Are the Court's Really as Backed Up as I've Been Told? (assignment local interest story)

This was written as an assignment of local interest. This is a non-exclusive article.



http://voices.yahoo.com/are-courts-really-as-backed-8725703.html?cat=8


Are the Court's Really as Backed Up as I've Been Told?
2 Different Hit and Run Fatalities in Shelby North Carolina




This article is to be about a local interest story in my local area. About two different hit and run cases and what was said to me by the local district attorney here. That makes no sense whatsoever to me.




First this week in the local newspaper "The Shelby Star" you will find there is a trial going on, for a "hit and run" that happened three years ago. I am glad this case is finally coming to trial, however what bothers me about the trial of Lucas Rash has more to do with the fact being the local district attorney here 'Rick Shaffer by name' told me the main reason for the delay for a court hearing in reguards to my son's death is because the court is backed up with other cases.




While it may be true the courts are backed up, what does not make sense to me, is how there is now a trial for a similar case that happened "after" my son's death. Lucas Rash has charges similar to the person who is charged with the death of my son. "Hit and Run, 2^nd degree manslaughter..."



Also Luca Rash has been confined in jail for the last three years awaiting trial, while the person charged in my son's death, has not spent one day in jail, and was given a bond of only five thousand dollars, while people who have been charged with less serious crimes have been given bonds of ridiculous amounts. Even surrounding counties who have had people charged with fatal hit and runs have had bonds higher than the one imposed on the person who is very possibly responsible for my son's death.



Again the local district attorney here "Rick Shaffer" told me to my face the reason for the low bond was because the person charged with killing my son is not a flight risk. How the District Attorney came up with this conclusion is beyond me, especially given the fact being anyone could be a flight risk at any point in time given a serious enough reason.



Now you may think that I am just upset because that the person charged with my son's death has not yet been to trial. Well that is not the entire story, the reason I am upset is because of the fact being what the District Attorney said to me was a blatant lie, the reason I believe it's a lie is multi-fold but I will only indulge you with two reasons you can judge for yourself.



Number one, is the case mentioned above "Lucas Rash' which is the front page news here in Shelby, NC this week, is going to trial and what he is charged with which is similar only worse, as if he is guilty he has managed to kill not one innocent person but two, plus caused serious injury to another, due to his suspected actions.



Number two reason is because of the fact being the District Attorney Rick Shaffer told me to my face that he could not go to court until after he had cleared other court cases because the courts are backed up.



Yet, the same person who is charged in the death of my son has been charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to eight-teen month's probation, for a DWI level 4 that he received after my son's death. The charge was on this date 9/12/2010 and the date he was convicted 1/19/2011 he was given a sentence of 18 months probation.



The date of the hit and run fatality he has been charged with was 05/22/2007, however there still has been no trial date set for this particular offense. The hit and run, this person was charged with resulted in the death of my son Jonathan Scruggs.



Perhaps, there is some reasonable reason or explanation that a similar case is being tried this week, and the one involving my son has been "forgotten". Maybe there is even a justifiable reason why the district attorney has not had time to return my phone calls, to his office asking about when to expect a possible trial.



Perhaps, too there is a reason that Ham's restaurant offered to give our family a five thousand dollar settlement if we did not go to court, however we may never know. As we have not been able to go to court against the bar "Ham's" due to waiting on the criminal trial, which has been taking years to come up on the court calendar's. "Ham's" has since closed their bar, in this town, and the owner of the company has filed bankruptcy. Last year in fact, this I would never have known if I had not been staying at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital and happened to pick up a newspaper to read, as this story never made it into the news here locally that I know of.



None of the above is gossip or slander all can be proven with the exception of what the District Attorney said to my face as that would only be hearsay evidence, although he did say it in the presence of my husband, my mother, and former pastor.