A Durham man who prosecutors said fatally shot his nephew at his Bethel residence last fall had his secured bond reduced on Thursday to an amount that a Pitt County judge believes will still be high enough to keep him in custody.
Melvin Lee Vines, 66, of 4914 McCormick Road, Durham, had his bond reduced from $3.1 million to $2.5 million in the shooting death of Elijah Rashawn Everette, 25. The new bond was handed down by Pitt County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Jeffery Foster during a murder status hearing at the Pitt County Detention Center.
Prosecutor Mitchell McCaffity opposed the bond reduction, as did family members of Everette and Vines. Betty Battle said that Elijah Everette was her oldest grandson and that he lived with her from age 8, following the death of his mother, until he went to college…