Carson found guilty of capital murder

By Katie Nichols (Contact) | Selma Times-Journal

Published Thursday, July 30, 2009

Nearly four years after the robbery-turned-murder of Anthony Sanders occurred and four days of testimony and arguments and the four hours of deliberation, the family of the victim said justice was finally served.

A jury comprised of 10 females and two males found Roosevelt Carson guilty of capital murder and sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole.

Throughout the trial, Terri Sanders beside the state’s lawyers, Jimmy Thomas and John Oxford. Sanders remembered Nov. 9, 2005, and all the events that happened, especially the one that occurred just after 8 p.m. — her brother Anthony’s death.

“I believe justice was served,” she said. “I knew it then when it happened. I saw what happened and I’m glad somebody was there to see it. It would be sad if no one saw it and then they would have been there moaning with us and grieving. I knew a woman whose daughter died and she never found out who did it. The mother went to the grave not knowing.”

Terri and her mother, Eva Sanders, testified during the trial about the events of the night Anthony Sanders was killed.

Terri Sanders witnessed the shooting and identified the shooters to be Carson and Temarcus Watson, who is a co-defendant, but has not gone to trial yet. She stated she heard dogs barking frantically and went outside to see what the commotion was, but went out the back way. She then heard a shot and went back outside to her front porch.

“I saw Roosevelt and Temarcus,” she said. “Roosevelt had a gun and told my brother to give it up. He said he only had $20, then Roosevelt shot him again.”

Roosevelt and Watson, who is still considered innocent until proven guilty, ran from the scene.

Anthony Sanders staggered into his mother’s house nearby and died there, but not until he told her who shot him.

She asked him before he died, “Who shot you?” He answered, “That Carson boy.” He slipped out of consciousness and Eva shook him to wake him up. She asked him again, “Who shot you,” and again he answered, “That Carson boy.”

Anthony Summers’ last words identified his killer.

Waiting four long years for the case to come to trial and sitting through four days of testimonies and arguments may have been difficult, but the final four hours of jury deliberation may have been the hardest time for Terri Sanders after her brother died.

“[Waiting for the verdict] was terrible,” she said. “I went into the other courtroom and sat by myself in a corner and just prayed. Then I went outside and I got wet from the rain, but I just needed to be alone then.”

Terri Sanders said she didn’t hold any grudge for anyone who testified for the defense or even defense attorney Bruce Maddox. She said she understood Maddox had to do what he was required to do, and she even expressed sympathy for Carson.

“When he came into the store in Orrville where I work, I would tell him to stop right there and let me know what he needed because I wanted to get it for him,” she said. “I knew he had kidney dialysis and then a transplant so I sympathized for him. I still do sympathize for him. I know I’ll see all the defense’s witnesses at some point, but I don’t blame them. They didn’t kill my brother.”

Well before the trial began, Terri Sanders was focused on making sure the right person or people were convicted for Anthony Sanders’ murder. She said she prayed that if she was going to wrongfully accuse someone for murder, that God would let her know.

“He never told me I was wrong,” she said. “That’s all I had to go on — what I saw and my faith.”

Not much has changed at Anthony Summers’ old detail shop on County Road 115 in Orrville since his murder. Terri and Eva Sanders keep the lights on and bright, just like Nov. 9, 2005. Anthony Summers’ vehicle is still in the garage and his family cleans up the place. The only thing that is different is Anthony Sanders isn’t there, and the Keith High School students participating in basketball, band and football don’t stop by anymore. He used to help with the students any chance he got, whether it was a pep talk before a big game or the teens just knowing he believed in them.

“A part of them went away the day he died too,” Terri said. “I still help out with Keith and I’m part of the boosters there. I know that if I didn’t, Anthony might have to tap me on my shoulder in a dream and ask what I was doing to help the basketball team.”

District Attorney Michael Jackson was pleased by the verdict and sentence, but was ultimately hopeful that the trial would finally bring what the Sanders family has been waiting nearly four long years for — closure.

Terri Sanders said knowing that the person she saw shoot her brother was found guilty does provide some closure, but knows that two families are still hurting.

“It’s not just our family that lost someone,” she said. “His family is hurting, too. All I can say though is they can still see Roosevelt, but we can’t see Anthony.”

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