State won't seek death penalty for Stancil
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on May 5, 2016 2:03 PM
Kenneth Morgan Stancil III will not face the death penalty if convicted of the murder of Ron Lane, a former print shop technician at Wayne Community College, and will instead face a sentence of up to life without parole.
Stancil appeared in Wayne County Court Wednesday morning with his attorney, Walter Webster, and entered a plea of not guilty on one count of felony first-degree murder for the death of Lane on April 13, 2015.
District Attorney Matt Delbridge told Judge Paul Jones the state will not seek the death penalty in the prosecution of Stancil, and will instead seek a sentence of life without parole.
Wednesday was Stancil's first appearance in Wayne County Superior Court since he was indicted.
His appearance on Wednesday lasted a total of five minutes from beginning to end. Stancil's next appearance will be June 8.
The appearance on June 8 will be in regards to discovery motions made on Wednesday, which will determine what information will be exchanged between the state and the defendant.
"In every felony case I always request all the discovery from the case that's entitled to my client," Webster said.
Stancil's physical appearance was markedly different from one year ago when he was extradited to Wayne County after being captured in Daytona Beach, Fla. His hair is long instead of shaved, falling below his ears but above his shoulders, his beard was full and he was wearing glasses.
Stancil was also much more calm -- on April 17, 2015, when he first appeared in Wayne County Court after his extradition, Stancil shouted expletives at Judge Arnold O. Jones and flipped a table before being escorted out.
On Wednesday, Stancil calmly walked in and out of the courtroom, only shouting, "Well, I'll be!" as he entered and exited the court room.
"That was more Morgan (Stancil) than what happened in the court room that day (April 17)," Webster said.
Debbie Stancil, Stancil's mother, was present in the court room on Wednesday. As Stancil entered the court room, his mother began crying, standing up in the fourth row of benches in the court briefly before sitting back down and leaning forward.
When Stancil left the court room, his mother swiftly left.
Lane, who was 44 at the time he was murdered, was a print shop technician at Wayne Community College. Stancil, who was 20 years old at the time of the murder, allegedly entered the college's print shop around 8 a.m. the morning of April 13, 2015, and fired a single blast from a pistol grip pump-action shot gun, killing Lane, before fleeing the campus.
Stancil then reportedly returned to his home in Dudley, changed clothes and fled on a motorcycle. Stancil's motorcycle was ditched in Lumberton and then he hitchhiked his way to Florida.
He was found sleeping on Daytona Beach by Volusia County Beach patrol officers at 1:20 a.m. on April 14, 2015, and was armed with a knife. Stancil was then arrested and held in the Volusia County Branch Jail in Florida without bond.
Stancil appeared in a Florida court proceeding on April 14 and confessed to the murder of Lane, saying at the time, "All right, I just want you to know I ridded one less (expletive) child molester from the (expletive) world, that (expletive) with my little brother, you know what ' saying?" Stancil reportedly said in Florida court. "Doing time is the easy (expletive) part, know what I'm saying?"
He was extradited to Wayne County and has been in the Wayne County Jail ever since.