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Royce Mitchell will remain in jail until a future hearing to decide if he broke a prison-release agreement that required him to stay out of trouble, a federal judge ruled this morning
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police call Mitchell a “person of interest” in the Sept. 14 shooting death of Tiffany Wright, a pregnant Hawthorne High junior.
On the day of Tiffany's death, police arrested Mitchell on a charge of statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with Tiffany. The sex charges were dropped last week after a DNA test showed Mitchell was not the father of her baby.
But a federal warrant has kept Mitchell in Mecklenburg jail. It alleges he violated a federal post-release agreement following a five-year prison term for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy in Buffalo.
The alleged violation is the fact that he was charged with the sex crimes, even though they were dropped by the state.
Mitchell, 36, is a potential danger to the community and a flight risk because of his past criminal history and the lower burden of proof required to convict him of violating the agreement, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer ruled.
Mitchell’s defense attorney, Claire Rauscher, argued that he should be released under electronic monitoring because he had a job lined up as a truck driver and a landscaper and could stay with a cousin. She also noted that Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist dropped the sex charges against Mitchell.
“It’s extraordinarily relevant as to what the (local) prosecutor’s take is in this case,” Rauscher said. “Peter Gilchrist didn’t say it was a weak case; he said it was a no case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford outlined Mitchell’s past criminal history, which included “slashing a man with a razor knife at a rock concert” in 1996. “He is clearly a danger to the community,” she said.
Four supporters of Mitchell attended the hearing, including a Mr. Jones, who was referred to in court as a “Masonic brother” to Mitchell. “He’s a friend of mine," said Jones who would not give his full name. "You’re supposed to support your friends."
The other supporters, including the cousin, would not speak to the press.
A date for the next hearing has not been set.
