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From Staff Reports
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Three people charged with ethnic intimidation following an incident at the West Asheville Public Library “pleaded guilty March 10 to misdemeanor simple assault,” court records show, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on March 11.
“Amid the Asheville Police Department’s investigation into reports of a fight in one of the library’s meeting rooms in June 2024, three people were charged with ethnic intimidation, a misdemeanor crime first added to North Carolina General Statutes in 1991,” the ACT noted. “All three — Tyler Kelly, 35, Michael Brocenos, 36, and Emily Murphy, 40 — were indicted to Buncombe County Superior Court near the end of 2024, court records show.”
The ACT added, “They were indicted again in October 2025, adding a charge of simple assault. They pleaded guilty March 10 to simple assault and their ethnic intimidation charges were dismissed, according to court records.“
The pleas were entered with what’s called a conditional discharge, which allows the cases to be dismissed after a year if the defendants follow their supervised probation conditions.“
The conditional discharge makes the plea different from a typical guilty plea because it provides the possibility of getting the charge expunged, according to Brocenos’ attorney, Joel Schechet.”
Conditional discharge documents state that the three defendants must complete 30 hours of community service during the first six months of their probation, the ACT noted, adding, “They are also forbidden to post about the incident on any social media platform.
“If they are in full compliance after six months, they do not have to return to court for a hearing on Sept. 14 to review if they have met their conditional discharge conditions. Murphy’s probation was transferred to Michigan, where she lives.” |
