Te C H. the Student Newspaper of North Carolina State
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1920 WEDNESDAY AUGUST TE C H. technicianonline.com Tyler Dukes gate area, almost hitting one of the bouts with gambling, drug addiction News Editor members ofMcCann and Harman’s and theft. tailgate group. “Mitchwas a one—man crime wave,” Monday marked the first day ofthe She said the pair had approached Bannon said. “There was nothing he trial ofTimothy Johnson, the alleged Tony’s vehicle — which was stopped would not do and nobody he would gunman in the tailgate shootings by heavy pedestrian traffic — and not hurt to support those habits.” during N.C. State’s football-season grabbed him byhis hair to tell him to He said that Timothy’s relationship opener last fall. slow down. They then walked away. with his brother Tony was “forged in Both prosecution and defense “TonyJohnson had been driving er— the fire of the chaos,” instilling in a presented opening statements to a. ratically, driving recklessly,” Spurlin “great need” to protect his brother. 12-member jury consisting of eight said. Bannon pointed out that this was a women and four men. “ [Harman and McCann] did what fact Tony exploited often and said the Johnson, a former NCSU student, needed to be done.” younger sibling was often the instiga- stands accused of two counts of Tony, Spurlin said, then got out of tor of conflicts Timothylwould later first-degree murder for the slaying the car and attempted to continue the have to resolve. of Kevin McCann and 2nd Lt. Brett altercation. The tailgate shootings were a simi- Harman, both natives ofthe Chicago “There was pushing and shoving, lar incident, Bannon said. area. and then it was over,” Spurlin said. “This is not about first-degree Although both sides agree that “It had been a non-event.” . murder,” Bannon said. “ [This case] Johnson pulled the trigger during the It was then that Tony went to his is about one man hellbent on getting incident on Sept. 4, 2004, the defense brother, suggesting he had been into a fight that day.” and prosecution differ on Johnson’s beaten up. After Tony went back to the area intentions. “ [Tony] went on and on and where McCann and Harman were The state will try to prove that the wouldn’t let it go,” Spurlin said.. tailgating, Bannon said that although attacks against McCann and Harman “ [Timothy] told hisbrother, ‘I’ll take it was Tony who started the conflict, were planned, while the defense will care of it.”’ it was undeniable that Brett and Kev— argue that Johnson’s actions were It is at this point, Spurlin said, that in, along with 4 to 5 other friends, made with a diminished capacity Timothy planned to use a newly ac- chased him. and out ofselfdefense. quired .45 caliber, semi-automatic “You will hear about the increas— Assistant District Attorney Susan handgun to “take care” of McCann ing fear Tim felt while he watched Spurlin began the prosecution’s state- and Harman. a group of men that far outweighed ment by explaining that this trial is The defense however, painted a dif- him [come toward him], led by a man about the decisions of one man — ferent picture ofTimothy. who looked like he could do some se— Timothy Johnson. Attorney Brad Bannon said the rious damage,” Bannon said. “This case is about choices, choices defense will illustrate the details of At this point, Bannon said, Timo- about his life,” Spurlin said. “This15 Timothy’s background, including his thy had consumed 12 beers and 7 to not a case about self defense.” family life and medical history. 10 shots ofrum as well as significant Spurlin spoke to the jury next to According to Bannon, the jury quantities ofcocaine and marijuana an enlarged photograph ofMcCann would see how Timothy had been and was acting in a capacity dimin— and Harman at a tailgate partytaken diagnosed with Attention Deficit ished by fear, alcohol, drugs and a earlier the day they were killed. Hyperactivity Disorder as an early slew ofother factors. H She explained that the incident teen. Bannon said the defense would started after Tony Johnson, Timo- The defense also focused on how prove that the shots Timothy fired p JEFF REEVES/TECHNICIAN thy’s youngerbrother and the second Johnson’s older, adopted brother were done so in self defense. Timothy Johnson enters the courtroom Monday morning as his trial begins for double man charged in the killings, drove Mitch had created an unhealthy en— “It’s the combination that dimin- ‘ murder. Johnson and his brother allegedly shot and killed two men at last year's first home recklessly past pedestrians in the tail— vironment for his family during his ishes. Not just one thing.” football game on Sept. 4, 2004. University, Triangle Counselors guide, entertain