Update: 2 dismissals, 1 not guilty in saga of Durham Confederate statue

Update: District Court Judge Frederick S. Battaglia, Jr. dismissed charges against two of the defendants – Dante Emmanuel Strobino, 35, and Peter Hull Gilbert, 39 – saying prosecutors had not proven that they were among those involved in knocking the statue over. And he found a third not guilty. Trials for five others are to be held at a later date.

Prosecutors showed videos of protesters bringing out a ladder, attaching a rope and yanking down the statue in front of a Durham County government building in August 2017. But defense attorneys successfully argued through a series of objections that investigators had failed to meet stringent standards to prove the first two defendants were the people seen on the video.

In dropping charges against defendant Peter Gilbert, Durham County District Court Judge Fred Battaglia noted “the court must dismiss this case now … because the identification has not been made.” He cited a similar reason for dropping the case against the first defendant of the day, Dante Strobino While Battaglia declined to dismiss the third case over similar defense arguments, he nonetheless found Raul Jimenez not guilty on all charges.

Original description: A North Carolina Central University student was arrested. And brawling continues near Va. Confederate Statue, Charlottesville. And did you know some schools are removing the name “Lynch”?

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