State Supreme Court rejects new murder trial for Wake homeowner carolinajournal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from carolinajournal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
GARY ROBERTSON
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A North Carolina appeals court upheld the murder conviction Tuesday of a white man who fired a shotgun at an unarmed Black partygoer after reporting hoodlums in the neighborhood.
A majority on a state Court of Appeals panel left intact the first-degree murder conviction of 43-year-old Chad Cameron Copley, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Copley killed 20-year-old Kourey Thomas in August 2016 as Thomas left a late-night gathering near the curb in front of Copley s house in Raleigh, according to authorities.
Copley, who claimed self-defense, had complained about the noise and called 911, telling the operator he was locked and loaded. Members of the group, who were leaving a nearby party and met outside to decide what to do next, yelled back at him.