Michael Anthony Rice, 52, of Elizabethtown, was arrested on Sunday and charged with several offenses.

Rice faces charges of felony possession of schedule II controlled substance; possession of drug paraphernalia, having an open container after consuming alcohol, and failure to appear on misdemeanor.

The U.S. Marshals Service is warning the public today of a telephone scam involving a fraudulent caller contacting members of the public and alleging they, or their family members, have an active federal arrest warrant and demanding payment of fines.

Recently, there were reported attempts of a fraudulent caller who identified himself as a Deputy United States Marshal. This phony law enforcement officer informed the potential victims that warrants were being issued for them or their family member due to being absent from a federal grand jury they were previously summoned to appear before. The potential victims were then informed they could avoid arrest by paying a fine by electronic fund transfer or cashier’s check. The Marshals Service became aware of the scam after receiving information from several calls from alert citizens.

The U.S. Marshals Service is a federal law enforcement agency and does not seek payment of fines or fees via the telephone for individuals with outstanding arrest warrants.

The U.S. Marshals Service urges individuals not to divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers and highly recommends the public report similar crimes to the FBI or their local police office if they are the victims of fraud. For internet related fraud, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center can be contacted at www.ic3.gov?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss.

Etown PD 1

Etown PD 2

Etown PD 3

The Elizabethtown Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect. On Wednesday, March 1, 2017, a black male entered the Tractor Supply Store in Elizabethtown and stole a pressure washer valued at $640.

If you can identify the person in the photos or have any information regarding the incident, you are asked to please call the Elizabethtown Police Department at 910-862-3125.

Driveway Scam 1

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Driveway Scam 2

Sheriff James A. McVicker is warning residents of a possible scam that has started in this area.

“On Wednesday, March 8th, a group of men driving a gray pickup and a large white truck with gravel approached a residence and told the older man there that they had some gravel left over from a job nearby and offered to give it to him to help the community, McVicker said.

“After they started spreading the gravel they presented him with a bill for $4,000.00. He told them he did not have that and they finally said they would do it for $500.00 or he could make payments. The man called his son who is a law enforcement officer and his son said he would come talk to them. When given this information, the men loaded up their truck and left.”

“This is a variation on a flim-flam that seems to come around in the spring of the year,” said McVicker. There is a group from around Augusta Georgia/South Carolina who make their living going around offering to paint barn roofs or seal driveways. Once they do the work, with inferior paint or sealant, they want to charge exorbitant prices. They also try to gain entry to the home to steal small items of jewelry or money. This is the first time I have heard of them offering to gravel a driveway but it is just a variation on an old scam we see come around every spring.”

McVicker urged all homeowners to be aware of this type of scam and not to fall for it. Look for out of state tags on the vehicles and get the tag number and a vehicle description if you can safely do so. Report any suspicious activity to law enforcement immediately.

Bladenonline.com’s roundtable discussions on the opioid epidemic continue this week with Bladen County Health and Human Services Director David Howard.

The Elizabethtown Police Department has obtained five new radar guns at no cost to the town through the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. Lt. Mark McMichael said the way the program works is the department can earn points towards certain approved items through doing such things as traffic checks and other types of activities such as Booze It and Lose It.

Lt. McMichael said that by going out and doing these things, the department receives credit towards the program. He said the program has a list of items the program has approved for traffic safety the department can utilize the points to obtain.

Lt. McMichael said a radar gun can cost as much as $2,500. In this case the department was able to use about 10,000 points they had earned to receive the radar equipment. He said the radar equipment is just one of the many tools the department has at its disposal to assist officers on the job.

“We are trying to encourage safety on the roadways and to enforce the law,” said Lt. McMichael.

The next step will be for the officers to take part in a training class and receive state certification using the new units.

Two Bladen County residents were arrested by the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and charged with breaking and entering on Tuesday night.

Kevin Acosta, 28, was arrested and charged with felony conspiracy, felony breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, and felony possession of stolen goods/property.

Nataly Sanz, 19, was arrested and charged with felony conspiracy, felony breaking and entering and felony possession of stolen goods/property.

