[I HOPE I CAN DITCH THE BRIEFS THIS WEEK. I'M TIRED! GOOD NIGHT!]
ATTORNEY JAMES W. LEA
EXCLUSIVE
ATTORNEY FOR THE
SHEPARD FAMILY SPEAKS
By Cash Michaels
Staff writer
For Wilmington attorney James W. Lea, the Monica and Dameon Shepard case is a chilling example how precious the right to be safe and secure, especially in your own home, should be for every American citizen.
But what’s even more clear now, after the events of May 3rd, 2020, is that when a young African-American male can’t escape the probable peril of being black in America, even in his house, then strong, swift action must be taken.
Atty. Lea represents the Shepards in the case that is still sending shockwaves across the state and nation - the “angry” all-white mob assault on their Avendale home late that May 3rd night, allegedly in search of a missing 15-year-old mixed race adopted sister of the NHC deputy sheriff leading the armed group, and the black male teen she was falsely reported to have been with.
Atty James Rutherford is representing Jordan Kita, and in a published interview and letter, is steadfast that race was not an issue in the incident, even though a careful analysis by The Journal (this edition) clearly indicates that it could have been.
The Journal spoke with Atty. Lea by phone exclusively Friday, May 22nd, to get the latest on the case from his perspective. His answers have been abbreviated for this story.
How are Monica and her 18-year-old son, Dameon, doing? Have they recovered from this ordeal?
LEA - There is never going to be a recovery from something like that. That’s something that stays with you the rest of your life.
But the Shepards have had so much support. They’ve gotten support obviously from the black community, but the white community as well. They are very close with their neighbors, and have been living in that [predominately-white] neighborhood for quite a while. That’s the group that came out that night, [called the sheriff’s dept.] and demanded that somebody do something to protect [the Shepards].
[In subsequent interviews, Monica Shepard has also lauded her white neighbors, saying that her family and they are “tight-knit.”]
James Rutherford, the attorney for now former NHC Deputy Sheriff Jordan Kita, claims in a written statement that all of this is just one “colossal misunderstanding,” that race was never a factor in the incident, and directly charges that you “…recklessly put out that defamatory narrative” and that “statements made by Mr. Lea are wrong, slanderous, and disgusting.” The attorney says on video, ‘Make no mistake, this case is not about race; it’s about a missing child.”
How do you respond?
LEA - What are you to think? Imagine what would have happened if you had 15 black people - three of them armed on the front door step of a white family’s house, and the Pender County Sheriff’s Dept showed up? What do you think would have happened in the kind of situation?
So, [the attorney] can claim anything he wants to about me…I called it like I saw it, and I’m not yet backing off of that, and probably won’t.
Wrong is wrong, whether you’re black, white, whatever color you are.The case will unfold as time goes on. We’re investigating it, and looking at lawsuits against both [Pender and New Hanover ] counties’ sheriff’s departments.
If in fact, what Kita says is true, which is he’s contending in that article [and video] that the Pender County Sheriff’s Department was involved [in the search] and gave him a green light to do what he did, is the way I read it, if that is in fact true, then Pender County Sheriff’s Department is in a lot of trouble.
Kita’s attorney claims that “there was no criminal intent in any of Jordan’s actions,” yet Kita knew he was wearing a law enforcement uniform, complete with his service revolver, in another county on a personal errand, used his foot to prevent a resident of his legal address from closing the door of his own home, and demanded entry to that home repeatedly after being told by both Dameon and his mother to leave.
LEA - There’s no way there can be [no criminal intent]. The minute you step foot on somebody’s property, and you’ve not been invited to be there, you’re committing trespass. That’s a crime. As a police officer you’re bound to know that…everybody knows that. If you come up to the door, and you open the door, and they tell you to go away, and you don’t leave, you’re continuing that crime.
If you’re armed on their property, there’s another crime - that’s assault. If you re putting your foot in their door, you are breaking and entering, and they can’t close their door. So, I don’t know how you get around the criminal intent part of it, when you’re purposely walking on somebody’s property armed, refusing to leave the door when they tell you to leave, sticking your foot in the door. That’s just impossible to …those two things are completely inconsistent.
