By GLENN COUNTS / NewsChannel 36 – www.wcnc.com

June 29, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C – Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are trying to find the person who shot into a West Charlotte church Tuesday just before 11:30 in the morning.

The incident happened on Campus Street at the Gethsemane AME Zion Church.

35 people were inside at the time of the incident, most of them senior citizens.

“It went through the hall through two doors it shot through the window”, said a 79 year old woman who did not want to be identified.

She was in the church at the time participating in the senior lunch program.

“I heard a loud noise, but I thought something fell in the fellowship hall. What did it sound like? It was like a pop, it was a loud pop.”

No one was injured, but officers said the path of the bullet was close enough to some people that a few feet made a difference.

The 89 year old father of Janice Morris was in the church. She was stunned by the news.

“The picture that came to mind was him walking through the door and going down. It could have been him.”

Police are trying to determine who fired the shot and why, but they have not been able to make an arrest.

“They should put him away I think so he won’t shoot through nothing else”, said the 79 year old.

Police believe this was a stray bullet, because they have not been able to find anyone who was outside and saw or heard anything.

They said it was not a rifle round, but something that came from a large caliber handgun.

Alert Resident Helps CMPD Catch Teen Breaking into Southeast Charlotte home

By Jeff Rivenbark, Web Content Producer / June 28, 2011

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – Police say an alert resident tipped them off to a burglary in progress in southeast Charlotte Monday morning which resulted in an arrest.

Denzell Devon Flowers (Photo courtesy of the Mecklenburg County Jail)

Around 10:30 a.m., a resident in the 1100 block of Nancy Drive reported seeing a suspicious person enter a neighbor’s backyard.

When police arrived, they established a perimeter and knocked on the door of the home to identify themselves. A short time later, a teen jumped from a window and ran.

Police chased the teen for about one block before apprehending him. The witness who called 911 positively identified the teen as the person who entered the home.

When police searched the teen, they recovered jewelry and other property taken from the victim’s home.

Denzell Devon Flowers, 19, was charged with Breaking and Entering, Felony Larceny, and Resisting Arrest.

There was another burglary on this same street Tuesday, May 31. In that case, the suspect entered an unlocked door and walked away with several electronics.

If you have any information about either of these cases, call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

South Carolina Couple Shot At, Robbed in Charlotte

By RICHARD DEVAYNE / NewsChannel 36 – www.wcnc.com

June 28, 2011

YORK, S.C. — David Mathis borrowed a late model white Cadillac from a friend late Sunday night to drive to Charlotte to pick up his girlfriend from her job as an exotic dancer in Charlotte.

Mathis said his girlfriend Brittany Sandefur works at the Uptown Cabaret.  Mathis said he arrived at the club around 1:30 a.m. Monday to pick her up as he had done many times before.

He said that someone may have been watching him and figured that he was a perfect target for robbery.

“They saw the car and thought we had some money,” Mathis said.

After picking up Sandefur, they drove back toward York, S.C. Mathis said he stopped twice on the way. The first stop was to get gas at a service station in Lake Wylie on Highway 49.
They made another stop at a fast food restaurant.

Then Mathis said he did something unplanned, which might have saved his life. He drove to his mother’s house in Charlotte instead of heading home.

“I don’t know why.” Mathis said.  “But I just did.” 

When Mathis pulled up to the front yard, he noticed a truck pulling up behind him. A man got out of the truck, walked up to Mathis and asked for directions.

“He said, ‘Man do you know how to get back to South Tryon?’  Then he said, he said ‘Bro I ain’t going to lie.  This is a jack.’ And he pulled a gun on me so I just froze,” Mathis said.
 
A woman and another man got out of the F-150 and walked to Mathis’ car. The man pointed a gun at Mathis demanding cash. Mathis gave the man his wallet, and cell phone, but this did not satisfy the crooks who then asked about Sandefur.

Mathis said the woman with the two men went over to the car and demanded money from her. 
Then the man with the gun said to the robber closest to Mathis to get a rope to tie the couple up.

“He said get the stuff to tie him up and put them in the truck,” Mathis said.
 
Fearing that the three crooks could take them somewhere secluded and rob, shoot, and kill them, Mathis said he heard a voice tell him to run. When the man closet to him turned to walk toward the truck, he took off.
 
