http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1531664.html

Romance born in prison survives shooting
Gun doesn't split therapist, ex-con
BY MICHAEL BIESECKER, Staff Writer
CLAYTON - A prison psychologist lost her job last month after shooting her lover, a convicted felon recently released from the minimum-security facility where she worked.
Kristel K. Rider shot Lamount K. Friend once in the chest on April 21 in front of his grandparents' home near Clayton. He survived, though the .38-caliber bullet from her Smith & Wesson revolver barely missed his heart. And the two apparently have reconciled.

The incident report filed by the Johnston County Sheriff's Office described their relationship as "BG," an abbreviation a department spokesman said stands for "boyfriend and girlfriend."

No charges have been filed in the case.

Friend, 33, was released from Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro on April 3 after serving five months for assaulting a female and carrying a concealed weapon, the latest in a long string of criminal convictions.

Rider, 28, was a staff psychologist at Neuse until April 28, when she resigned after being confronted about her relationship with Friend. She had worked for the state Department of Correction since 2004, according to state records.

Friend's grandparents, who raised him, said the two met behind bars.

"When he was released, she went to get him," said Marie Clemmons, Friend's grandmother. "He went to her house, and that's where he stayed. He was living with the therapist."

Rider declined to comment for this story.

It is a felony for Correction employees to have sex with people in state custody, a crime punishable by up to 31 months in prison for each count.

"You can't fraternize with an inmate," said Lee Clemmons, Friend's grandfather and a retired correction officer. "She was a counselor. She knew what the rules are."

Keith Acree, the spokesman for the state prison system, confirmed that Rider treated Friend at Neuse. However, he said the prison system could find no evidence that the two had sex while Friend was incarcerated.

Friend was shackled whenever he met with Rider, and their therapy sessions were held in a room with windows and with other people present.

"They were in a fishbowl," Acree said.

However, Rider admitted to prison officials that she had a romantic affair with Friend that started when he got out, Acree said.

As Friend's therapist, Rider appears to have violated several ethical rules through her relationship with the inmate, potentially imperiling her state license.

Martha Storie, director of the N.C. Psychology Board, said Friday that Rider has an active license. The board does not publicly disclose whether a complaint against a licensee has been made or whether an investigation is pending.

Therapists are forbidden from having romantic relationships with those they treat because their position potentially gives them emotional power over the patient.

"It is very clear that when someone is your direct client it is a violation of our ethical principles," said Annette Perot, president of the N.C. Psychological Association, a professional group separate from the state licensing board. "It's our responsibility as psychologists to conduct ourselves in ways that are in the best interests of those we serve."

A fight, and then a gunshot

Friend's grandparents said he had been in and out of trouble since he was a boy. When Friend was a toddler, his mother dropped him off and asked whether they would baby-sit for a few hours. She never came back for him.

Friend's court record contains more than 30 criminal convictions for transgressions such as robbery, illegal firearms possession and cocaine trafficking.

"He has been in and out of jail and prison," said Lee Clemmons, who used to work with juvenile offenders at Polk Youth Institution.

The grandparents said the first time they saw Rider was the day Friend was released from Neuse. Rider was there to pick him up.

"I asked him, 'Who is that?' because I had never seen her before," Marie Clemmons remembered. "I said, 'You just got out. How did you meet somebody so quickly?' He said not to worry about it. He wouldn't tell me nothing, but I'm not stupid. It must have been going on while he was in [prison]."

Friend was uncharacteristically tight-lipped about the origins of the relationship, but the grandparents eventually deduced that Rider worked at the prison. They saw her only a few times, when she brought their grandson to visit. Rider owns a house outside Smithfield, about nine miles from the Clemmons house.

On the night of the shooting, Friend showed up saying the couple had a falling out. After awhile, Rider arrived, and Friend went out to talk to her.

About 9 p.m., the Clemmonses heard a gunshot. Lee Clemmons said he went outside and found his grandson on the pavement in the cul-de-sac in front of the house. Friend had a gunshot wound at the center of the chest, just above the heart, according to the grandfather.

Rider, who was in her car, drove off.

A few moments later, she made a frantic cell-phone call to Johnston County 911, asking for directions to the Clayton Police Department.

"I just shot somebody," she said, crying. "He pulled a knife on me, and I shot him."

Lee Clemmons denies his grandson was armed.

"When she shot him, he hit the ground," Clemmons said. "He didn't have a knife on him."

Friend spent 13 days in WakeMed. His grandfather said he refused to make a statement to police.

Lt. Chris Strickland, spokesman for the Johnston County Sheriff's Office, said deputies conducted an investigation and presented their findings to the district attorney, who declined to press charges against Rider.

"She tried to shoot him in the heart," Marie Clemmons said. "He needs to press charges because that was attempted murder. It's not right she would get away with it."

Records show Rider did not have a concealed weapons permit at the time of the shooting. On May 1, she applied for and received an emergency permit to carry a concealed weapon from the Johnston sheriff. That permit lasts for 90 days.

Still together

Shortly after Friend was released from the hospital, Clemmons said his grandson reunited with Rider.

When a reporter went to her home seeking comment Thursday morning, a man who appeared to be Friend stood behind her when she came to the door. When the reporter identified himself, she slammed the door shut.

"They're still together," Lee Clemmons said. "I know because he called last night and said they had just gotten back from a trip to the beach."

He shook his head.

"That's some nonsense. Somebody shoots me, I'm through with them."

5/18/2009 10:16:33 AM

sounds kinda gay, no?

5/18/2009 10:17:49 AM

bold the good parts plz

5/18/2009 10:18:39 AM

This is why you should never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself. Granted, most women are crazier than men, but you get the point.

5/18/2009 10:19:06 AM

^^the whole...THING is good, wtf

5/18/2009 10:26:12 AM

lol johnston county

5/18/2009 10:54:12 AM

meh, read it, its crazy

5/18/2009 10:58:00 AM

i don't find it to be that crazy at all

5/18/2009 11:04:23 AM

So what sort of credentials do you need to be a licensed psychologist? I had always assumed that to be a professional, practicing psychologist that you needed a PhD, not just a bachelor's. This girl is 28 and has been working in the job since 2004, though.

5/18/2009 11:29:12 AM

Sounds like El Borracho my sons.

5/18/2009 11:33:54 AM

saabturbo, i'm glad you're back

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 11:35 AM. Reason : SON]

5/18/2009 11:34:54 AM

ME TOO SON. PLEASE TELL US SOME RHEE RHEE STORIES (SON)

5/18/2009 11:44:21 AM

Quote :

""That's some nonsense. Somebody shoots me, I'm through with them.""

5/18/2009 11:58:52 AM