Is there any truth to the claim that the Pender County Sheriff’s Dept. was working with Jordan Kita in the search for his little sister at the time?
LEA - We haven’t gotten to the final conclusion on that. We’ve not been able to prove that any of (Kita’s contention) is correct. But what is interesting about this is after [the mob] left, the Pender County Sheriff’s Dept. was called, two deputies came out, and their captain, on that Sunday evening, and following them was the same [mob] apparently…followed them back to the scene of the crime, and [the Pender deputies] got the full story, right on the spot, from the Shepards and the neighbors, and yet, no names were taken from the so-called [mob], no arrests were made, no statements were taken down.
So it does make it a little suspicious ….more than a little suspicious, that [ Pender deputies] came out there that night, took no action, and this crowd followed them back to the scene of the Shepard’s house.
Mr. Kita, sort of threw [Pender County Sheriff’s Dept.] under the bus in that article, if you really read it. I don’t know whether they sanctioned somebody going to somebody’s house with a gun…but, they may have. They sure as heck let them drive away that night. We’ll see. That’s unfolding as we speak.
Does it stretch credulity to believe that Jordan Kita gets a group of people together, some of them armed, to go to a specific address looking for someone named “Josiah” on a tip, yet not have even a broad idea of what Josiah looked like? Kita’s attorney said they had “zero description of Josiah.” On video, the attorney says, “time was of the essence.” But how is that possible if they don’t even know who or what the missing girl is supposedly with?
LEA - I don’t believe that, to be honest with you, because Dameon is darker-skinned, but sort of looks similar to Josiah…I’ve seen pictures of both of them.
To me, when they got to that house, and saw that it was a black young man, they had to clearly be looking….I mean if they were looking for a white man, they would have turned around and said, “we have the wrong house.”
They clearly knew they were looking for a black individual, I think, because they went to that house, but could not leave because they thought Dameon was Josiah. So, they had to have some information from somebody else.
Again, Jordan Kita’s attorney claims that this is just a big misunderstanding, but you see real damages here. What are they?
LEA - Being a young black man in America, this is something you never really get over. You don’t get over that. When somebody intrudes on your space, that’s not something you get over anytime soon. That’s just a gross violation of every right as a citizen, your civil rights, everything else.
When do you expect to file your lawsuit on behalf of the Shepards?
[Atty. Lea replied that his firm is very careful with research, noting the lawsuits they’ve recently filed in the NHC School System sex scandal case which they’re handling. So it may take one, maybe two months for them to complete their investigation in the Shepard’s case, and file. By that time, the court system may be back up and running from it’s COVID-19 pandemic pause]
LEA - We’re going to make sure our “i’s” are dotted and “t’s” are crossed so that we file what we know is a strong lawsuit.
Atty James Lea says he’s an admirer of Monica Shepard, and the strong mother that she is, and very impressed with Dameon, who is graduating from Laney High this year. Lea, the former chair of the New Hanover Democratic Party, admits he’s not black, but thanks to his parents, he has respect for all people regardless of color, and has had it during his over forty years practicing law.
It was one of Monica Shepard’s close white neighbors who was so outraged after witnessing the Jordan Kita incident, that, having been a client of Atty. Lea before, highly recommended him to the Shepards. They met with him, and the rest is history.
Lea says its apparent the Pender County Sheriff’s Dept. and the New Hanover/Pender D.A.’s office were going to slow drag the case before he got involved. Once he saw that, Atty James Lea made getting justice for Monica and Dameon Shepard his top priority.
Two days later, D.A. Ben David and Pender County Sheriff Alan Cutler held a press conference, announcing charges in the case, and that Jordan Kita had been fired from the NHC Sheriff’s Dept.
[Editor’s Note - be sure to read The Journal’s analysis of the case in this edition]
-30-
DAMEON SHEPARD
MONICA SHEPARD
D.A. BEN DAVID/ PENDER SHERIFF ALAN CUTLER
MONICA AND DAMEON SHEPARD
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
DURING KITA-SHEPARD INCIDENT?
