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The North Carolina Beat has learned the name of the district court judge that issued a protective order to stop the media and anyone from obtaining public records in the double-homicide case of 14-year-old Lyric Woods and 18-year-old Devin Clark.
Judge Hathaway Pendergrass is the Orange County District Judge who granted a petition by Orange County District Attorney Jeff Nieman to seal all public record information usually obtained by the press to learn more about what happened to Woods and Clark.
Pendergrass, who is a Demorat, has been on the bench in Orange and Chatham counties since 2020 after being appointed by Governor Roy Cooper.
Over the last two days, The North Carolina Beat has learned that many residents and at least two attorneys whose names we will not release have said that Pendergrass often gets his rulings wrong more than right.
Instead of Pendergrass granting Orange County DA Jeff Nieman’s motion to seal the public information about this case, Pendergrass should be granting a motion to have this 17-year-old juvenile transferred to adult court to be tried as an adult for these two murders.
The protective order will bar anyone, including the media, from obtaining police reports, 911 calls, or any information considered public records under the North Carolina Public Records Law, G.S. 132-1.
However, what is unfortunate for Orange County District Attorney Jeff Nieman and Sheriff Charles Blackwood is that whatever they are hiding at some point has to come out UNLESS they decide to prosecute this alleged 17-year-old in juvenile court. However, a judge can close a juvenile proceeding from the public if he or she has good cause to do so.
According to NCCOURTS.GOV, all juvenile court hearings in North Carolina are open to the public. However, a judge may close the courtroom for a good cause to protect sensitive information about the juvenile, the juvenile’s family, or victims from public disclosure.
On Tuesday, The North Carolina Beat obtained the protective order signed by Judge Pendergrass to stop the release of any and all information related to this case.
Many of you may think, ‘well, I thought the information was already sealed because the 17-year-old is a juvenile?’ That is correct, but in this case, this order stops the media and anyone else from obtaining public records such as police reports, 911 calls, etc.
Judge Pendergrass signed the protective order on Monday, September 26, 2022, after The North Carolina Beat, on Friday, September 23, 2022, sent a FOIA request seeking the 911 call that reported Woods missing from her Efland, North Carolina Saturday, September 17, 2022.
READ THE PROTECTIVE ORDER BELOW:
The North Carolina Beat was the first to obtain the 911 call made when two men riding on four-wheelers discovered Woods and Clark’s bodies. We sent a FOIA request for the call on Wednesday, September 21, 2022. We received the call from Orange County Emergency Services 911 Division Chief Kevin Medlin the next day, Thursday, September 22, 2022.
PHOTO OF EMAIL REQUESTING FOR 911 CALL ON SEPTEMBER 21 BELOW:
EMAIL RECEIVING THE REQUESTED 911 CALL ON SEPTEMBER 22 BELOW:
After The North Carolina Beat received the 911 call, we listened to it and listened to it. Then later that night, September 22, Gerald Jackson went live to discuss ‘supscious’ the 911 call with over 500 people watching.
WATCH THE DISCUSSION OF THE 911 CALL BELOW:
The next day, Friday, September 23, 2022, The North Carolina Beat filed a FOIA request to obtain the 911 call that reported Lyric Woods missing from her home.
LOOK AT THE EMAIL FOR THAT CALL BELOW:
At 8:44 a.m., the email above was sent. At 2:11 p.m. the same day, I sent a follow-up email asking Kevin Medlin for an update on the 911 call I requested. I also referenced that the 911 call I requested a day prior was sent to me quickly. And to be honest, it doesn’t take long to pull a phone call.
READ THAT EMAIL BELOW:
At 2:39 p.m., Kevin Medlin replied back to my email, stating that he was working on my request and would get back to me with a response.
READ THE EMAIL BELOW:
I never heard back from Mr. Medlin that Friday, and I didn’t reach out to him that following Monday, September 26, 2022. However, on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, I called Mr. Medlin and asked for an update on my request. He told me that DA Jeff Nieman filed a petition to get a protective order for the release of public records surrounding the case. I asked Mr. Medlin when Nieman sought this order, and he said “yesterday,” which was the day before.
READ HIS EMAIL BELOW AFTER OUR PHONE CALL:
There’s no doubt in our mind that the move to seal the public records, in this case, was because The North Carolina Beat was bringing to light the suspiciousness surrounding the deaths of Lyric Woods and Devin Clark.
If you know information about this case or if you have a story the public should know about, send it to [email protected]. You will remain 100% ANONYMOUS!
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Have an opinion about the case? Join The “Justice For Devin & Lyric UNFILTERED Discussion” group on Facebook by clicking HERE.
My theory is that the father of the caller is a connected official maybe in politics or the judicial system. And possible reason for voice change could be both he is a part of the investigation or he is 17 y/o and considered a minor.