BY MILES LAYTON

PLYMOUTH — A Plymouth Town Council candidate has responded publicly to renewed attention over his claimed involvement in the 2006 Duke Lacrosse case, one of the most notorious legal scandals in modern North Carolina history.

John Shelton, a former Durham Police Department sergeant now seeking election to the Ward 3 seat on Plymouth Town Council, issued a detailed statement on social media this month after an anonymous Facebook post accused him of lacking transparency. His full statement appears at the end of this story.

“I hate to post this because I promised myself to run a campaign built around how we can make Plymouth better and not to get into the mud with folks who don’t want me elected,” Shelton wrote. “But… something laughable just happened. Someone hiding behind an anonymous Facebook page accused me of not being transparent. How hypocritical of them.”

Shelton went on to address his “involvement in the Duke Lacross case from 2006,” recounting in detail how he says he became connected to the event that began with an emergency call in Durham and ultimately led to a national controversy involving false rape allegations, a disbarred district attorney, and multimillion-dollar settlements.

Editor’s NOTE: During the last campaign cycle, I’ve seen and reported on all kinds on stories. October suprise stories like this remind me of the House of Cards’ television show’s style of machiavellian campaign politics. Disgusting. And media bias in the Duke Lacross case runs thick — also disgusting.

Running for office these days, even if you are a good person, your name is likely to run in the mud.

Smart voters know that town council candidates are real people who want to make their community a better place.

The Duke Lacrosse case

The case began in March 2006, when a woman named Crystal Mangum — a North Carolina Central University student and part-time exotic dancer — accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her at an off-campus party. The allegations quickly became a national story, sparking debate over race, privilege, and the criminal justice system.

The three players — David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann — were indicted on rape, kidnapping, and sexual assault charges despite conflicting evidence and a lack of DNA matches. Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong aggressively pursued the case while running for election, frequently commenting to the media.

Within a year, Nifong’s prosecution collapsed. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper took over the investigation, reviewed the evidence, and on April 11, 2007, dropped all charges, declaring the players “innocent” and victims of a “tragic rush to accuse.” Nifong resigned, was disbarred for “dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation,” and served one day in jail for contempt of court.

The Durham Police Department faced widespread criticism for violating internal policies, allowing Nifong to direct the investigation, and using an unreliable photo-identification process that included only lacrosse team members. The three players later reached a civil settlement with Duke University reportedly worth about $20 million each, and filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the City of Durham.

In December 2024, nearly two decades later, Mangum publicly admitted she fabricated the assault and falsely testified, bringing closure to a case that had long symbolized prosecutorial misconduct and media bias.

Shelton’s account

In his campaign statement, posted to social media, see full statement below, Shelton described his role as an on-duty police sergeant who was the first to respond to a complaint at a Durham Kroger in March 2006 — a call, he said, that began “as someone refusing to get out of a vehicle.”

“I arrived first and encountered a woman, later identified as Crystal Mangum, pretending to be unconscious in the passenger seat of a Honda,” Shelton wrote. “I had to physically remove her from the car, which it turns out belonged to the other dancer, although she lied to me about how Mangum ended up in her car.”

Shelton said Mangum appeared intoxicated and uncooperative, so he ordered one of his officers to transport her to Durham Center Access, “an evaluation facility that is a threshold for mental health and substance abuse care.”

“While at Access, she claimed to have been raped,” Shelton continued. “The officer passed that along to me and I directed him to take her to the emergency room so that we could initiate a rape investigation. I met them at the hospital. While at the hospital, Mangum told me that she had not been raped.”

Shelton said he reported Mangum’s recantation along with “credible information to demonstrate that the claim was fabricated.”

“The detective sergeant, who had been transferred due to his disdain and mistreatment of Duke students, learned that she had accused players from the Number 1 ranked Duke Lacross team,” Shelton wrote. “He decided to proceed with an investigation and bragged that he was going to be on TV for locking up Duke Lacross players. I admonished him that I would likely be testifying against him because the claim was false.”

