Ask Sam: What is going on with the case of Robert Granato, who is charged with killing Julius Simpson? (2024)

Q: What happened to Robert Granato, who is charged with killing Julius Sampson at Hanes Mall? Is Granato still in the Forsyth County jail? When will his trial be? — M.J.

Answer: Granato has been charged with first degree murder in connection with the death of Sampson on Aug. 6, 2019, outside BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse at Hanes Mall. He has been at the Forsyth County Jail since that date.

In addition to murder, Granato has also been charged with carrying a concealed gun while or after consuming alcohol.

According to police, Granato and Sampson began arguing after Granato insulted female workers at the restaurant. The men went outside and continued to argue and Sampson was shot and killed.

In previous court hearings, Jennifer Martin, the chief assistant district attorney for Forsyth County, said that Sampson and a friend of his tried to defend the employees after Granato complained about insufficient alcohol in his drinks and made misogynistic comments to the women.

The case has racial overtones because Granato is white and Sampson was black.

Granato is also facing a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance in a prison or jail and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He overdosed on fentanyl while in jail in September 2022.

Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough said that a search of Granato’s jail cell after the overdose found items that tested positively for fentanyl.

No date has been set for a trial in Sampson’s death, but Granato has hearings on June 24 in Forsyth Superior Court on the jail charges and murder charges. He also has another court date July 15.

Q: When I was at the grocery store recently, the cashier asked me if I wanted to round up my total to the next dollar and donate the change to a charity. I told her no. Do the charities really get the money or does the store keep it? — D.B.

Answer: “Checkout charity” as it is known has been around for a long time. Sometimes it involves giving a dollar and putting your name or pet’s name on a shamrock, a heart or other item, depending what the charity was, and the store would put it up on a wall.

And yes, charities get money from the campaigns, which have proven successful for the donors, charities and retailers.

Several years ago, N.C. State University released a study about charitable donations at checkout and discovered that the round-up method worked well.

“We found that people feel less perceived pain when asked to round up versus when they are asked for a donation,” said Stephane Robinson, an assistant professor of marketing at N.C. State, who helped with the study.

“But we still don’t understand why that is the case. That’s a question for a future study — we have some ideas.”

Q: I have an old, broken television. Where can I dispose of it? — M.B.

Answer: Televisions are banned from landfills.

In Forsyth County, residents can drop-off old televisions at the 3RC EnviroStation at 1401 S. Martin Luther King Jr Drive, Winston-Salem, at no charge.

It is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

You must provide proof of Forsyth County residency such as a driver’s license. There is a limit of two televisions per household per year.

Guilford County residents can drop off televisions at EcoFlo Inc. at 2750 Patterson St., Greensboro, at no charge.

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. You will be asked for your home address to verify that you are a Guilford County resident.