Local News: McLaurin Trial

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Local News: McLaurin Trial

Leonard Joyner The death of Kennedy McLaurin — Leonard Joyner, one of four men accused in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of a 16-year-old Goldsboro High School student, goes to trial.


Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Case closed

Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Arnold Jones this morning sentenced the three men whose testimony helped the state convict Leonard Eugene Joyner for his role in the Sept. 9, 2012, first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping of 16-year-old Kennedy McLaurin...

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Kim Best statement

"I am relieved with the guilty verdict and speechless at the same time. I thank God, first and foremost, and I thank Det. Dwayne Bevell ... and Assistant District Attorney Matt Delbridge for his strong and diligent pursuit for justice...

Life in prison

Kennedy McLaurin's mother, Kim Best, was not moved to tears when she heard the verdict inside a Wayne County courtroom late Monday morning. She didn't crack a smile or hug the relative sitting closest to her. Senior Resident Superior...

Monday, March 31, 2014

Joyner found guilty

Guilty of first-degree murder. After nearly five hours of deliberations that began Thursday afternoon and resumed, after a three-day break, this morning, a jury returned a guilty verdict for Leonard Joyner, 23, in connection with the 2012 murder of...

Guilty

Leonard Eugene Joyner has been found guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping for his role in the Sept. 9, 2012, death of 16-year-old Kennedy McLaurin Jr. For complete details, see today's News-Argus....

Live from the courtroom -- Joyner on trial

Follow all the action unfolding in Courtroom No. 1, as the state attempts to convince a Wayne County jury that Leonard Eugene Joyner is guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the 2012 death of 16-year-old Kennedy...

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Kennedy McLaurin Jr. timeline

* Sept. 9, 2012 -- Just after 1 p.m., Tonya Prior, a Bain Street resident, calls 911 to report a group of men fighting in a car outside. She tells the operator she heard a gun shot. * Sept. 10,...

The jury will decide

Barring any unforeseen developments, the 12 Wayne County residents charged with determining the innocence or guilt of one of four men accused of murdering 16-year-old Kennedy McLaurin Jr. Sept. 9, 2012, will deliver their verdict Monday. Leonard Eugene Joyner,...

Friday, March 28, 2014

Lawyers deliver final arguments to Joyner trial jury

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Delbridge removed his glasses and took a deep breath. It had only been a few moments since defense attorney Charles Gurley concluded his closing argument with an emotional reading of a quote about liberty and...

Jury gets case

After more than three hours of deliberation, the jury in the first-degree murder trial of Leonard Eugene Joyner, 23, still had not reached a verdict Thursday evening when Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Arnold O. Jones decided to send...

Thursday, March 27, 2014

No verdict yet

They have been deliberating since 2:30 p.m., but the 12 men and women charged with determining the guilt or innocence of one of four men charged with murder in connection with the Sept. 9, 2012, death of 16-year-old Kennedy McLaurin...

The witnesses

Defense witness No. 1: Goldsboro Police Department Det. Dwayne Bevell -- Bevell told the court, after being handed a DVD by defense attorney Charles Gurley, that the disk was dated "9/21/2012" and had the name "Kevin Smith" written on it....

Tensions high in Joyner case

Tensions spilled over outside the courthouse during the lunch recess, when supporters of the Leonard Eugene Joyner incited a verbal altercation with members of Kennedy McLaurin Jr.'s family. Deputies poured into the parking lot to defuse the situation. No punches...

Defendant says he was scared, acted to protect himself

Kennedy McLaurin Jr. died by his own hand. And it was the fear of nobody believing that fact that prompted Leonard Eugene Joyner to flee the scene of a deadly shooting -- with the 16-year-old's body still in the...

Jury to begin deliberations soon

The 12 Wayne County residents charged with determining the guilt or innocence of one of the four men arrested in connection with the alleged Sept. 9, 2012, murder and kidnapping of Kennedy McLaurin Jr. will begin their deliberations at 2:30...

Live from the courtroom -- Joyner on trial

Follow all the action unfolding in Courtroom No. 1, as the state attempts to convince a Wayne County jury that Leonard Eugene Joyner is guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the 2012 death of 16-year-old Kennedy...

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Defense rests

The defense has rested it case in Leonard Eugene Joyner's first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping trial. For more information, see our "Live from the courtroom" coverage on www.NewsArgus.com and Thursday's News-Argus....

The witnesses

State Witness No. 17: Jerome Butts -- Butts told the court that he is 20 years old, but was only 19 the day Kennedy McLaurin Jr. died. He testified that back then, he was, in Assistant District Attorney Matthew Delbridge's...

The state rests

A photograph of a smiling Kennedy McLaurin Jr. was the last thing a Wayne County jury saw Tuesday before the state rested its case against one of the men charged with murder in connection with the 16-year-old's Sept. 9,...

Joyner takes the stand

Leonard Eugene Joyner has just taken the stand in his first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping trial. For all the action unfolding in the courtroom, follow our 'Live from the courtroom' feature on www.NewsArgus.com or follow us on Twitter @newsarguscops...