By Cash Michaels
An analysis
On the night of May 3rd, 2020, there was a loud bang on the door of the home where Monica Shepard, and her son, Dameon, 18, reside in the Avendale community of Rocky Point in Pender County.
Dameon, who was playing video games, opened the door, not realizing that what would happen next would forever change his life.
There are at least two sides to what happened next. Ultimately, it will be courts of law - both criminal and civil - which will determine what the truth is. But for now, based on all available published reports, video interviews, and statements from participants, and both attorneys in the case, The Journal has been able to put together this analysis to determine where the sides collide.
Here, in the court of public opinion, we’re doing our job, before the criminal justice system finally does their’s.
On the night of May 3rd, published records show, the Pender County Sheriff’s Dept. issued a missing persons alert that it was looking for “Lekayda Nicole Kempisty, 15-year-old B/F (black female) from Hampstead. Kempisty was last seen in Eagles Watch Neighborhood in Hampstead on foot around 10 p.m. on May 3rd. If anyone knows her whereabouts, please call the Pender County Sheriff’s Office at 910-259-1212.”
According to a video interview conducted by Port City News with Timothy Kita, his wife; Mary, and their son Jordan’s attorney, James Rutherford ( Jordan himself was not allowed to speak on advice of his attorney) - all white, Lekayda is a mixed race child who has been living with the Kita family for ten years. They consider her their “daughter” and Jordan’s “sister.”
As noted, Lekayda went missing on the evening of Sunday May 3rd. Mary Kita called her son Jordan around 8:30, she says, at his job as a NHC Sheriff’s Dept. Detention Center officer, telling him that his sister was missing, and they were looking for her. He left work immediately without changing out of his NHC deputy’s uniform to join the search.
On video, Timothy Kita called the search a “frantic situation’ with neighbors helping to look through the woods, a Pender County sheriff’s Dept helicopter involved, and drones from the Pender County Fire Dept. in the air. They searched through multiple empty houses, knocked on several doors in theirs and other neighborhoods.
The whole time, the Kitas were getting tips by phone and texts as to where the teen was last seen. Both Timothy and Mary Kita say the Pender County Sheriff’s Dept. “were with us every step of the way” and were exchanging phone calls and texts with them “the entire night.”
At one point after it had gotten dark, they got a tip that Lekayda was seen in the predominately-white community of Avendale. They say they were also “given the name Josiah,” someone they believed attended the same high school she did.
The Kitas, on video, claim that they “…asked if it was OK if we knocked on doors (in Avendale) and ask if anyone had seen her, and we had pictures of her, and we were told “Yes” by the Pender Sheriff’s Dept. officers working with them.
They went to the Avendale address they were told belonged to Josiah, hoping to find Lekayda there, unharmed.
About three vehicles pulled up to the street where the home of the Shepards resides. They were one of just two black families that had lived in the neighborhood over the years, and a “Josiah” did once live next door with his mother, but had moved a month earlier, published reports say.
Out of those three vehicles exited approximately 15 white men, women, and possibly at least one child. They gathered in front of the Shepard’s home, and on their front porch.
One of the men is confirmed to have brought an AR-15 assault weapon (he’s been charged, though his attorney claims his client broke no laws). Dameon Shepard said after he opened the door, he saw the AR-15, the revolver Jordan Kita, in uniform, had holstered, and a man with a rifle among the group with Kita.
Both Dameon and Monica describe the group as “angry,” and recall vividly how Jordan Kita tried repeatedly to force and cajole his way past the front door, even using his foot to keep it from closing.
Dameon recalls “the officer” saying, “We’re looking for a missing girl. We were given this address, and we were given your name, and we were told that she’s here, so we’re going to enter.”
Monica recalls another man with Kita pointing at Dameon and saying, “They gave us this address and they gave us your name.” She then remembers another man lunging towards them, but being held back.
