Court date set for former District Attorney
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Former District Attorney Rex Gore
BOLIVIA—Rex Gore will have his day in court.
But it likely won’t be before next year when Gore appears on his felony conspiracy charge.
The former 20-year chief prosecutor for the 13th Judicial District, which includes Brunswick, Bladen and Columbus counties, will appear in court Dec. 17 for a case management session.
Brunswick County Clerk of Court Jim MacCallum said Gore’s attorneys would appear on his behalf at the December case management session in Brunswick County Superior Court.
Case management sessions are administrative court sessions that take place monthly.
A trial date has not yet been set, which means it will likely be 2013 before Gore has his day in court. MacCallum said the length of time between the indictment and the trial was not unusual for a felony case.
Gore, 64, faces one felony charge of conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses.
A Brunswick County grand jury indicted Gore on Aug. 20, charging him with conspiring with former assistant district attorney Elaine Kelley over a five-year period to submit $14,000 worth of false reports “seeking monetary reimbursements for travel expenses that she did not incur and therefore was not entitled to receive.”
Kelley has been indicted on two charges—obtaining property by false pretenses and felonious conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses.
Gore hired Kelley in 2005 to supervise prosecutions in Bladen County. Since she was to commute more than 500 miles each week, Gore included a travel component in her compensation—a choice he believed he could make as elected district attorney.
“I had several options available. In the end, I chose a travel mileage plan that limited her to 125 miles for commuting. I have no reason to doubt that each week she claimed that mileage; she consistently traveled at least that many miles,” Gore said in a written statement.
Gore said Kelley continued with this compensation package until 2010, when District Attorney Jon David replaced Gore.
“Even though we have entered this current phase, I still take comfort in three things: I received no monetary benefit from my choice; Ms. Kelly received no more money than she would have had I chosen a different compensation package method; and Bladen County had one of the most aggressive, effective prosecutors in the state when she was there,” Gore said.
The investigation into Gore and Kelley was launched in January 2010 at the request of a superior court judge, though N.C. Department of Justice spokeswoman Noelle Talley declined to name the judge.
In December 2011, the findings were forwarded to special prosecutors in N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office.
James Coman has been named special prosecutor by Cooper’s office.
Coman also served as special prosecutor in the matter of former state Sen. R.C. Soles Jr., when he pleaded guilty to shooting Kyle Blackburn at Soles’ Tabor City home in 2009.
Posted by Caroline Curran
on September 26, 2012. Filed under Brunswick County,Crime,Latest News,Local News.
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