x
Breaking News
More () »

French Murders Among 16 Cases Being Reviewed in Rockingham Co.

Former Rockingham County DA, Craig Blitzer, worked on nearly 400 cases in the little over two years he was in his position. But, the review was narrowed down to 16 cases Blitzer worked exclusively on from beginning to end.

ROCKINGHAM, CO – “We’re going to keep doing the business of the state. We’re going to follow the law.”

Jason Ramey made the above statement on March 30, 2018. It was one of his first days as the Interim District Attorney in Rockingham County. Ramey took over after Tom Keith resigned as Interim DA.

Keith took over in the middle of a fraud investigation. Why? Because former DA Craig Blitzer resigned after the SBI raided his office during an investigation related to theft of funds.

Related: SBI Raids Rockingham County DA's Office

“The judge told us ‘he’s been doing this 10 years, he’s never seen it.’ I’ve been doing it 21 years, I’ve never seen it,” Blitzer said in a 2016 interview with WFMY News 2.

At the time, Blitzer was referring to the case of Mickey Snow, a man accused of paying to have sex with minors. In January of 2018, Snow’s trial was delayed indefinitely. After Blitzer resigned, an investigation found Blitzer made mistakes in charging Snow and others linked to the case.

Keith, who later took over, ordered the review of Blitzer’s cases after Snow’s trial was delayed.

Blitzer worked on nearly 400 cases in the little over two years he was in his position. But, the review was narrowed down to 16 cases Blitzer worked exclusively on from beginning to end.

Now, Ramey, will be the acting DA during the review of those cases.

“The review was ordered by Keith, who is a very cautious person," Ramey said over the phone to 2WTK reporter Hope Ford. “These are trial cases where there is usually less room for error. But, we want to double check and give defense attorneys time to check and file motions as well.”

The 16 cases include the notorious murders of Troy and LaDonna French, the DWI case of Rockingham Commissioner Keith Mabe and the murder of a man outside a Huddle House over a drug deal gone bad. Other cases include murder convictions, rape and sexual assaults convictions and four cases food stamp fraud.

Already, one review lead to the release of a man in prison for killing his father inside their family owned funeral home.

Ramey said the cases will be go under a cursory review by Rockingham County DA staff before heading to a second review by an outside agency. Ramey said the outside agency would probably be the NC Administrative Office of the Courts.

The interim DA declined to speak specifically about each case, but said if errors were found in the cases, they would be reopened.

If this happens, could people walk out of prison? Would prison sentences be lengthened or shortened? Ramey said it was too early to speculate, as these cases could have zero problems to begin with.

The following is a list of the 16 cases under review.

William Keith Mabe – Rockingham Commissioner charged with a second DWI in 2015.

Jose Silvano Alvarez, Jr – Serving two life sentences in the notorious 2012 double murder of Troy and LaDonna French. Dubbed as the “French Murders”, Alvarez,Jr. was found guilty four years after the initial murders took place. During sentencing, a judge told Alvarez, Jr., “you will die in prison.”

Tysean Ghaute Kellam – Sentenced to 15 years in prison for second degree murder, after it was found he shot a man in a Huddle House parking lot five times. In 2016, Assistant D.A. Mark Kenney called it a “drug deal gone bad” over an ounce of marijuana.

Demarcus Lee Kellam – Sentenced to 5 years in prison for accessory after the fact to murder in the same case as Tysean.

Garcia Fenwick Johnson – Reidsville man convicted of shooting his father inside their family funeral home. He was released in March of 2018 after a review of his case file. The review found Biltzer withheld nine discs of evidence from the defense. Johnson still faces an assault charge related to the shooting.

Douglas Ray Symmes – Eden man convicted in 2015 of murdering his girlfriend. Public records show Symmes, Jr. remains in prison.

Rebekah Gammon Wright – A 7th grade teacher who plead guilty to sexual activities with a student and indecent liberties with a child in 2015. She was sentenced to 26-50 months in prison.

Maurice Deshawn Letterlough – Charged with possession of a firearm by a felon in 2015, following the 2015 Christmas murder of a man in Reidsville. Public records show he was released in 2017, after serving two years in prison.

Paul Carter, Jr – Convicted of Second Degree Rape and sentenced to 9 years in prison. Public records show his projected released date is March of 2019.

Nicholas Michael Dattero – Reidsville man pleaded guilty to indecent liberties with a child and second-degree kidnapping of a minor as the result of a fetish. In 2015, Blitzer said Dattero didn’t touch the child inappropriately but had a “lifting and carrying fetish.” Dattero received a suspended sentence and 5 years of probation.

David Thomas Wood – Sentenced to 4 years in prison for death by vehicle. Wood failed to stop at a stop sign and slow down, resulting in a crash with another man driving a moped. The driver of the moped died at the hospital.

Chasity Patterson – A daycare worker in Cumberland county accused of child abuse. The 32-year-old was arrested for allegedly dislocating a 22-month-old’s elbow.

The cases of Teresa Overby, Deborah Foley, Thomas Shelton and Kimly Wilson Mueller are also under review.

Before You Leave, Check This Out