Monica, who had been sleeping until she heard the commotion and came to the living room, had ordered Dameon back from the door for his safety, and repeatedly told Kita, as did Dameon, that there was no girl there, and Josiah did not live there. A “Ring”surveillance video bell across the street recorded Monica yelling for Kita and his group to “Leave!”
But yet, Timothy Kita, who says he was there, maintains that there were “no arguments” at the Shepard’s house, and “no attempt to gain access to the house.” If true, if there was no disturbance, then why did the Shepards’ concerned white neighbors - witnesses - call the Pender County Sheriff’s Dept?
He refuses to confirm whether his son put his foot in the door to keep it from closing.
Soon realizing that they had the wrong house, Kita’s crowd left, but reportedly came back when two Pender County deputies finally arrived.
The deputies spoke to Monica and Dameon, and some of the neighbors, and some of Kita’s group, but otherwise took no statements, no names, and made no arrests.
On the video, and in a letter to the press, attorney Rutherford seems to overemphasize that race was not a factor in what happened that night.
He, and even Timothy Kita, go on to assure that Kita’s group had no idea that Josiah was black… “zero description,” he says.
Even Monica Shepard, who says that she wants to see justice be done, has said that she doesn’t believe race a motive in the frightening incident.
And yet, both Dameon and Monica recall Kita and another man with him, trying to get Dameon to admit that he was Josiah, telling him that they were “given his name.”
Couple that with the fact that two of the group had guns with them close to the door, in addition to Jordan Kita (who had his service weapon holstered), and it seems not only that they knew Josiah was black from the tip (he is, though lighter and skinnier than Dameon), but they were allegedly expecting trouble when they went to the house, as a result.
Besides, how do you search for someone without knowing something about what they broadly look like?
One more thing…about the guns. Timothy Kita insists that there was no rifle there (Dameon says he saw a man carrying one who was standing away from the door), and that when they realized that one of their crowd brought an assault weapon, they told him to put it away, and he took it back to his vehicle.
If he did, it wasn’t before he had the weapon with him at the door when Jordan Kita allegedly tried to gain entry, and Dameon could clearly see it. That means the man with the AR-15 was on the Shepard’s property without their permission. As indicated earlier, he has been charged “terrorizing the public.”
At his May 8th press conference, District Attorney Ben David vowed that the case “will continue to be a high priority.” He further called it a “case this serious,” and warned the public against judging what the case is and is not about, before it went to court.
Jordan Kita had been fired from his job as a NHC Sheriff's Dept. jailer, and charged with several misdemeanors, including breaking and entry. Observers note that he dodged what easily could have been serious felonies.
Jordan Kita had been fired from his job as a NHC Sheriff's Dept. jailer, and charged with several misdemeanors, including breaking and entry. Observers note that he dodged what easily could have been serious felonies.
Pender County Sheriff Alan Cutler praised his deputies for not making any arrests, choosing to “diffuse” the situation first, then investigate later.
He also admitted that there may have been enough evidence to make arrest that night, but his deputies were prudent not.
15 year-old Lekayda Nicole Kempisty was found unharmed at 9 a.m. May 4th, in New Hanover County.
-30-
ANDREA HARRIS, BLACK
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
LEADER, DIES AT 72
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Last weekend, by order of Gov. Roy Cooper, state government building flags flew at half-staff in honor of an inspiring leader who was best known for standing strong for black economic development and advancement. She mentored many to become public servants and leaders in black and women-owned businesses.
And she rarely said “no” if she knew she could help anyone in need in the community.
The death of activist and black economic development leader Andrea Lynette Harris, 72, last week, co-founder of the nonprofit NC Institute of Minority Economic Development (aka “The Institute”) came as a shock to those who knew, loved and respected her. The sincere and overflowing outpouring of sorrow and condolences were testament to the impressive legacy of service Ms. Harris gave the state of North Carolina.
“It is not enough to just be in the room,” Ms. Harris is famous for saying, “you must be at the table.”
She is credited with generating over $1 billion to black and women-owned businesses, which, in turn, has led to home ownership across the state.