Shelton went on to describe how Nifong, who had been appointed district attorney by the governor, “latched onto the notoriety of the Lacross team to get press to help in his bid for office.”

“Both he and Sergeant Gottlieb were blinded by ambition and fame and broke rules of ethics, broke the law, intimidated witnesses, and more,” Shelton said. “Several pieces of legislation were enacted to prevent such a miscarriage of justice from happening again. After Gottlieb lied to the grand jury, three players were indicted.”

Shelton credited then-Attorney General Roy Cooper with re-examining the case and ultimately clearing the players.

“After that, the players sued Durham PD and Duke University,” Shelton wrote. “When that happened, Durham realized they had what was described as a ‘Shelton Problem.’ That was because I had stood firm all along against the way they were railroading those players.”

Shelton said the department began “taking negative employment actions” against him.

“The Captain of Internal Affairs edited a recording of my radio traffic during a car chase and played it to the City Manager’s Office to make it appear as though I lied about the chase. Because of that, I was fired,” he wrote.

Shelton said he sued the Durham Police Department for wrongful termination, subpoenaed the recordings, and proved the alteration.

“The City and PD settled my case out of court and overturned every bit of the negative actions they took against me,” he wrote.

He concluded: “So, for those who are still reading, I was wrongfully fired for standing up against police corruption and corruption by the District Attorney. The PD realized it and overturned it. I had already been hired by the Sheriff of Durham County and later went to work for the Sheriff of Vance County. Unlike the lies being told about me, everything in this post is well documented and factual.”

Shelton added that Nifong “lost his law license and spent a night in jail behind his corruption,” while Gottlieb “left the force and moved out of state after this case, later taking his own life.”

Campaign context

Shelton, who now works in project management and lives in Washington County, is one of several candidates running for the Plymouth Town Council’s Ward 3 seat in the Nov. 4 election. According to his Ballotpedia profile, he holds a degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate credential from Pfeiffer University.

His campaign website focuses on local issues — including town infrastructure, economic revitalization, and budgeting — but his connection to the Duke case has resurfaced as voters vet candidates online.

In his statement, Shelton suggested the topic was raised to discredit him. “My involvement in the Duke Lacross case from 2006 was mentioned,” he wrote. “I have not talked about it because you can easily Google Sergeant Shelton and Duke Lacross and get more information than you can digest.”

Shelton’s detailed account, however, marks the first time he has outlined his version of events publicly during the current campaign.

The case’s legacy

The Duke Lacrosse scandal remains a watershed moment in criminal justice and media ethics. Legal scholars have cited it as a prime example of prosecutorial overreach and institutional failure. The incident also led to changes in North Carolina’s procedures governing disclosure of exculpatory evidence, grand jury practices, and police lineup policies.

At its height, the case ignited fierce debates about race, class, and privilege in college athletics. National media outlets widely reported the allegations before evidence had been reviewed, and commentators later acknowledged contributing to a “rush to judgment.”

For Durham, the episode left lasting damage to public confidence in law enforcement. For the three players, it brought years of stigma and legal battles. And for prosecutors nationwide, it remains a cautionary example of what can happen when ambition overrides due process.

Shelton’s statement casts himself as a small but principled player in that larger drama — a sergeant who warned colleagues against pursuing a false case and faced retaliation for doing so.

Whether that account can be independently verified remains uncertain. Court filings related to his alleged wrongful-termination lawsuit are not included in his campaign materials, and neither Durham Police nor city officials have commented publicly on his version of events.

Still, his story has resonated with some voters who view it as evidence of character. Others question why a decades-old controversy has resurfaced in a local race centered on town governance, public works, and economic planning.

Looking ahead

As Election Day approaches, Shelton has said he intends to focus on Plymouth’s future, not his past. But with one of the most infamous cases in state history back in the headlines, his campaign has taken on an unexpected layer of attention.

He concluded his online statement by reaffirming his stance against corruption and defending his integrity.

“I was wrongfully fired for standing up against police corruption and corruption by the District Attorney,” Shelton wrote. “Unlike the lies being told about me, everything in this post is well documented and factual.”

