Judge In N.C. Student Deaths Steps Down

A judge in Durham County quit Friday. Craig Brown presided over the first court appearance of Laurence Lovette.

Lovette is charged in the deaths of University of North Carolina student Eve Carson and Duke grad student Abhijit Mahato.

As judge, Brown called for a special session on gang violence while presiding over the first court appearance for Lovette.

In March, Brown pleaded with state lawmakers to meet immediately and address gang violence.

Police have not said that 17-year-old Lovette, of Durham, was a member of a gang, or that the deaths of Mahato and Carson were gang-related. In both cases, robbery appears to be the primary motive.

Authorities have also charged 21-year-old Demario Atwater of Durham, in Carson's death, and 19-year-old Stephen Lavance, of Durham, in Mahato's killing.

Lovette wasn't a suspect in Mahato's death until after police in Chapel Hill began investigating Carson's slaying.