Pubdate: Tue, 22 Oct 2002
Source: Wilmington Morning Star (NC)
Copyright: 2002 Wilmington Morning Star
Contact:  http://www.wilmingtonstar.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/500
Author: Millard K. Ives

MAN TELLS HIS VERSION OF SHOOTING

BOLIVIA - A Winnabow man told Brunswick County jurors Monday that he was
afraid for his life when he fired shots at men who had burst into his home,
not knowing they were narcotics officers on a drug raid.

"I didn't know if they were going to stab or shoot me. . . . Didn't know
why they were in my house," said Paul Pelham, testifying in his trial on
charges of attempted murder of a narcotics officer.

He is also charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill,
assault on a law enforcement officer and various drug charges related to
the raid on his Van Galloway Trail home on Oct. 5 of last year.

Testimony in the trial ended Monday, and the case is expected to go to the
jury today for a verdict.

Narcotics officers testified they yelled "sheriff's office, search warrant"
a number of times before bursting into the home while wearing badges and
Sheriff's Department paraphernalia.

Mr. Pelham, 25, told jurors he woke up and was scared after hearing what he
said sounded like gunshots. He said he began firing after seeing a man
standing in front of him in his home, shooting narcotics officer Steven Lanier.

Mr. Pelham said it wasn't until officers started yelling that their partner
had been shot that he assumed they were sheriff's deputies.

Families members of Mr. Pelham, who were in a nearby home at the time of
the raid, testified they did not hear officials announcing themselves.
Joann Mishoe, Mr. Pelham's mother, testified she yelled at family members
to call the police after she heard the gunfire and saw a man dressed in
black in the yard with a gun.

She said the man responded, "We are the police."

Assistant District Attorney Chris Thomas said none of the deputies on the
raid recalled hearing the exchange between Ms. Mishoe and the officer.

Lt. John Ingram with the narcotics division testified that officers had
gone to Mr. Pelham's home earlier on the day of the drug raid and had
informed him he was suspected of selling drugs out of the home, but the
officers didn't have a warrant to enter the residence.

Mr. Pelham's roommate, Lavar Atari Thomas, also faces charges of assault
with a deadly weapon and various drug charges related to the raid, and his
trial is to begin Oct. 28.

Both defendants were shot during the drug raid.

Mr. Pelham said he was shot 17 times, and during his testimony Monday he
pulled up his shirt and showed that his upper torso was covered with bullet
wounds. He still needs operations on his right arm for it to become
functional, he said.

Mr. Thomas criticized the defendant for having a gun a day after being told
by his probation officer that he was not allowed to have the weapon, and
blamed him for the shootout.

Also at the Brunswick County courthouse Monday, a jury began sentencing
deliberations in the case of a 25-year-old man found guilty of killing a
Fayetteville police officer.

Jurors are to decide whether to sentence Quintel Augustine to death or life
in prison for the shooting last year of Roy Turner Jr. The trial was moved
to Brunswick County because of pre-trial publicity in Fayetteville.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth