THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090422
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: WINDSOR, N.C. LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
In a tense and emotional hearing that lasted several hours, Leslie Thomas, 21, told jurors Wednesday how she and her brother, Wayne Thomas, 25, were abducted from their Portsmouth home and taken on a robbery spree by two armed men last year.
She testified on the second day of the capital murder trial of one of the men, Charles P. Bond.
Wayne Thomas was shot to death March 25 after Bond allegedly gave his accomplice orders to shoot the Thomases if they caused trouble. Bond could receive the death penalty if convicted. Theola Saunders, 16, is the alleged trigger man.
Saunders is accused of shooting Thomas after Thomas tried to help his sister, who was four months pregnant, escape.
Witnesses also testified that hours before the Thomases were abducted, Bond and Saunders forced their way into another Portsmouth home about 1 1/2 miles away. Armed with a sawed-off shotgun and pistol, the two allegedly stole that family's car and later allegedly abducted the Thomases in Wayne Thomas' Volkswagen, according to witnesses.
Bond also faces charges of kidnapping and armed robbery. Saunders will face murder, robbery and abduction charges later this year. by CNB