For voters, Shelton’s explanation offers both an extraordinary personal story and a reminder of a case that tested North Carolina’s justice system nearly twenty years ago — a story still echoing in an election half a state away.

Shelton’s Full Statement is Found Here

I hate to post this because I promised myself to run a campaign built around how we can make Plymouth better and not to get into the mud with folks who don’t want me elected.

But….

Something laughable just happened.

Someone hiding behind an anonymous Facebook page accused me of not being transparent.

How hypocritical of them.

My involvement in the Duke Lacross case from 2006 was mentioned.

To address the Duke Lacross mess, which I have not talked about because you can easily Google Sergeant Shelton and Duke Lacross and get more information than you can digest.  Here it is in short:

In March of that year, I responded to the Kroger in Durham as the on-duty sergeant, to a call of someone refusing to get out of a vehicle.  I arrived first and encountered a woman, later identified as Crystal Mangum, pretending to be unconscious in the passenger seat of a Honda.  I had to physically remove her from the car, which it turns out belonged to the other dancer, although she lied to me about how Mangum ended up in her car.  Because she appeared intoxicated and was uncooperative, I had one of my officers transport her to Durham Center Access, which is an evaluation facility that is a threshold for mental health and substance abuse care.

While at Access, she claimed to have been raped.  The officer passed that along to me and I directed him to take her to the emergency room so that we could initiate a rape investigation.  I met them at the hospital.  While at the hospital, Mangum told me that she had not been raped.  She later recanted her recantation and changed her story several times over the years.  But recently in a documentary, she admitted that she lied about being raped.

I reported her statement that she was not raped along with credible information to demonstrate that the claim was fabricated.  The detective sergeant, who had been transferred due to his disdain and mistreatment of Duke students, learned that she had accused players from the Number 1 ranked Duke Lacross team.  He decided to proceed with an investigation and bragged that he was going to be on TV for locking up Duke Lacross players.  I admonished him that I would likely be testifying against him because the claim was false. 

The DA at the time, Mike Nifong, was seeking to be elected into the position that the Governor had appointed him, when Nifong promised not to run for election in order to get the appointment.  Nifong faced an uphill battle against Freda Black who had successfully prosecuted Durham Author Michael Peterson in the brutal murder of his wife in the stairwell of their mansion.  At least one movie was made about that case.

Nifong latched onto the noteriety of the Lacross team to get press to help in his bid for office.  Both he and Sergeant Gottlieb were blinded by ambition and fame and broke rules of ethics, broke the law, intimidated witnesses, and more.  Several pieces of legislation were inacted to prevent such a miscarriage of justice from happening again.  After Gottlieb lied to the grand jury, three players were indicted.

Roy Cooper, who was the Attorney General of NC (and later Governor) took over the case and had his staff re-interview all of the witnesses, re-examine evidence and police reports.  The players were deemed INNOCENT.  After that, the players sued Durham PD and Duke University.  When that happened, Durham realized they had what was described as a “Shelton Problem.”  That was because I had stood firm all along against the way they were railroading those players.  The PD started taking negative employment actions against me that were fabricated.  The Captain of Internal Affairs edited a recording of my radio traffic during a car chase and played it to the City Manager’s Office to make it appear as though I lied about the chase.  Because of that, I was fired.

I sued the Durham Police Department for wrongful termination.  My attorney subpoenaed the recording that the IA Captain played as well as the original recording and proved that the Captain had altered it.  The City and PD settled my case out of court and overturned every bit of the negative actions they took against me.

So, for those who are still reading, I was wrongfully fired for standing up against police corruption and corruption by the Distrct Attorney.  The PD realized it and overturned it.  I had already been hired by the Sheriff of Durham County and later went to work for the Sheriff of Vance County.

Unlike the lies being told about me, everything in this post is well documented and factual.

Mike Nifong lost his Law License and spent a night in jail behind his corruption. Gottlieb left the force and moved out of state after this case, later taking his own life.