Woman in court in deputy shooting

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

A Morganton woman involved in a December shooting that critically injured a Burke County Sheriff's deputy made her first appearance in Superior Court this week.

Eva Joyce Smith Nelson, 60, is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, assault on a law enforcement office and two counts of discharging a firearm onto an occupied property, all felonies.

On Dec. 11, Nelson forced members of the Burke County SWAT team into a 12-hour standoff after a deputy tried serving her involuntary mental health commitment papers.

Detective Martin Lawing was shot in the neck in the standoff and is still in critical condition at an Atlanta hospital that specializes in spinal cord injuries and neurological conditions.

Nelson was taken to Broughton Hospital, a state psychiatric facility in Morganton, following the Dec. 11 shooting, said Sheriff John McDevitt. She was transferred to the Burke-Catawba jail on Jan. 25 and is being held there on a $500,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for March 3.

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