| 114th Year, 33rd Issue | Thursday, March 27, 2003 | Sparta, North Carolina |
An Alleghany County Grand Jury indicted Dewey Franklin Edwards of first-degree murder Monday as the spring session of Superior Court got underway in the county. Several other indictments were also handed down in proceedings Monday.
Judge Douglas Albright is presiding over the court session. An indictment is not a finding of guilt or innocence, rather a finding of probable cause to allow the case to proceed to trial. A complete listing of indictments will be printed when they become available, along with a report on other Superior Court actions. Edwards, 62, was indicted for the murder of 55-year-old Walter Edward
"Ed" Whitaker Jr. of the Cherry Lane community. According to earlier reports from the Alleghany County Sheriff's Department, Whitaker was killed after a dispute at Edwards' home. Alcohol was likely an aggravating factor in the events, which occurred on Oct. 11. Edwards has been held in custody without bond awaiting trial since the incident.
Hash Indicted
Also indicted was Franklin Garnett Hash, charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill Hash, a 39-year-old former Sparta Police Officer, was indicted of shooting at his brother-in-law, Ricky Lynn Hamm. The shot apparently missed Hamm by about six inches; he was not injured.
The sheriff's department reported earlier that the men had a dispute over personal issues.
Hash has been free on a $10,000 secured bond since the time of the alleged shooting.
Court dates for the two cases were not available as of presstime, but the cases will likely be heard in the August session of Superior Court.
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