to be in Jeopardy! Haley Huie Deputy NewsEditor The long—standing invited to fill the 20,000-seat institution ofArnerican arena, however, they will have. Summer heat and long hours culture willfilm its annual the chance to audition for the are obstacles that this year’s new 21-year-old game show. student orientation counselors College Championship at Producers from Sony Pictures have had to battle over the past N. C. State’s RBC Center. Television will hold auditions for several weeks. NCSU students Tuesday, August “The counselors were good. 23 on campus from noon until They knew what they were talk- 2:30 p.m. The producers will ing about and were really excit- Tanner Kroeger audition studentsin the aptly ed,” Bill Webster, a rising fresh- Senior StaffWriter named “Brain Bus.” man in computer science, said. Only undergraduate students Webster said he enjoyed the The RBC Center and NC. State with no other college degrees are free time during new student will playhost to a College Cham— eligible. orientation and that the eve- pionship edition of the game NCSU will followYale Univer- ning activities in Talley Student show Jeopardy! on October 1-2. sity and the University of Pitts- Center gave the students a great The 10 episodes of the show, burgh, which hosted the event in opportunity to meet people and taped in early October, will not 2003 and 2004, respectively. play games. be aired until November 7—18 Jeopardy! executive producer AlthoughWebstersaid many of on Raleigh’s ABC affiliate News Harry Friedman demonstrated the presentations were “boring,” Channel 11. he had a good time and learned Before NCSU students are JEOPARDYcontinued page2 a lot about college. NlCK PIRONlO/TECHNlClAN “This year’s staff has been the Orientation counselor Angera Ma, sophomore in biomedical engineering, entertains new freshmen most outgoing staff that we’ve and deals the group into a game of blackjack. insidetechnician ever had,” Roxanna McGraw, but that they made efforts to according to McGraw. a new optional tour, with “ “ ‘ science&tech 3 director ofnew student orienta- keep people hydrated and they “The goal ofour program is to a haunted walk providing viewpoint 5 tion, said of the 26 orientation scheduled the tours to keep stu- prepare students for their arrival students with history of the classifieds 7 counselors for 2005. dents inside buildings as often in August, and for the first dayof University and eerie stories sports 8 She added that the hours were as possible. class,” McGraw said. centering around the original weather.............................. extremely demanding with the “The counselors get their en- McGraw pointed to the feed- parts of campus. counselors beginning their day ergy from first-year students,” back from students, faculty and The hauntedwalk, McGraw today tomorrow around 8 a.m. and at 11:30 pm. McGraw said. administration as being very said, was easily the most positive and indicative of the popular activity with close “they were still going strong.” This year’s orientation class in- 'Science of combat’ “5 ’* McGraw said the heat has been cluded 4,400 first-year students, a success of the program. Jujitsu enthusiasts grapple for victory. 950/700 940/710 a problem with the counselors, number up from previous years, This year’s program featured OCS continued page 2 See page 8. 33¢ Texas Holdem SW4“ m M? Gnu .stI-Ihl PAGE 2' WEDNESDAY, AUGUST3, 2005 Page 2 WWW N. parked in the Capability Lot North. was removed from the machine. The 07/30/05 the leak. CORRECTION On arrival officers located a second crime occurred between 7/27/05 at 5 12:25 A.M. ASSIST OTHER POLICE complaint, another staffmember pm. and the time ofthe report. AGENCY 08/01/05 In a July 27 story, ”Greek budget reported someone had siphoned gas RPD requested that an officer check 9:40 A.M. FRAUD suffers,” Sigma Nu fraternity was from his vehicle on the same date. 8:18 A.M. | BREAKING AND ENTER- in at a residence on Kaplan Drive in A student reported that his Discover listed as one ofthe chapters that ING reference to a party. A student was card had been fraudulently used. By was either suspended by Greek Life BLOTTER 4:33. P.M. ANIMALPROBLEM A staff member reported that some- issued a citation for a nuisance party contacting the company it was deter— or that lost University recognition. While on patrol Officer DiGregorio time overnight someone had entered violation. The student was polite and mined his card number was used by Sigma Nu is neither, rather the fra-' 07/25/05 observed an injured fox on Railroad her office located in the College of cooperated with RPD. The people at- someone using a computer on NCSU ternity left their house due to low 12:05 A.M. MEDICAL ASSIST property along Thurman Drive.