"Andrea Harris was a trailblazer who never stopped fighting for social and racial equity in our state,’ said Gov. Cooper in a statement May 20th. “When doors were intentionally shut, she broke through for women and minority-owned businesses to succeed, modeled excellence in advocacy and mentored scores of freedom fighters. She left an indelible impact on North Carolina's business and African American communities, and she will be missed.”
“Kristin and I send our prayers and deepest condolences to her friends and loved ones.”
It was Ms. Harris’ vision that created The Institute in 1986, and she led it for the next two decades, helping marginalized and disenfranchised African-Americans and women navigate the perilous waters of business creation and wealth building.
During her career, Harris and her work has been heralded with many honors, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state’s highest honor.
“Ms. Harris was a counselor, friend, mother, sister and leader to many, well-beyond her birth family,” said Kevin J. Price, current president/CEO of The Institute. “We stand on her shoulders and will honor her legacy by tirelessly continuing her work, serving those who are marginalized and/or face unnecessary challenges and barriers limiting the ability of living their best life. She will truly be missed.”
Andrea Harris grew up in Henderson, NC, and graduated from Bennett College for Women in Greensboro in 1970. It was there here she developed her keen social consciousness. Harris later became executive director of a community action agency fighting poverty in Henderson.
It was 1986 when Harris went to Durham, and cofounded The Institute on “Black Wall Street” there.
Upon word of her passing, condolences from across the state flooded in, like from her alma mater, Bennett College, where she served as a trustee, Yvonne Lewis Holley, Democratic candidate for lt. Governor, Rep. David Price (D-NC-4), Former Durham Mayor Bill Bell, Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC-1), the NC Black Alliance, and so many others.
“Thank you, Andrea for lighting the way for so many others including myself,’ said U.S. Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC-12).
It was Sept. 10, 2018, when Andrea Harris wrote Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, then the president of the North Carolina Council of Churches, petitioning him to oppose gentrification in a certain section in Durham, where black families were losing their homes to whites who were doing little to be considerate of the families they had just displaced.
In that letter, Harris told Rev. Spearman, “We all must be treated with dignity,” a sentence that Spearman says is a good summation of who Andrea Harris was.
“A mighty builder of some sturdy bridges has exchanged life for life eternal,” Rev. Spearman said in tribute. “Andrea Harris has been a friend, confidante, counselor, consoler, woman of conviction and encourager.”
In lieu of flowers, the Harris family asks a donation to Bennett College be made in memory of Andrea Harris.:
Bennett College
Attn: Institutional Advancement
900 E. Washington Street
Greensboro, NC. 27401
-30-
NC NAACP PETITIONS SEC FOR
SEN. BURR TO BE EXPELLED
by Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
The NC NAACP, President Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, and former president Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, have issued a petition demanding “a thorough investigation” by the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee into allegations that senior Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) profiteered from the COVID-19 pandemic when he sold 32 sets of stocks on February 13th, 2020, just prior to the stock market crashing, and the nation being warned about severe threat the pandemic posed.
Sen. Burr allegedly sold the stocks, netting $1.6 million, based on classified information not available to the public, otherwise known as ‘insider trading.”
Once reported, Burr relinquished his chairmanship of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate the matter.
On May 14th, it was reported that FBI agents served a search warrant and6seized Sen. Burr’s cellphone in order to track his alleged communications, and build a case against him.
Burr has insisted that he’s done nothing wrong, and that ny information he employed to sell his stocks was public information.
The NCNAACP petition quotes former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, an expert in insider stock trading cases, as calling the Burr case “a very, very big deal.”
“This is something the FBI or DOJ does lightly. It requires layers of review, the blessing of a judge, and consideration of severe reputational harm to a sitting U.S. senator.”
“We believe a thorough SEC (Senate Ethics Committee) investigation shall lead to the Senate’s expulsion of Sen. Burr...” according to the US Constitution, the petition states.
Reverends Spearman and Barber say they are working on a digital copy of the petition for people to sign, but for now interested petitioners should be able to access one at www.naacpnc.org, or they can call the NCNAACP office to request that their name be included among the signatories, or send to PO Box 7186, Greensboro, NC 27407.
-30-