RALEIGH – St. Patrick’s Day has become one of the nation’s biggest times to celebrate and party. But unfortunately, too many people are taking to the roads after drinking alcohol, making the holiday also one of our most dangerous.

The North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program and the Department of Transportation are launching the annual St. Patrick’s Day Booze It & Lose It campaign, which runs from March 16 to 19. The campaign reminds drivers that there is no luck involved, if you drink and drive, you could pay serious consequences.

During the 2016 St. Patrick’s Day holiday period (6 p.m. March 16 to 5:59 a.m. March 18), nine people died in drunk driving crashes across North Carolina.

“These needless deaths could have been prevented,” said Don Nail, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “Planning to have a sober driver before you take a sip of green beer is the first step in staying safe on St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t wait until you’ve already been drinking to make your transportation decision. Designate your sober driver in advance, and never get behind the wheel if you’ve been drinking.”

State law makes it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

The mission of the Booze It & Lose It campaign aligns closely with the NC Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate all traffic-related injuries and fatalities through coordinated efforts with public and private partners in traffic safety.

Thousands of North Carolinians have taken the pledge to practice safe driving habits. Join them and find out more at http://ncvisionzero.org?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss.

NCDOT and GHSP recommend following these simple tips for a safe St. Patrick’s celebration if you plan to drink:

• Before you head out to a parade, party, or local pub, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night. Visit BeSmarterThanThat.com and designate a sober driver, download a ride app, check on public transportation availability or program a taxi number into your mobile phone.
• Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to get you home.
• If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact local law enforcement immediately.
• If you know someone who has been drinking and is about to drive, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going.

Join state and local law enforcement officers across the state to promote safety and keep impaired drivers off the roads to make sure that no lives are lost at the hands of impaired drivers this St. Patrick’s holiday.

The second man charged in the shooting death of a Bladen County man more than two years ago was found guilty Thursday in Bladen County Superior Court and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ernest Raysean Gray, 26, of Clarkton, was convicted of first degree murder and discharging a weapon into an occupied property. The jury of eight women and four men deliberated about three hours before reaching their decision.

Twasjay Roddreek Brown, 23, of Elizabethtown, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in February in Bladen County Superior Court.

The men were found guilty in the murder of 23-year-old Malcolm Jerome Brown in October 2014 at a mobile home on Sammy Lane in a park off N.C. 242 north of Elizabethtown. Melvin was shot in the head shortly before 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2014, when he opened his front door, according to authorities.

According to testimony, Melvin and his girlfriend were awakened about 2:25 a.m. by loud knocks on the door of their home. When Melvin answered the door, a dozen shots were fired, one which struck Melvin in the head, killing him instantly.

During the investigation, Bladen County Sheriff’s detectives found a cell phone belonging to Brown and a wallet belonging to Gray at the scene, according to testimony.

Brown convicted of murder, sentenced to life in prison

The Elizabethtown Police Department and the Bladen County Sheriff’s Department have been working together to crack down on crime. Today, March 17, 2017 was no exception.

Sometime around 7 a.m the Elizabethtown Police Department with assistance from the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office executed a narcotics search warrant at Lewis Village Apartments located at 204 Wright Street Apartment 31 in Elizabethtown, NC. The search warrant was the result of several months of ongoing investigations by Detective Sergeant Willie Thompson into suspected narcotic activity in that area.

Sergeants Guyton and Thompson with the money and drugs they seized from the search warrant

Upon securing and searching the scene officers were able to locate and seize a Felony amount of Marijuana, handgun, and $4,362.88 cash. As a result of this investigation Kevin Lewis Jr. was charged with Felony Possession of Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Marijuana, Maintaining a Dwelling for the Sale Marijuana and is currently being held in Bladen County Jail under a $30,000.00 secured bond.

Kevin Lewis Jr.

Shantel Gary was also charged with Felony Possession of Marijuana , Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Marijuana, Maintaining a Dwelling for the Sale of Marijuana and is currently being held in Bladen County Jail under a $30,000.00 secured bond.

Shantel Gary

James Gary who was also present at the apartment during the time the search warrant was served. It was discovered that James Gary had active warrants from a neighboring county for failure to appear on prior drug charges and he is currently being held in Bladen County Jail under $325,000.00 secured bond.

