Has Mr. Kearney Been Tried In The Media?

Bond Motion Reveals That Defendant in Lake Gaston Home Invasion May Be Innocent; Has Been Unfairly Tried In the Media

Warrenton, NC, May 20, 2021–Countless sensational news stories have already convicted Lester Kearney of the capital murder of Dr. Nancy Alford in the gruesome 2018 Lake Gaston home invasion.

There’s just one problem: he may be innocent.

A bond motion filed on May 5 in Warren County Superior Court in State v. Kearney, 18 CRS 118-128, 50136, to be argued by attorneys on May 20, reveals that:

• Mr. Kearney’s co-defendant, Kevin Munn, only implicated him in the crime after repeated insistent suggestions from the cops; 
• Mr. Munn’s stories have changed repeatedly;
• Mr. Kearney’s cell phone remained in active use at his girlfriend’s home during the crime, and she states that he was with her at the time; 
• The cross-racial identification of Mr. Kearney by an elder victim, who suffered a head injury during the crime, was badly tainted by suggestion by the cops and the media, and it does not match Mr. Kearney’s prominent tattoos; and
• Mr. Kearney has passed a polygraph test; 

“This case, and the media’s coverage of it, is an example of a criminal legal system and a society that is more concerned with getting a conviction than finding the truth of what occurred,” said Attorney Dawn Blagrove, Executive Director of Emancipate NC. “The court cannot find the truth when Mr. Kearney has been tried in the media.”

Media stories first floated Mr. Kearney’s name and photo as a potential suspect after cops held a press conference–prior to conducting a proper lineup. This tainted the eyewitness ID by the elder victim. Media stories have neglected to tell how Munn acquiesced to the cop’s suggestion of implicating Kearney. Media stories have breathlessly covered the horrific trauma of the victims and their families, instigating racial outrage.

Now it is time to tell the other side of the story.