A murder case in Rock Springs is moving forward to District Court.
Charles Kenzell Carter, 27 of Fayetteville, North Carolina appeared for his preliminary hearing in Rock Springs Circuit Court today before Judge Craig. L Jones. Carter is charged with Murder in the First Degree for the alleged stabbing and murder of 20-year-old Toboris Lee, of Batesville, Mississippi.
During the hearing, Prosecuting Attorney Teresa Thybo called Rock Springs Police Department Detective Anthony Hall as the state’s only witness.
Detective Hall testified that police were called to the Loaf N Jug on Foothill Boulevard in Rock Springs for a stabbing the night of May 9th. He said responding officers were told that Carter had stabbed another man, later identified as Lee.
Lee was transported to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County where he died from his wounds.
Hall said Lee had six different wounds, and a pathologists determined Lee died as the result of a chest wound. The pathologist determined a sharp instrument had punctured Lee’s pulmonary valve, causing him to bleed out very quickly.
Hall said witnesses and Carter said there was an altercation inside the Loaf N Jug between Carter and Lee shortly before the alleged stabbing outside.
Hall also testified that Carter told him Lee owed him ten dollars and he did not believe Lee was going to pay him back.
An alleged conversation between Carter and his cousin, Ricky Lee Smith Jr., was a piece of new information brought up at the hearing. A Rock Springs resident allegedly told officers that he had overheard Carter having a conversation with Smith while they were making door-to-door sales. The witness allegedly heard Carter tell Lee that someone owed him money and that someone was going to be killed.
Defense Attorney Stan Cannon questioned Detective Hall about the conversation during cross-examination. Detective Hall said the person who allegedly heard the conversation was a friend of another police officer, Officer Frisbee. He said the man called Officer Frisbee after he provided dinner for Carter and Smith when they came to his home for door-to-door sales. The salesmen allegedly would not leave and Officer Frisbee was contacted to escort the men off the property.
Detective Hall said he became aware of the conversation after the stabbing, but was unsure when Officer Frisbee was told about it. Hall was unable to say exactly where the conversation took place, how it was overheard, or provide any other details about it.
“I’m looking at this affidavit. I’m looking for premeditation, and then you come up with it,” said Cannon about the alleged conversation, pointing out that the information was obtained by a friend of an officer.
Cannon asked about Carter’s demeanor after the incident. One witness, Bryan Cunningham, told officers that Carter was “acting mad” after the alleged stabbing, according to court documents. Hall said he took that to mean that Carter was acting angry rather than acting crazy. Cannon asked why he took the word “mad” to mean angry. Hall said the way Cunningham made the statement had led him to believe he meant angry, but said he did not ask Cunningham what exactly was meant by the statement.
Cannon questioned what made the act one of premeditation, which is a required element of a First Degree Murder charge.
Hall said six knife wounds combined with an altercation shortly before the incident led him to believe premeditation was present.
“There’s a thought process that comes with each stab, and Mr. Carter could have stopped at any point,” said Detective Hall.
Judge Jones said premeditation only required “some period of contemplation”, saying the premeditation could have come after the first altercation in the store or potentially with the overheard conversation.
Judge Jones bound the case over to 3rd Judicial District Court of Sweetwater County.
A date for an arraignment where Carter will enter a plea has not yet been set.