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Jury convicts teen in Lincolnton shooting By COURTNEY MARTIN, LTN Staff Writer Jan. 18, 2002 - A Lincoln County Superior Court jury deliberated about four hours Wednesday before finding a Lincolnton teen guilty of shooting a man outside Carolina Restaurant in April of last year. Doneal Jeffrey Gillespie, 17, of 209 Newbold St., was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and attempted armed robbery. He was accused of shooting truck driver William Michael Foster in the back in April of last year. Judge Richard D. Boner sentenced him to serve a two consecutive terms for the separate charges totaling 162 to 213 months in prison. That works out to about 13 to 17 years. “I feel like they charged an innocent man,” said Gillespie, as officers led him out of the courthouse. “The jury found me guilty, an innocent man guilty.” “It’s a tragedy for the defendant as young as he is,” said Assistant District Attorney Rick Shaffer, who prosecuted the case. But the guilty verdict meant, “under the law, he had to go to prison.” Shaffer also expressed his surprise at the length of time it took the jury to come to a verdict. “This case was as strong a case as you can really have,” said Shaffer. He said factors: the victim being able to identify his assailant; Gillespie’s cousin and friend testifying to giving him a gun; and finding the weapon in Gillespie’s bedroom. “Sometimes there is an issue with the ‘intent to kill.’ It’s hard to prove without someone actually being killed,” said Shaffer. Jury members had to decide from the evidence whether there was the intent to kill the victim. In the sentencing hearing, Gillespie’s attorney, Meredith Shuford, sought sympathy for a teen with a troubled childhood. According to the testimony of Clearance Sutter, a case manager from Pathways Mental Health Facility, Gillespie was first sent to them for help in 1995 when he was about 10 years old. “I’m not aware that he reads,” said Sutter. He also noted that Gillespie was tested for an IQ close to retardation. Gillespie lived with his aunt because his mother is in prison. Foster testified again at the sentencing hearing. “There’s nerve damage in my left foot resulting from the wound,” said Foster. “I owe about $19 to $20,000 in medical bills.” Those bills are after his insurance paid 80 percent, he said.. “I still hear the gunshot of a night, in nightmares,” Foster said later in an interview. He also wanted to thank the Lincolnton Police Department, especially Detectives Dean Abernathy and Rick Lynn. Shuford has already filed an appeal, but it takes about 18 months for the response.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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