A man convicted of rape, murder in 1984 will soon come up for parole
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 12, 2017 6:07 PM
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Prevette
Garfield Noah Prevette knew Goldie Jones through her voluntary prison ministry.
Jones, a retired 61-year-old social service employee, was supposed to be at early morning mass on Jan. 8, 1984.
When she didn't pick up a friend she was going to take to the service, she was reported missing.
A police officer went by her house to check on Jones, and found her car was not there. After making entry through a screen window, he discovered her phone was off the hook.
A jury would later determine that at some time between the night of Jan. 7, 1984 and the morning of Jan. 8, 1984, Prevette went to Jones' home.
How he left her was how the officer found her.
Jones had been bound. She had been gagged. She had been sexually mutilated with a pair of scissors.
Prevette was 29 years old and out on parole from an attempted rape conviction when he killed Jones. He was convicted of her murder and kidnapping, and his prison sentence -- life plus 40 years -- began Oct. 8, 1984.
The extra 40-year sentence Prevette was given for kidnapping was vacated by the Supreme Court in July 1986.
And because of "fair sentencing" rules in place at the time, Prevette became eligible for parole in 2005 but was denied. He was denied again in '06, '07, '09 and 2011.
Now 63, Prevette is again eligible for parole this year when his hearing comes up in November.
District Attorney Matthew Delbridge, who plans to attend the upcoming parole hearing, said the crime was particularly heinous, and that releasing Prevette from prison would create a threat to public safety.
"My opinion is that he should never get out, and that's the view that I always express, and will express, to that board," Delbridge said.
Prevette's prior convictions include assaulting elderly women, indecent exposure, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and attempts to escape from prison.
Prison records show Prevette has had more than a dozen infractions against him while serving time, the most recent of which was in 2005.
Prevette's future will be in the hands of the N.C. Department of Public Safety Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission.
The four-person commission consists of Bill Fowler, James Forte, Danny Moody and Graham Atkinson.
Fowler is the chairman of the commission, and has experience in law enforcement. The other three members have experience in various state departments and agencies. Anyone wanting to express their views on Prevette's possible parole can send letters to members of the Parole Commission at 4222 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C., 27699-4222, or call 919-716-3010.
A majority of the commission's members must agree on him being paroled for Prevette to go free.