Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr. pleads not guilty prior to Nov. 28 trial

Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr., the man prosecutors say killed former student body president Eve Carson, was officially arraigned in Orange County District Court on Thursday.

His defense attorney, Karen Bethea Shields, said Lovette pleads not guilty on counts of first degree murder, armed robbery, felonious larceny and first degree kidnapping. Lovette is set to come to trial Nov. 28.

Lovette, who was present at the arraignment, is the second man accused in the 2008 murder of 22-year-old Carson.

Prosecutors say Lovette and Demario James Atwater kidnapped Carson from her home. They then drove Carson in her blue 2005 Toyota Highlander to a bank to withdraw $1,400 from her account before shooting her five times in a neighborhood off East Franklin Street, prosecutors say.

Atwater pleaded guilty to the murder and has been sentenced to life in prison. He faced the death penalty during his trial.

Lovette, who was 17 at the time of the murder, cannot receive the death penalty, which officials have said could affect the chances that he would attempt to strike a plea bargain. Lovette turned 21 Nov. 17.

Judge Allen Baddour ruled that some key witnesses will be sequestered during the trial. Carson’s parents, who might be called as witnesses, will be allowed in the courtroom.

District Attorney Jim Woodall said it is unlikely Carson’s parents will be called to testify, and the measure was merely a precaution.

“It’s doubtful her parents would be called,” Woodall said.

Baddour also said he will allow for individual juror selection in an effort to ensure fairness and speed in jury selection, but he said he reserves the right to monitor that decision. Woodall said he expects jury selection to take four to five days.

The prosecution and defense disagreed about which photos should be admissible in court. The judge ruled that of the autopsy and from-the-scene photos in question, some would be admissible and some would not because they would create too much prejudice.

Some of the photos called into question featured Carson’s hand wounds, which Woodall said will factor into the prosecution’s case.

Lovette is also accused as a co-defendant in the January 2008 shooting of Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato, who was killed in his off-campus apartment.

The first day of the trial will be a hearing to address whether or not witnesses can bring up statements the defense called “relevant but more prejudicial than probative” during the trail. Bethea-Shields would not comment on whether she was referencing the Mahato case with her request that some statements be excluded.