PUBLISHED SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2003

Fund-raiser for murder case

Family, friends stage benefit for teen accused in uncle`s slaying

Michael Stewart
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Daniel Carter, 16, sat in solitary confinement at Escambia County Jail on Saturday afternoon while supporters gathered at Bamboo Willie's Beachside Bar on Pensacola Beach to raise enough money to defend the boy accused of murdering his uncle in July.

Owners of Bamboo Willie's provided space for the booth where Carter's friends were sold barbecue dinners with all the fixings and a glass of iced tea for $6.

Pace resident and caterer Tom Stewart donated the 200 dinners, and local musician Tim Spencer performed for the benefit.

Daniel Carter's mother, Cindy Carter, said she expects that at least $20,000 is needed to defend her son against accusations that he killed Jack Carter.

More fund raisers are planned, and the need for cash is more urgent with the Wednesday death of Daniel Carter's attorney, James Stokes, benefit organizers said. Stokes, 47, and Pensacola businessman John Johnson, 50, died when an ultralight aircraft that the two co-owned crashed into a tree in rural Elsanor, Ala.

"Murder cases run up to $35,000," Cindy Carter said. "James agreed to take the case for $10,000 with payments of $100 a month."

Donna Gallegos, a member of the child-advocacy group Kids in Court, said starting over with a new attorney could be expensive. It also costs money for trial consultants and the forensic and medical experts needed for Daniel Carter's murder trial.

"It costs a tremendous amount of money," Gallegos said. "Unfortunately, the majority of cases we see where children are charged as adults involve defendants from low- and middle-class families. It's hard to get a fair trial without money."

Jack Carter died July 16 from knife wounds he suffered during a fight with Daniel Carter. Cindy Carter asked her brother to come over that night to talk to Daniel, "who was headed in the wrong direction."

Cindy Carter, who was in her bedroom with a broken leg during the incident, said Jack Carter was the aggressor in the incident and that her son picked up a knife to scare away his uncle.

Friends of Jack Carter, however, describe Daniel Carter as a troubled youth involved with drugs who grew increasingly hostile through the years. They believe Daniel Carter killed his uncle in a rage.

Most of the people who wandered off Quietwater Beach and into Bamboo Willie's during Saturday's benefit were vacationers who had never heard of Daniel Carter or his uncle.

Pensacola resident Susie Moorman didn't know about the benefit when she wandered by Bamboo Willie's. But she has heard about the case.

"What I think happened really doesn't matter," Moorman said. "Hopefully though, the state can get him some counseling because he's going to need it."