Below you will find press releases and news relating to our office's criminal prosecutions. You'll find information about the latest pleas, trials, and important developments in Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties. As an office, we are bound by the Rules of Professional Conduct for all North Carolina attorneys, and special rules for prosecutors. Therefore, we often only comment on cases after final disposition.
For all media inquiries and requests, for all three counties, please contact Nathan Key by phone: 828-695-6193 or email: Nathan.D.Key@nccourts.org.
Joshua Lee Lumpkins, 46, of Hudson, will spend at least 25 years in prison following his conviction for two counts of attempted first-degree statutory rape and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. The Honorable Daniel A. Kuehnert, … Read More
The State is not seeking the death penalty in the murder case against 32-year-old Justin Drew Dalton, of Newton. Prosecutors announced during Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, that they do not intend to proceed with the … Read More
A Morganton man will serve an active prison term of 28 to 43 months following his conviction for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a Burke County firefighter. Randall Hugh Stewart, 59, entered a guilty plea during Burke … Read More
A Morganton woman will spend five to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple criminal offenses and admitting her status as a habitual felon during Burke County Superior Court on Monday, June 24, 2019. Jamesha Nakema Corpening, 42, … Read More
Katlyn Danielle Hendricks, 25, of Belmont, N.C., will spend six to nine years in prison following her conviction for assault with a deadly weapon intent to kill inflicting serious injury during Catawba County Superior Court on Tuesday, June 25, 2019. … Read More
Francisco Loyola Lopez, 39, of Conover, was given an active prison term of 31 to 47 months following his conviction for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury from a 2003 offense during Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday, … Read More
The State will not seek the death penalty in the murder case against 47-year-old Joseph Wayne Barker of Vale. During a hearing in Catawba County Superior Court on Monday, June 24, 2019, prosecutors announced their intent to proceed with the … Read More
Tom Adkins, Investigator for the 36th Prosecutorial District Attorney’s Office, has been named chairman of the advisory board for the nine-county Hickory Corps of the Salvation Army. His two-year tenure for the position will begin July 1, 2019. “I am … Read More
Jeffrey Dwayne Hoppes will spend the next 18 to 22 years in prison following his conviction for second-degree murder during Catawba County Superior Court. The Honorable Nathaniel J. Poovey, Superior Court Judge from Catawba County, imposed the active prison term … Read More
A Catawba County jury needed less than three hours of deliberation over two days to find Rickey Dale Waldrop, Sr. guilty of seven sexual offenses dating all the way back to 1986 during Catawba County Superior Court on Friday, June … Read More