Durham, N.C. — A judge in Durham has ordered authorities to hold a teenager charged with killing University of North Carolina student body president Eve Carson and a Duke University student on a $3 million bond.

Laurence Lovette, 17, made his first court appearance Friday morning in the fatal shooting of Abhijit Mahato. The 29-year-old computational mechanics student was found dead in January inside his apartment a few blocks south of Duke's campus.

Handout (ENLARGE)

Lawrence Alvin Lovette Jr., 17, of Durham, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of both Abhijit Mahato and Eve Carson.

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Lovette, 17, is scheduled to appear in nearby Hillsborough Friday afternoon to face charges in the death of Carson. The 22-year-old Athens, Ga. native was found fatally shot March 5 in the middle of a residential street in Chapel Hill.

Police also have charged Demario James Atwater, 21, in Carson's death, and Stephen Lavance Oates, 19 in Mahato's death.

Laurence Alvin Lovette Jr. turned 17 last November. Within weeks, he was on probation. Within months, authorities allege, he embarked on a crime spree that started with the slaying of Mahato and ended with the fatal shooting of Carson.

In between those killings, court records show, the teenager from Durham was arrested several times and charged with felonies ranging from burglary to car theft to resisting arrest.

Trials were pending on nine charges. He paid a fine for a traffic violation. And the whole time, he was on probation for a pair of crimes committed ten days before his 17th birthday: misdemeanor larceny and breaking and entering, pleaded down from felonies.

"Everybody's entitled to a bond in pretty much every matter we have, except for murder, in North Carolina," said Woody Vann, a longtime Durham criminal defense attorney. "You run a gray area here because they're allegations."

Carson was found last week lying on a street, having been shot several times, about a mile from the North Carolina campus in nearby Chapel Hill. Police have not said whether Lovette or Atwater pulled the trigger.

Atwater was also on probation at the time of Carson's death. His criminal record includes convictions for larceny, drug possession, breaking and entering and felony possession of a firearm.

Keith Acree, a spokesman for the state Department of Correction, said officals were in the process of revoking Atwater's probation. He was not aware of such an effort for Lovette, who was placed on probation in January. Acree said Robert Lee Guy, the state's top probation and parole official, has ordered an investigation.

"He's asking some of his people to look into the overall supevision of both of the cases," Acree said. "He wants to know everything he can about how the cases were supervised."

Tracey Cline, an assistant district attorney in Durham, declined to comment Thursday when asked about Lovette and Atwater's criminal history, including if either had a juvenile record. In North Carolina, a person's criminal history prior to age 16 is typically sealed.

But Vann said there is no provision under North Carolina law that would have allowed a judge to keep either in custody simply because they were arrested and charged in a series of cases.

"The best they could have done is attempted to give him higher bonds than he got," Vann said of Lovette. "It's a very fine line. It's a tough decision between the rights of the accused and the safety of the community."

Atwater is at Raleigh's Central Prison following his initial court appearance Wednesday in the Carson case. His attorney did not return a call Thursday seeking comment.

Mahato, 29, originally of Tatangar, India, was a doctoral student in computational mechanics. He was found in January, shot to death inside his apartment a few block south of Duke's campus. His wallet, cell phone and iPod been taken.

Police later charged Stephen Lavance Oates, 19, of Durham, with murder in his death. Oates is being held without bond on charges that also include robbery of 18 people, including Mahato.

Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez said Thursday that detectives didn't consider Lovette a suspect in Mahato's death until recently, after Chapel Hill police began investigating Carson's slaying. Lopez said community tips led detectives to witnesses that tied Lovette to the case, although he wouldn't discuss the specific evidence.

"The residents of Durham are realizing the importance of coming forward with information," Lopez said. "There is a trust being built between the community and this department."

Lopez said he doesn't foresee any more arrests in either case.

Police were led to Lovette and Atwater by tips generated by several ATM and convenience store surveillance photos, which show Lovette driving Carson's Toyota Highlander while Atwater is in the back seat. Police also believe Atwater was the suspect shown trying to use Carson's ATM card inside a convenience store. Police have declined to say if any money was successfully withdrawn from her account.

Associated Press writers Erin Gartner and Allen G. Breed contributed to this report from Raleigh.