Criminal Justice

Charges Multiply After Judge Orders Laughing Defendant Removed

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A North Carolina judge had little patience for a laughing defendant who was waiting for his misdemeanor case to be heard on Friday.

Judge Toni King of Cumberland County demanded to know why the 47-year-old Fayetteville man, Johnny Montgomery, was laughing, according to FayObserver.com and the Associated Press. His ill-fated answer, according to the sheriff’s office, was “It’s none of your business,” the FayObserver.com article says.

The AP story says King ordered Montgomery to jail on a misdemeanor charge, while FayObserver.com says she ordered him removed from her courtroom. But both stories quote the sheriff’s office on what happened next: Police searched Montgomery and allegedly found more than 3 grams of crack cocaine on him. He now faces a felony drug possession charge.

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