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A judge raised Ronald Joseph’s bond after a Mecklenburg County jury indicted him for the first degree murder of a Charlotte man during an auto-shop card game on Feb. 4, 2024.
Getty Images/istockphoto
He’d been to her house. He sat at her dinner table. And during a Sunday night card game, he killed her husband, police say.
Ronald Joseph, 45, of Huntersville, stood with bloodied clothing and hands when police lights illuminated a northwest Charlotte auto shop off Brookshire Boulevard on Feb. 4. A witness grasped him close, waiting for officers to handcuff him, police reports say.
Rudolph Acolaste was dead in the corner. A game of Spades sat unfinished.
Joseph had robbed Melissa Bethea and her two kids, 13 and 19, of a husband and father, , the now widow said through weeps inside the Mecklenburg County Courthouse Friday, her eyes bloodshot from tears.
She and a district attorney also challenged Joseph’s low, $100,000 bond.
“This man doesn’t need no bond, sir,” Bethea said in front of Superior Court Judge Robert Bell Friday.
His bond needed to be retracted or raised to something “remotely close to reasonable,” Bill Bunting, the Homicide Unit Chief at Mecklenburg County’s District Attorney’s Office, said in court Friday.
A jury Monday said the case presented enough evidence to indict Joseph on first-degree murder.
Joseph was originally booked in jail without bond, but District Court Judge Fritz Mercer, Jr. set a $100,000 bond on Feb. 5.
Witnesses say Joseph shot Acolaste, but they don’t know why.
Joseph came into the room, unprovoked, started an argument, unprovoked, and brandished a silver Taurus revolver. Then, Acolaste collapsed, two bullets in his chest and shoulder, Bunting said.
“There was no reason for the argument… (he) was not even part of the game,” a witness told officers, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department records.
Joseph’s attorney, Anthony Monaghan, defended the $100,000 bond, saying Mercer, the district court judge, had heard all relevant information before setting it.
Joseph lived at the auto shop, which had been partially converted with two bedrooms and a kitchen, where the argument with Acolaste started, Monaghan said. It was an interpersonal conflict, he said. He would not be a risk to the public.
Bell, the superior court judge, raised Joseph’s bond to $250,000 before he was sent back to Mecklenburg County Detention Center. His next court date has not yet been set.
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Calling all Austinites, dog fans and cat enthusiasts! Amplify Austin 2023 is just around the corner and we need you to join us to #AmplifyLifesaving this year!
This day of giving is very important for nonprofit organizations across Central Texas and APA! is honored to participate again this year. We want to make sure that all of our supporters that want to join in know exactly how they can help and what their support means!
The first thing you can do to get involved is make a donation using our Amplify Austin fundraising page. Whatever the amount, your donation makes an impact. From $10, which can help purchase enrichment activity supplies to $500, which provides basic care for a litter of pups or kittens, your gift is important and saves lives.
I Live Here I Give Here (ILHIGH), the organization that produces Amplify Austin, makes this 24-hour fundraiser extra fun through a little friendly competition between the participating nonprofits and monetary prizes for various categories!
Matches and Incentives from ILHIGH
$5,000 for most dollars raised
$5,000 for most unique donors ← This is one of the categories we are targeting!
$2,500 for most dollars raised during the early giving period
$25,000 from an anonymous donor for animal care and services organizations ← This grant is pro-rata which means that the more we raise, the more we get out of this pool!
$1,000/hour for the first 6 hours of Amplify Day for most dollars raised in the hour
$1,000/hour for the last 6 hours of Amplify Day for most unique donors in the hour
After you make your donation (thank you!), we’d be grateful if you’d create your own fundraising page in support of APA!. This is where voices really amplify!
The beauty of creating your fundraising page is that you can use it to encourage your friends and family to donate to APA!, too! Everyone has their own unique voice and story as to why they support our mission and when that is shared, people feel encouraged to join you in your support! Maybe you got your dog or cat from us or maybe you’re a foster or volunteer — whatever your reason, we want to hear it and have a hunch your friends, family, and social media followers do too!
Want to know a little bit more about what your donation can do and gather some info you can use when encouraging your friends and family to donate to APA!?
Gift Impact
$500 – Provides basic medical care for a litter of puppies or kittens
$100 – Provides basic medical care (standard vaccinations, spay/neuter, etc.), behavior assessments, and everything necessary to take a dog or cat into APA!’s care
$50 – Vaccinates a litter of puppies
$25 – Buys one week of milk for a litter of kittens
$10 – Buys microchips for a couple of dogs or cats, or enrichment activities like Kongs, peanut butter, and treats
Let’s do this, Austin!
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