Sheriff James A. McVicker said today that an alert neighbor who saw suspicious activity in their neighborhood and reported it to 911 was instrumental in stopping a breaking and entering in progress at a home in the 8000 block of NC 87 west of Dublin.

“Our 911 Center received a call from a resident who said there were people going through the neighborhood knocking on doors and asking for someone by name,” said McVicker.  “The caller did not know of anyone by that name in the neighborhood and just felt something was not right with the pair.”

McVicker said a deputy was dispatched to the area and located a van parked on the shoulder of the road with no one around. The officer turned around on the vehicle and while checking it made contact with a male subject who gave conflicting reasons for being parked on the shoulder of the road.

The deputy called for another patrol unit and they began checking the homes in the area and found one house with the back door open. The deputy saw items in the back of the van and was able to make contact with the homeowner who came to the van and identified items located there as coming from her home. Deputies also located two other suspects.

Arrested and charged with Felonious Breaking and Entering, larceny After Breaking and Entering, Felonious Possession of Stolen Goods and Felony Conspiracy to commit Breaking and Entering were:

Nataly Sanz 19, of 9081 NW 120^th Street Hialeah Gardens, Florida. Sanz is being held in Bladen County jail under a $35,000.00 secured bond.

Kevin Antonio Acosta-Cerrano, 29, of 6704 NW 169^th Street, Miami Florida. Acosta-Cerrano is also under a $35,000.00 secured bond and has a detainer from Immigration and Custom Enforcement for violations of the US Immigration Laws. He will be deported to Nicaragua when his criminal charges are adjudicated.

Meyling Veronica Arauz – James, 23, of 5930 West 25^th Court Apartment 201, Hialeah, Florida. Arauz-James is being held on $35,000.00 secured bond and also has a detainer for exportation by ICE.

“Without sharp eyed neighbors who were willing to get involved we would have been hard pressed to solve this case,” said McVicker. “These individuals were here looking for work and when they could not find any they formed a plot to break into homes to get enough money to get back to Florida. I am so thankful we got that call and want to ask all our citizens to watch out for their neighbor and not be afraid to call 911. If we are called, we will respond.”

A crash on US 701 North on Tuesday evening left a 6-year-old child in critical condition, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol. The crash ocurred near the intersection of US 701 North and NC 53 West.

According to First Sgt. Matt Hardee, Sabrina Lowery of Tar Heel was traveling northbound on US 701 near the intersection of NC 53 West when her vehicle struck the guardrail on the left. After striking the guardrail on the left, Lowery’s vehicle then crossed the highway, and went over the guardrail on right.

“Her 6-year-old son was in the car with her,” said Sgt. Hardee.  The child was ejected from the vehicle and was air lifted to UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill. Lowery, was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington for treatment of her injuries.

Speed and alcohol were factors involved in the crash, said Sgt. Hardee.

Lowery is facing charges of DWI, reckless driving, child restraint violation, a seatbelt violation, and driving on a suspended license. Sgt. Hardee said more charges are pending.

Sheriff James A. McVicker wishes to warn citizens to be on the alert for a group working the Bladen and Columbus county areas looking to scam homeowners or possibly doing surveillance to return later and break into homes.

“We have received phone calls from several concerned citizens in the last few days of two separate groups of people coming to homes and offering to do home repair, set up mobile homes and underpin them and also selling seafood,” said McVicker.

“We believe this group is the same group that has recently been involved in numerous breaking and entering’s in Columbus county. In those instances they approach home owners and offer various home repair services and then return a few days later to commit burglaries.”

The first group is a white male and black male in their late 20’s who drive a White Dodge van displaying a South Carolina license plate of 598-6HE. The men hand out cards offering home repair. These cards show Myrtle Beach and Conway, SC addresses and phone numbers but the numbers are no longer in service.

Another group of men also representing to be from South Carolina are offering to sell seafood. These two men are white males in their late 20’s and drive a small, black pickup truck. They have been operating in the Dublin area of the county most recently.

