Could jury reverse itself on Soles?
Posted December 15th, 2009 at 8:07 AM by John HoodThe Whiteville News Reporter’s Bob High wonders if there might be a wrinkle in the expected indictment of R.C. Soles next month — a change in the composition of the Columbus County grand jury:
There will be nine new members of the grand jury seated in January, people who were not part of the action here Thursday afternoon.
Will these new grand jurors feel the same as their predecessors? It takes a minimum of 12 of the 18 grand jurors voting “yes” to return a true bill of indictment.
The grand jury acted Thursday on a “presentment” by SBI agents W.R. Myers and Mac Warner. Twelve or more of the 17 members – one person was absent – of the grand jurors said they “concurred” in the finding and “requested” the indictment.
At least 12 of the 17 members of the Columbus County grand jury asked the state’s Attorney General’s Office Thursday afternoon to submit “bills of indictment as are deemed appropriate” regarding the shooting of the young man.
The speculation points a larger question: why did the state choose to telegraph its plans for a January indictment? I think it’s both an invitation for witnesses to step forward about other allegations and a way of pressuring the Soles camp to consider a plea. Guess we’ll find out soon.
January 7th, 2010 at 8:46 am
[...] County jury for shooting Kyle Blackburn during an altercation at the Soles home. The move had been telegraphed, with few people doubting the likely next step. But some of the media reports add some interesting [...]