Stanley Travis Stancil returns to the courtroom after conversing with defense attorney Lisa Dubs (right) in the lobby.
George Lee Allison shakes hands with Cynthia Phillips-Goelling, the attorney picking up his case for retrial.
The court continued Stanley Travis Stancil’s felony case again on Sept. 28, despite the judge’s assertion at Stancil’s last appearance that this court date would either end in a plea deal or Stancil going to trial.
According to both the defense and the district attorney’s (DA) office, the lapse in prosecution occurred outside of the courtroom.
“Nobody’s heard from (the prosecution), so they gave us a new date,” said defense attorney Lisa Dubs.
Assistant DA Mitch Walker explained that the Financial Crimes Unit at the Conference of DAs in Raleigh is handling Stancil’s prosecution, and the prosecutor assigned to this case left for another job last month.
The Conference of DAs is assigning a new prosecutor, who will then carry on with the case. Stancil’s next appearance in court is on Jan. 4, 2027.
Stancil turned himself in on Oct. 29, 2025, 13 days after a grand jury indicted him on multiple white-collar felonies, including two counts of obtaining property by false pretense and four counts of embezzlement.
The charges trace back to when Stancil hosted the productions, “Dancing with the Burke Stars” and “Dancing with the Catawba Valley Stars.” According to court documents, he allegedly advertised them as charity shows before pocketing tens of thousands of dollars.
The documents also state that he obtained a discounted nonprofit rate for renting the J.E. Broyhill Civic Center from Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. Stancil claimed that Your Big Break Inc., an Arizona-based nonprofit organization, was hosting the charity benefit show.
Court documents say the entity hosting and receiving the funds was Stance Productions, LLC, a for-profit company.
He posted his $10,000 bond minutes after his arrest on Oct. 29, and returned home to Boynton Beach in Palm Beach County, Fla.
A CONVICTION REVERSED
George Lee Allison returned to court after several years in prison for second-degree murder following a North Carolina Supreme Court reversal of his conviction in December 2025, remanding the case back to trial court for retrial.
According to court records, Allison shot and killed Brandon Adams on Dec. 13, 2020, while Adams stood in Allison’s doorway.
Two earlier texts from Adams to his girlfriend, who was at Allison’s residence after the couple had an argument, said, “If I come down there, I’m telling you it’s going to get bad,” and “I will drag him outside and beat the [expletive] out of him.” Court documents state that she, Pamela Rodgers, read them to Allison as she received them after she told Allison that Adams abused her.
Once Adams arrived, Allison retrieved his shotgun and asked Adams to leave. Court documents state that Allison counted down to zero three times before shooting.
Allison claimed Adams made a forward movement, prompting him to shoot. Rodgers testified that Adams was neither aggressive nor violent and never attempted to enter the home.
The State argued that Allison was not entitled to the castle doctrine because Adams did not physically enter the defendant’s home.
The castle doctrine states that lawful occupants of a home are given “the benefit of the doubt in qualifying use of force scenarios” and that while other laws generally require individuals who use deadly force to demonstrate their belief that force was necessary, “the castle doctrine does not require a lawful occupant of a home to make such a showing,” according to the NC Supreme Court’s opinion.
The NC Supreme Court’s opinion states the jury was not made aware that the land and outbuildings surrounding a dwelling “constituted part of the home for defense of habitation purposes,” thus constituting the reversal.
Attorney Charles Bostian appeared in court with Allison on Sept. 29, 2026, having represented him in the case originally. Bostian said that he believed Allison “would like another set of eyes on this case,” suggesting a reappointment of representation.
“I would be willing to take it,” said Cynthia Phillips-Goelling from the well. Phillips-Goelling explained that she was already handling two murder cases in the county — Kenneth Potter and Braxton Collins, whose cases both continued that day.
After the judge thanked her and assigned the case, Phillips-Goelling introduced herself to the defendant, shaking his handcuffed hands before he was shuffled out of the courtroom by law enforcement.
Allison is being held without bond and is in custody — albeit uncertain whether he will stay with the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections or be returned to the local jail.
