Suspects have criminal pasts

The two suspects charged in the shooting death of Student Body President Eve Carson have been implicated in numerous other violent crimes, despite being under state supervision.

Demario James Atwater, 21, and Lawrence Alvin Lovette, 17, were captured in Durham last week and charged with first-degree murder in Carson’s death.

Lovette also was charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the January shooting death of Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato.

Both Atwater and Lovette were on probation for crimes in other counties when Carson was shot.

Atwater – originally on probation for breaking and entering in Wake County – appeared in court two days before Carson was shot because he was caught in June 2006 with a firearm in Granville County – illegal for a convicted felon.

It is not known when that arrest came to the attention of Wake County officials.

But when his probation was set to be reviewed March 3, the court documents for the infraction were misplaced. The court date that could have put him in jail was moved to the end of the month.

Wake County court officials have stated that they were in error, and the state Department of Corrections will launch an internal investigation to see how Atwater was able to slip through the cracks.

“The system is second-guessed every day,” Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said, defending Wake County. “It’s a tough job. . Nobody has a crystal ball.”

Lovette was on probation at the time of Mahato’s and Carson’s shootings after pleading guilty to misdemeanor breaking and entering.

Arrest warrants served to Lovette on Thursday also link him to a repeat criminal offender.

Stephen Oates, 19, had already been arrested in Mahato’s death.

A list of charges filed against Oates spans six pages, containing more than 30 charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon and several counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

Lovette also is accused of breaking into an apartment Feb. 19, taking a pair of pants and five pairs of shoes from a 17-year-old male, according to arrest warrants.

He was accompanied in the incident, reports state, by Cameron Leathers, 14.

His criminal records were not available because of his age.

These revelations marked the end of the weeklong hunt for suspects and the beginning of criminal court proceedings that could last years.

Both men appeared in court for the first time last week.

Atwater appeared Wednesday, the day of his arrest, in Orange County District Court. He is being held without bond.

Lovette appeared in both Orange County and Durham County district courts Friday after being arrested Thursday. His bond is $3 million in Durham, but he was denied bond in Orange.

Both men are due for a probable cause hearing March 24 in Orange County.

Carson was found shot to death near East Franklin Street about 5 a.m. March 5. She was identified and her car was found March 6.

Chapel Hill police released surveillance photos of a suspect March 8, taken from a drive-through ATM where the man attempted to use Carson’s bank card. The driver in that photo is thought to be Lovette.

More photos, taken in an area convenience store, were released March 10. Those are thought to depict Atwater.

Mahato, who was studying computational mechanics at Duke, was found shot to death Jan. 18 in his off-campus apartment.

His Verizon cell phone, wallet and iPod were stolen. A Durham prosecutor said at Friday’s court appearance that Lovette was found with some of those items and had called Atwater using Mahato’s phone.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.