Murphy – The former attorney for the Cherokee County Department of Social Services is one of many cases set to be heard starting Monday in Superior Court.
Scott Lindsay faces 20 felony charges for his role in separating children from their families without judicial oversight through the use of custody and visitation agreements. Lindsay was scheduled to face a jury trial in February, then again in July and August in 2022. His defense attorney, Jerry Townson, has said he would like to move the trial to another county due to the considerable press coverage.
The families involved in the DSS lawsuits have won more than $53 million in judgments, settlements and fees. That’s why the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners raised the millage rate by another 8 cents for the 2022-23 budget, which will likely continue for at least nine years.
Here are some of the other cases due to face a judge next week.
- Dr. Jeffrey McCammon, 46, pastor of Mountain View Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., and a mathematics teacher at the Rockdale Magnet School for Science & Technology, is accused of sexually assaulting a child under age 16. The victim is reportedly known to McCammon.
Court documents allege the incident happened between April 2015 and June 2016, when McCammon lived in Cherokee County. He was arrested in December 2021 following an investigation by local authorities and appeared in court on May 3, 2022. This case has been receiving additional attention due to the sexual abuse scandal in the Southern Baptist Convention.
- David Barnes, 76, of Marble, was charged on April 6 with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and 10 counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
- Roger Jason Beavers, 40, of Martins Creek, was arrested on Sept. 29, 2014, on charges of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with the intent to kill, kidnapping, assault on a female, possession of a schedule VI controlled substance and interfering of emergency communications.
- Bryan Vincent Crisp, 48, is charged with the murder of Kenneth Ryan Jones in May 2016. when they learned police in Tennessee possessed documents that had not been turned over during the discovery phase. The trial was scheduled to start on May 18, 2020, but continued.
- Morgan Jemar Kimble, 28, is charged with murder in the death of his 2-month-old son, Zaiden Maliek Kimble, in March 2020. The child died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.
- Heath Darrell Pressley, 37, of Andrews, was arrested on Jan. 12, 2021, and charged with theft after law enforcement officials allegedly found nearly a dozen catalytic converters in the back of his truck.
- Amanda Leigh Holloway, 38, of Andrews, was arrested on four counts of aiding and abetting underage persons in the possession of spirituous liquor by the N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement Division after she was accused of buying alcohol for minors before a fatal vehicle crash.
- Walter Leland Watkins, 71, of Murphy, was indicted for charges stemming from an alleged online solicitation of a minor to engage in sex acts in September 2021.
- Micaiah Noel Naylor, 33, of Murphy, is accused of child rape, distribution of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor after being arrested twice.
- Robert “Bobby” Kays is accused of leading officials from Cherokee and Graham counties on a lengthy pursuit after Kays allegedly stole the Graham County sheriff’s Humvee and used it to smash through the front of Robbinsville Pharmacy.