“I just know I had to do something to save my girlfriend and myself,” Mathis said.  “I wanted to get into my mother’s house for help.”
 
Mathis was able to make it inside as the man with the gun shot at him. Mathis’ brother and brother–in-law came out to help just as the crooks jumped in the truck and drove away.

At first, they drove the wrong way down a one way street.  Then they fired into the air as they backed up and finally left the area.

Mathis said had he gone to his home in York, he and his girlfriend could have wound up dead.
 
“When he said he was going to tie us up and put us in the truck I didn’t know if he was going to take us off kill us or do what,” Mathis said.
 
Police have a description of the truck and the three robbers and are looking at surveillance video from the gas station and fast food restaurant to get more details from the robbers.

 To see a video about this incident use the link below:

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/South-Carolina-couple-robbed-at-gunpoint-124672394.html

Woman Assaulted, Abducted From Davidson, NC Street in Broad Daylight

By Courtney Ridenhour / Charlotte Observer – Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Davidson police are seeking information in the assault and apparent abduction of a woman this morning.

The incident occurred at about 10 a.m. as a woman walked in front of the Davidson United Methodist Church Youth Center on South Main Street, a witness told police. A man drove up next to the woman and yelled at her, asking where she was going.

The woman told the man to leave her alone and screamed for someone to call the police. The two scuffled and the man hit the woman, knocking her down. He then dragged her, resisting, into the car and sped off.

Police said the thin, balding white man was in his 50s, while the blonde woman was in her late 40s or early 50s and wearing shorts. The car was a red, four-door Pontiac.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Davidson Police Department at 704-892-5131.

Suspects Held in Brazen String of Charlotte Store Robberies

By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. / Charlotte Observer of June 28, 2011

Several things about the robberies struck police as unusual – they happened during the day, in high-traffic areas and in parts of town that often see little crime.

And at the center of the month long spree – a 34-year-old woman who kept a gun tucked in her waistband.

As Kristie Welch waited before being taken to jail Sunday, a reporter asked what motivated her to allegedly take part in a string of more than a dozen robberies that captivated the Charlotte area over the past month.

“Heroin,” she said. “I would never hurt nobody. I have a drug problem.”

Police believe Welch was involved in 13 robberies – mostly of cell phone stores in Charlotte and surrounding towns. Her boyfriend, Brian Gale, has been charged with 12 of the robberies, and Charlsy Huneycutt has also been charged in some of the cell phone store robberies.

All three were in Mecklenburg jail late Monday.

Police say Welch would often walk into the businesses, pretend to be on a cell phone call, display the gun in her waistband and demand cash.

In a surveillance video, a woman police identified as Welch reaches over the counter to grab money at a cell phone store. Two of the robberies happened less than a half-hour apart last week.

“She’s certainly brazen,” said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Sgt. Brian Scharf, one of more than 20 officers working to track the robbers. “Just the mere fact of how calm she is and how she does it – in the middle of the day, evening hours, there’s a lot of traffic, people coming home from work.”

Police believe the string of robberies started on June 5, when they say Gale walked into the Dilworth Tanning Spa, showed a gun and walked out with a stack of bills.

Police began making connections as the number of robberies piled up – a snow-cone store on Idlewild Road on July 6, a dry cleaning business on Kenilworth Avenue less than a week later and a Dunkin Donuts on Albemarle Road last week.

But police say Welch’s specialty was the cell phone stores, and they sent pictures of her to the media. On Sunday, Welch was the top story on several television news broadcasts. A tipster provided a pivotal lead, Scharf said.

By last weekend, six armed robbery detectives, two detectives from the cyber crimes unit, three vice detectives and nearly a dozen members of the violent criminal apprehension team were closing in on Welch.

She was arrested late Sunday and questioned by police.

There, Scharf says, she confessed to seven robberies and told investigators Gale and Huneycutt were also involved.

Gale was already in jail on a previous theft charge. When he was questioned by investigators, he admitted to several robberies, Scharf said.

Gale has been convicted of heroin possession, theft and assaulting a government official with a deadly weapon. He is pending trial on a misdemeanor larceny charge and a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Welch has convictions for simple assault, possession of marijuana and prostitution. She’s also pending trial on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and drug possession.

Before Monday, Huneycutt had only dismissed speeding tickets on her record. Staff researcher Maria David and staff writer Steve Lyttle contributed.