How 10 years of crime and public safety incidents affected the Chapel Hill community
Over the past 10 years, several crimes and public safety incidents have affected, transformed and united the University and greater Chapel Hill community. Here is a look back at some of the biggest cases.
On Nov. 13, 2011, after protesters began occupying the former Yates Motor Company building at 419 W. Franklin St., gun-wielding Chapel Hill Police raided the building. Eight protesters were arrested for misdemeanor breaking and entering.
Police collected and analyzed DNA left at the scene by a male and, four years after her death, Chapel Hill Police released a composite of the suspect. The police department originally sealed all documents about the case and only released them two years after her death.
Hedgepeth’s legacy has not been forgotten. The Faith Hedgepeth Memorial Scholarship has assisted several Native American women from North Carolina tribes to earn a higher education.
An autopsy report showed that Shannon had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.22 at the time of his death. In the months following Shannon’s death, allegations of hazing and alcohol violations within Chi Phi and other fraternities were investigated by the University.
Three scholarship memorials have been named in memory of Shannon — one at Myers Park High School, one at UNC and another at Carmel Baptist Church in Charlotte.
2015: Chapel Hill shooting
(From left) Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha lost their lives Feb. 10, 2015. (Courtesy of the Abu-Salha family)
Deah Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, the three Muslim victims, were pronounced dead at the scene. The deaths of Barakat, a UNC dental student, his wife Yusor and her sister Razan were felt deeply by the UNC and Chapel Hill community.
The Our Three Winners Foundation was created to honor the lives of those killed, continue their legacy of humanitarianism and philanthropy, and to raise awareness and solutions about hate-driven crimes.
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Craig Stephen Hicks, the shooter and neighbor of the victims, was charged with three counts of first degree murder. In June 2019, Hicks pleaded guilty to all three changes and was sentenced to three consecutive sentences of life in prison without parole. Hicks was also sentenced to 64-89 months for the charge of shooting into an occupied dwelling.
Hicks is currently serving his sentence in Scotland Correctional Institution in Laurinburg, North Carolina.
Former UNC student Chandler Kania sits at the front of the Battle Court Room in the Orange County Court House as the jury deliberates his case on Oct. 14, 2016.
The crash resulted in the death of three passengers, and left one passenger seriously injured.
Kania, a native of Asheboro, was a 20-year-old UNC sophomore at the time of the 2015 crash and was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the crash. After six days of testimony and two days of jury deliberation, Kania was convicted of three counts of involuntary manslaughter, as opposed to second degree murder which requires malice.
Kania was sentenced to 12 years and eight months minimum to 16 years and 4 months maximum in prison. He is currently serving his sentence in the Craggy Correctional Center, located near Asheville, North Carolina.
