The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 1

I If-junKnij-in A A mro SS SUNDAY MAY 28 2000 wwwcharlottecom $150 METRO EDITION Plea deals offered in Carrath case Sources speculate on strength of evidence take a lower plea offer feeling like a bird in the hand is worth two in the said Scheer a former Mecklenburg prosecutor get the substantial punishment without risking the chance of going to trial and coming away with Other sources pointed out that plea bargaining is a routine part of how the justice system works in Mecklenburg County The plea offers sources said By GARY WRIGHT and ERIC FRAZIER StaffWriters Mecklenburg prosecutors who said they would seek the death penalty against Rae Carruth and three co-defendants have offered plea bargains to all four murder suspects sources have told The Observer Prosecutors are giving all four men the chance to plead guilty to second-degree murder and avoid a capital murder trial and the risk of a death sentence several in years They said it might signal problems with the evidence Charlotte defense lawyer Tony Scheer who involved in the case also said surprised He said the deals to all four defen dants may mean prosecutors have problems with their case there are weaknesses in the proof the state will often ther But documents in the court files confirm that prosecutors have sent letters to all four defendants concerning pleas Some sources who asked to remain anonymous expressed amazement that prosecutors have made plea offers to all four defendants in one of most heavily publicized murder cases sources said Carruth and the other men are charged with first-degree murder in the Nov 16 shooting of Cherica Adams Adams 24 was pregnant with baby when she was gunned down while driving in southeast Charlotte Prosecutors declined to discuss the plea offers Lawyers for the defendants comment ei The next lesson is how to deal with it HA Wheeler thinks he knows He is president of Motor Speedway just outside Charlotte where Coca-Cola 600 takes place Wheeler is widely known as an innovator and image shaper one of the most important figures in stock car racing fastest growing pro sport HIGH SCHOOL TRAVEL Clip and save this dinosaur poster Rnd out all about the reptiles that roamed the Carolinas long ago in a special full-page color poster 6G ONLINE: Download a dinosaur coloring book at wwwcharlottecom I 'ff 'If LIVING RV madness An inside look at why everybody loves vacationing on wheels IE NATION Airline deal reviewed NC joins Pennsylvania in inquiry of US Airways-United deal 6A PERSPECTIVE School choice: What works what Authors share insight 1C (Inside Section X) NATION Control the weather? Learn about the $41 million Smart Road where engineers can change driving conditions IX ARTS One heck of a beach book SC light on literary value heaty on entertainment 6F OUTDOORS Conquering the rock CPCC students test their mettle in rock-climbing class 17H BUSINESS Sick about health premiums? Prognosis is for insurance costs to rise at quicker pace ID ALSO INSIDE Quitters put on colorful show This weekend's NC Quilt Symposium is for those who took their own sweet tme IB WEATHER Thunderstorms end this afternoon High: 82 Clear and cooler tonight Low: 58 Monday mix of clouds and sun High: 77 50B Please see DEALS page 7A Missile defense alarms officials Some fear US may spark an arms race By MICHAEL GORDON and STEVEN LEE MYERS New York Times As President Clinton nears a decision on whether to build a limited national missile defense US intelligence officials are warning that such a system could set off a Cold War-style arms race among China India and Pakistan administration officials say While the US officials repeatedly have said an anti-missile defense would not be aimed at Beijing they acknowledge that the system being designed would undercut significantly or even neutralize small nuclear force That could lead China determined to remain a military superpower to add to its nuclear arsenal And if China built up its force its regional rival India could do the same as could rival Pakistan heightening tensions along the newest nuclear frontier The missile defense initially would include a battle-management radar site in Alaska and 100 interceptors Nuclear missiles fired at the United States would be detected by the radar and destroyed by the Please see CHINA page 7A Memory of D-Day lingers Memorial rises in town that lost 21 By BOB DART Cox News Service BEDFORD Va Weeks of waves had washed the blood from the beaches of Normandy before townsfolk learned how D-Day had devastated their town It was the middle of the summer of 1944 Elizabeth Teass was working in the telegraph booth in the back of Drug Store when the warning from the Roanoke operator clicked out on the Teletype machine: have was a lively place The stools at the soda fountain were always occupied In the mornings businessmen came in for coffee and gossip High school students slurped milkshakes and flirted away afternoons But on that July day the chatter stopped cold The telegrams came one after the othei until the town thought they would never stop Bedford lost 21 of its sons June 6 in the D-Day invasion of France On Monday the first phase of the National D-Day Memorial promoted by Steven Spielberg Tom Hanks and creator Charles Shultz opens in Bedford The little town that sacrificed the most in the carnage depicted in Private is being honored forever by the nation In 1944 the town had a pop- lease see D-DAY page 13 A HA Wheeler has supervised Lowe's Motor Speedway for 25 years He says his faith and family worry that his intensity causes him to ride the highs and lows of auto racing more dramatically than most FRANCISCO KJOLSETHStaff keep him strong but friends Minutes before joy had been profound Winston all-star race been a spectacular success a thrilling win by Dale Earnhardt Jr Wheeler 61 believed it was the best race seen in his 25 years running the place Then somebody walked the control tower with By SCOn FOWLER and PETER ST ONCE StaffWriters The worst? Humpy Wheeler frowns Yes seen the worst in racing Or at least he thinks he has This sport has a way of opening your eyes wider than you thought they could go- one of the first lessons you learn when in the business are people really buying when they go to a sports event? buying a called adrenalin If you create adrenalin rushes people are just He has dealt with tragedy for 40 years now watched drivers bum after fiery crashes pulled them dead from cars The worst? Maybe the one you remember most clearly such as a week ago Saturday night when Wheeler stood on the rooftop of the speedway at about 11:15 and looked down at the concrete pedestrian walkway outside the fourth turn GRADUATION 'H tf The had into news "Or LEADERS IN THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE See WHEELER page 10A drug in an ordinary 1 fc' Marie Jenkins (In front) and Anna Carter solve a calculus problem with the same they gave all their schoolwork look at how hard you challenge Anna says HF" MNtRSta style as only a lighter blue She grabbed a pencil as Mr Bruhwel handed out calculus problems Anna and Marie were the top two students in the Class of 2000 at Butler High School averaging the highest grades among 354 students They were each taking five advanced placement college-level courses including calculus and juggling the usual teen-age demands of friends family clubs church college applications senior exit essays SATs and jobs It would be their toughest semester in school Their grades would determine who became valedictorian Please see GRADUATES page 12A By ELIZABETH LELAND StaffWnter MATTHEWS At 7:33 on a Thursday morning in November Anna Carter slipped into a chair on the third row of Mr calculus class and stifled a yawn Anna was exhausted She stayed up until 1 am typing a paper about Anna often stayed up late studying She survived on five to six hours of sleep As the bell rang Marie Jenkins scooted into the second row across from Anna She dropped an LL Bean back pack beside her desk the same Printed in part on recycled pfcri paper and kLI is recyclable Vol 131 No 149 7 wl83320 32108 Contents 2000 Th ChartotU Observer 11.