Collier declares mistrial in Bellamy case

A mistrial was declared Monday in the capital murder trial of Al Bellamy.

Bellamy was facing the possibility of the death penalty if convicted of killing two men more than six years ago.

Iredell County Resident Senior Superior Court Judge Chris Collier also took the possibility of the death penalty off the table if the state retries the case.

Bellamy is charged with killing Angelo Stockton and Timothy Cook and wounding Charles Summers on Nov. 16, 2004. His trial began three weeks ago with jury selection and testimony began on March 15.

Collier declared the mistrial after hearing arguments from both sides concerning several pages of handwritten notes from interviews of several witnesses conducted by then Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Lt. David Ramsey. Ramsey is now chief deputy with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.

Ramsey was conducting the interviews on behalf of the U.S. Customs and Immigration agency as part of a federal drug conspiracy case when the information regarding the shootings in the 600 block of Brevard Street came to light.

Collier, in granting the mistrial, did not assign blame for the failure to turn over the notes. He said it likely stemmed from the joint federal-stated drug conspiracy investigation.

The Statesville Police Department, which investigated the case, didn’t receive the notes as part of the investigation, said SPD Chief Tom Anderson. 

“We turned over everything we had as we do in every case,” he said.

The defense raised the issue of the notes after the state rested its case last Tuesday.

In his testimony on Friday, Ramsey mentioned a statement made by one of the people who testified earlier in the case --– a statement which was not included in the written report of the interview.

That led Collier to order any handwritten notes to be handed over to the defense. On Wednesday morning, Collier granted a continuance to allow the defense time to examine the notes and other material given to them Tuesday night.

On Monday, the defense presented a motion to dismiss the case entirely.

Defense attorney Robert Trobich said the notes provided information that could have changed the way the defense questioned witnesses, including Deleon Dalton, the man identified in a dying declaration by Stockton as the shooter.

Trobich said some of the notes indicated Dalton said he’d asked another man to get him a gun after an altercation with Stockton moments before the shooting.

Trobich urged Collier to do more than just declare a mistrial. He said the state should face sanctions strong enough to prevent this from happening again. Trobich said dismissing the charges against Bellamy would be the proper response.

District Attorney Sarah Kirkman acknowledged that the discovery process was violated in this case. “I take discovery very seriously,” she said. Kirkman said she tells law enforcement officers involved in cases that “everything means everything.”

She said this case will change the way she handles cases going forward.

“I guarantee I will ask every officer” about notes and other materials, she said.

Kirkman said the more than 1,700 pages handed over to the defense last week were not all handwritten notes. Some of the pages were reports and other materials related to the notes, information the defense had already received as part of the discovery process.

She said the prosecution knew nothing about the notes prior to the defense motions last week.

Assistant District Attorney Jason Parker said the information about Dalton inquiring about a gun was not relevant to the case against Bellamy as several witnesses placed Dalton inside a house when the shooting started.

He and Kirkman said the notes turned over last week contained no information that couldn’t have been gleaned from other witnesses.

Defense co-counsel Richard Beam said the case boiled down to the fact that the notes were not handed over as part of the discovery process. 

“We asked for it and we didn’t get it,” he said.

Collier, after taking a short recess to consider the arguments, agreed that the violation of the discovery process and announced his decision to declare a mistrial.

While Kirkman and Parker met with Stockton and Cook’s relatives, outside the courtroom, Bellamy’s family celebrated. “We got a mistrial,” one relative announced.

No date has been set to retry the case.

Bellamy is serving a 33-year sentence in federal prison on drug conspiracy charges.

This ruling could affect the conviction of his cousin, Travis Ramseur, who received a life sentence after being found guilty of the same charges last August.