Othega Mooney's Page
A Mecklenburg judge ruled Tuesday that former Carolina Panthers player Rae Carruth can have jailhouse visits with his 8-month-old son but can't hold or touch him.
Also Tuesday, Carruth agreed to use money from the sale of his south Charlotte home as child support for his two sons.
Moments after District Judge Yvonne Mims Evans announced her decision on visitation, Carruth smiled broadly and chatted with his mother and other supporters.
He was "very pleased with the result," said his lawyer, Bill Diehl. "It's all very positive. What we wanted was visitation, and we got that."
The visits will occur despite reservations expressed by relatives of Cherica Adams, the infant's slain mother. Prosecutors have accused Carruth of instigating Adams' fatal Nov.16 shooting, a crime that nearly killed the child as well.
Cherica Adams' mother, Saundra Adams, has custody of the baby, Chancellor. Lawyers for Saundra Adams and Cherica's father, Jeffrey Moonie, argued it wouldn't be in Chancellor's best interests to have contact visits with Carruth in jail.
Evans agreed, noting that jail policies don't allow contact visits between inmates and their children. But she ruled that Carruth can have noncontact visits with Chancellor, providing a grandparent takes the child to see him.
That means he will see the child through a glass partition, but can't hold or touch him.
"We don't feel that contact visits were in the child's best interests and (the judge) said so," said Saundra Adams' lawyer, Billie Ellerbe. "The court has spoken and we are law-abiding people."
Saundra Adams said she is "not totally disappointed" with the judge's ruling, but didn't elaborate. She said Carruth's mother, Theodry Carruth, has been seeing the child periodically.
Tuesday's developments mean Theodry Carruth can take the child to the jail to see Carruth. Diehl said other relatives might also take the child, but a schedule for the visits hasn't been worked out.
Adams, 24, was pregnant with Carruth's baby when she was gunned down while driving in south Charlotte. Doctors saved the baby, but Adams died a month later.
Carruth and three other men have been jailed without bond on first-degree murder charges. One of his co-defendants, Van Brett Watkins, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges Monday. Watkins agreed to testify against Carruth and the other men - Michael Eugene Kennedy and Stanley Drew "Boss" Abraham.
In Tuesday's civil court hearing, the child support agreement required Carruth to split the proceeds of the sale of his south Charlotte home between Saundra Adams and Michelle Wright, the California-based mother of his older son, 5-year-old Rae Jr.
Carruth's house is on the market for $239,900. Diehl estimated the sale could net $18,000 to $25,000 in profit.
Carruth has paid $12,000 in child support for Chancellor.
But as far as assets are concerned, Carruth "doesn't have a whole lot left" besides the house, Diehl said.
Evans' order says Carruth gets to keep all other property. He won't have to pay monthly child support, and Evans lifted a freeze she had placed on his assets.
The money coming to Chancellor from the sale of the house will cover two years of child support, ending July 31, 2002. As long as Carruth remains jailed during that time, Cherica Adams' parents can't seek more child support.
But if he is released and starts earning money again, they can seek more child support.
The judge's ruling marks the end of much of the major litigation in the custody case - for now. Carruth has said he will seek custody of Chancellor if he wins acquittal in the murder case.
Carruth faces trial in October on the criminal charges. At Tuesday's child custody and visitation hearing, Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist showed up, saying only that he was interested in the proceedings.
Three key Charlotte-Mecklenburg homicide detectives also came to the courtroom, asking at one point to speak with Theodry Carruth. She declined to talk with them.
As Saundra Adams left the courthouse, she was asked about Watkins' guilty plea. She replied: "I'm pleased that justice will be served."