Live from the courtroom -- Joyner on trial

Follow all the action unfolding in Courtroom No. 1, as the state attempts to convince a Wayne County jury that Leonard Eugene Joyner is guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the 2012 death of 16-year-old Kennedy...

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

State rests

The state has rested its case against Leonard Eugene Joyner, one of four men charged in the alleged Sept. 9, 2012 kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Goldsboro High School student Kennedy McLaurin Jr. For complete coverage of what transpired in...

The witnesses

State witness No. 13: Goldsboro Police Department Det. Dwayne Bevell (continued from Friday) -- Bevell, by answering the questions posed by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Delbridge, reminded the jury that when his testimony was halted Friday afternoon, he was talking...

'He was still alive'

The witnesses agreed that Kennedy McLaurin Jr. was still alive after a gunshot rang out on Bain Street Sept. 9, 2012 -- that the 16-year-old continued to struggle with both the driver and a passenger of the car he was...

Live from the courtroom -- Joyner on trial

Follow all the action unfolding in Courtroom No. 1, as the state attempts to convince a Wayne County jury that Leonard Eugene Joyner is guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the 2012 death of 16-year-old Kennedy...

Monday, March 24, 2014

Prosecution to continue in Joyner murder trial

The lead investigator in the 2012 death of Kennedy McLaurin is expected to retake the stand this morning in Wayne County Superior Court as the trial continues for one of the men accused in the 16-year-old's alleged murder. Goldsboro police...

Live from the courtroom - Joyner on trial

Follow all the action unfolding in Courtroom No. 1, as the state attempts to convince a Wayne County jury that Leonard Eugene Joyner is guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the 2012 death of 16-year-old Kennedy...

Saturday, March 22, 2014

McLaurin investigation detailed in court

Time and time again, Leonard Eugene Joyner swore he had nothing to do with it. But Goldsboro Police Department Det. Dwayne Bevell wasn't convinced. So he kept asking him to "tell the truth" -- shouting expletives and using words...

Joyner on trial -- Friday's testimony

State witness No. 12: Goldsboro Police Department crime scene investigator Cpl. Trevor Albaugh -- Albaugh told the court that he first became involved in the McLaurin case Sept. 20, 2012, when he was called on to assist at a crime...

Friday, March 21, 2014

Testimony continues in Joyner murder trial

Testimony in the murder case against Leonard Eugene Joyner Thursday turned to the day when investigators got the answer to the question, "Where is Kennedy McLaurin?" North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Agent Justin Godwin described the discovery of...

Live from the courtroom -- Joyner on trial

Follow all the action unfolding in Courtroom No. 1, as the state attempts to convince a Wayne County jury that Leonard Eugene Joyner is guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the 2012 death of 16-year-old Kennedy...

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Witness tells court: It was 'just drug deal'

It was supposed to be a drug deal -- a 16-year-old exchanging a bag of marijuana for a stack of money. But when Kennedy McLaurin Jr. stepped out of Antonio King's car and walked away to make the transaction,...

Attorneys make opening statements in Leonard Joyner murder trial

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Delbridge took just 3 minutes and 17 seconds in his opening statement Wednesday to sum up for a Wayne County Superior Court jury the last moments of Kennedy McLaurin Jr.'s life. "He knew he was...

Live from the courtroom - Joyner on trial

Follow all the action unfolding in Courtroom No. 1, as the state attempts to convince a Wayne County jury that Leonard Eugene Joyner is guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the 2012 death of 16-year-old Kennedy...

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Jury seated

He won't use fingerprints. He won't produce DNA evidence or a murder weapon. Instead, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Delbridge will try the case against Leonard Eugene Joyner "old school style." Opening arguments do not begin until today, but the...

Live from the courtroom - Joyner on trial

Follow all the action unfolding in Courtroom No. 1, as the state attempts to convince a Wayne County jury that Leonard Eugene Joyner is guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in connection with the 2012 death of 16-year-old Kennedy...

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Jury set

Leonard Joyner does not yet know his fate, but he does know which 12 men and women will determine it. The jury for his first-degree murder trial has been set and two alternates are currently being selected. For complete details...

Trial moves forward

Jury selection began today in Wayne County Superior Court for the first-degree murder trial of Leonard Eugene Joyner, 23. Joyner is charged in the 2012 murder of Kennedy Fitzgerald McLaurin Jr., 16 -- a crime to which three other...

Trial begins

Leonard Joyner, one of four men charged with murder in connection with the death of 16-year-old Kennedy McLaurin, has entered Courtroom No. 1 and is seated beside his attorney. Superior Court Judge Arnold Jones has also taken his seat and...

Monday, March 17, 2014

Kennedy McLaurin murder case update

Jury selection in the trial of Leonard Joyner -- one of the men charged in the 2012 murder and kidnapping of Kennedy McLaurin Jr. -- is not scheduled to begin until Tuesday, but sources with knowledge of the proceedings...

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Murder trial set to start Monday

A man accused of being part of the plot to kill Kennedy McLaurin in September 2012 will go on trial for first-degree murder Monday in Wayne County Superior Court. A last-minute effort by the defense lawyer for Leonard Joyner...