Assistant District Attorney Nancy Lee has joined the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office to serve as the chief homicide prosecutor for the largest of the three counties in the 36th Prosecutorial District.
Lee’s primary role will include supervision of all homicides and non-fatal shootings that occur in Catawba County. The veteran prosecutor brings 25 years of experience in the DA’s Office to the supervisory position.
A lifelong Catawba County resident, Lee is from Balls Creek and attended Bandys High School before completing her undergraduate studies in Criminal Justice at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. She earned her law degree from North Carolina Central University.
District Attorney Scott Reilly is comfortable in appointing Lee with the task of overseeing such cases in Catawba County.
“We face enormous challenges in prosecution during this pandemic, including the fact that the court system is operating at a fraction of its capacity,” Reilly explained. “Too many people are losing their lives or being harmed by senseless gun violence. I have full confidence in Nancy Lee and her abilities to prosecute the most serious and complex cases.”
Lee certainly is no stranger to handling such cases or Catawba County and the 36th Prosecutorial District as she has spent her entire career in Catawba, Caldwell and Burke counties in the administrations of five different district attorneys.
Following an internship with the DA’s office, Lee spent a year in private practice. She spent 21 years in Caldwell County, including a supervisory role there and in Burke County for the last six months, along with four years in Catawba County.
“I look forward to prosecuting cases in the county I’m from,” Lee said. “I’m eager to get started.”
Catawba County currently has 22 pending murder cases, and Reilly noted that the top priority for 2021 is to resolve as many of those cases as possible.
Lee has the experience for that task, as her experiences as a prosecutor cover a gamut of case types. She has prosecuted assaults, shootings, property and drug crimes, sex cases and murders during her career.
“I had great relationships with law enforcement (agencies) in Caldwell County,” Lee said. “I look forward to forging new and close relationships with agencies in Catawba County to resolve cases here.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMMY WEST
CUTLINE: Nancy Lee looks through a murder file in the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office. Lee has been appointed as the chief homicide prosecutor for the office.
CONTACT: Nathan Key
Phone: 828-695-6193
Email: Nathan.D.Key@nccourts.org