Below you will find information about the latest pleas, trials, and important developments in Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties. As an office, we are bound by the Rules of Professional Conduct for all North Carolina attorneys, and special rules for prosecutors. Therefore, we often only comment on cases after final disposition.
For all media inquiries and requests, for all three counties, please contact Nathan Key by phone: 828-695-6193 or email: Nathan.D.Key@nccourts.org.
Henry Pham, 34, of Hickory, was sentenced to an active prison term of five to seven years following his conviction for habitual driving while impaired (DWI) and admission of his status as a habitual felon during Catawba County Superior Court … Read More
Amy Norris Branch, 38, of Maiden, was sentenced to serve an active prison term of four to six years following her conviction for three counts of solicitation to commit a sexual offense with a child during Catawba County Superior Court … Read More
Two people were convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the June 2013 death of a Lenoir man during Caldwell County Superior Court on Tuesday, February 5, 2019. Earl Franklin Moore, Jr., 40, of Lenoir, was sentenced to 23 to … Read More
Prosecutors for the State announced during Catawba County Superior Court on Monday, February 4, 2019, that they will not seek the death penalty in the murder case of Jerry Lewis Woods. Woods, 60, of Hickory, is charged with murder in … Read More
A Morganton man will spend at least 14 years in prison following his conviction in Burke County Superior Court on Monday, February 4, 2019, for second-degree murder in connection with an October 2017 stabbing death. Gerald Dean Buff, 63, was … Read More
A Morganton man already serving a lengthy prison sentence will spend more time incarcerated following his conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon and attempted trafficking during Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. Marshall Shane Freeman, 30, … Read More
Ahmad Shakim Smith, 19, of Hickory, will spend four to six years in prison after being convicted of two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of common law robbery and accessory after the fact to robbery with … Read More
Prosecutors for the State announced during Burke County Superior Court last week that they will not seek the death penalty in the murder case of Tony Jerome Odum. Odum, 49, of Morganton, is charged with murder in the November 20, … Read More
A Morganton man will spend six to eight years in prison following a conviction in Burke County Superior Court on January 15, 2019, for trafficking methamphetamine. Andrew Thomas Watts, 40, was given the active prison term by the Honorable Robert … Read More
Jamie Walter Merritt, 37, of Tobaccoville, N.C., was sentenced to serve an active prison term of 20 to 25 years following his conviction for three counts of first-degree statutory sex offense during Catawba County Superior Court on Tuesday, January 15, … Read More