By Catherine M. Welch
Wilmington, NC – Wilmington defense attorney Thom Goolsby says it's unusual that a New Hanover County grand jury chose not to indict Christopher Long.
The former sheriff's deputy was cleared Wednesday of voluntary manslaughter charges for the death of 18-year-old Peyton Strickland.
Goolsby says it's also odd that Long testified in front of the grand jury.
This almost never ever happens in fact every attorney I spoke with we've never heard anything like this. And then to allow the victim's father to testify made it even more bizarre.
Goolsby says the North Carolina Attorney General's office could have sought another indictment since there is no statute of limitations for felonies in North Carolina. The attorney general issued a statement that his office will not pursue the case.