“If you have someone come to your door soliciting work or offering to sell seafood please contact 911 immediately so we can identify these individuals,” urged McVicker. “Sometimes people hesitate to call because they don’t want to bother us with things like this but this is why we are here and often times their calls help us locate, stop, and arrest individuals who intend to or have already committed larcenies.”

Photo courtesy NC Department of Corrections

An Elizabethtown man has pled guilty to attempted murder in the shooting of his brother. Tony Elmore Lewis, 55, was sentenced to 125 months to 162 months active.

The shooting took place in August 2013 at 92 Curtis Lewis Road, near Dublin. When Bladen County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, they found Terry DeVane Lewis laying on the ground with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.

According to the report, Lewis’ brother, Tony Elmore Lewis was inside the home with several weapons and refused to surrender to authorities. The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office tactical team negotiated with Tony Lewis for several hours before he eventually surrendered.

Antonio Lamel Murchison of Elizabethtown pled guilty in Bladen County Superior Court on Monday, March 27, to several drug-related charges. He received a sentence of 36 months of supervised probation.

Murchison pled guilty to conspiring to sell cocaine, possession and attempted sell and delivery of marijuana, and attempted trafficking in MDA/MDMA.

He was arrested on July 3, 2015, by the Elizabethtown Police Department following a traffic stop. Murchison was driving when his vehicle was stopped in late June 2015.

Also arrested were Saquon Reginald Covington who was arrested during the stop on June 30, 2015;Trent Martin, who was arrested on July 18, 2015; and Channing Kelly who as arrested in September 2015.

An Elizabethtown man was sentenced up to 32 months in prison Wednesday in Bladen County Superior Court after pleading guilty to taking items that were found using a tracking device attached to one of the items.

Adam Horne, 32, was sentenced to between 19 and 32 months in state custody on felony charges of breaking and entering and obtaining property by false pretense, according to the Bladen County District Attorney’s office.

The case stemmed from a break-in reported Nov. 28, 2015, at a building along Greene Industrial Park Road. A motorcycle, leaf blower and generator had been stolen, according to a court summary.

The owner of the building told Bladen County Sheriff’s Office personnel that because of prior break-ins that he had attached GPS tracking devices to some of the items, including the leaf blower that was reported stolen. Officers used the GPS device to track the items to a home in Clarkton. The investigation showed that Horne, who was a neighbor of the victim, had broken into the building and taken the items to sell them.

The items were recovered and returned to the owner.

A Charlotte man who led authorities on a high speed chase in August plead guilty Wednesday in Bladen County Superior Court to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and fleeing to elude arrest.

Gebreal Moss, 23, was sentenced to between 36 and 56 months in state custody, according to the Bladen County District Attorney’s office.

Members of the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office and Elizabethtown Police Department had set up a license check station at the foot of the Cape Fear River Bridge near the entrance to Tory Hole Park after midnight on Aug. 7, according to a report. As Moss’ 2006 Honda Civic approached the station, it increased its speed, according to a court summary and report. Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Cley Carroll was standing in the road and moved to another lane when he heard Moss’ vehicle speed up. Moss switched to the lane where Carroll was standing, forcing Carroll to move off the road to avoid being struck by the vehicle. Officers estimated the vehicle was traveling 80 miles per hour.

Moss then led authorities on a chase reaching speeds of 110 mph along US 701 and continuing onto NC 87 toward Dublin, according to a court summary. Moss then turned onto Cromartie Road and tried to ram a patrol car operated by Deputy Jason Andrews, who swerved his car into a ditch to avoid a collision, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The chase ended when Moss crashed his vehicle into a stop sign. Moss got out of the car and fled on foot, but was captured.

“The Bladen County District Attorney’s Office is committed to ensuring that those who decide to use automobiles as weapons against law enforcement officers go to prison. Period,” Bladen County Chief Assistant District Attorney Quintin McGee said. “We are unwavering in our commitment to ensure the safety of law enforcement officers and the motoring public here in Bladen County.

“I am thankful for the combined efforts of the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office, Elizabethtown Police Department, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for going above and beyond the call of duty in the performance of their duties in this matter,” McGee said.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced Wednesday the conviction of two retired insurance agents, Milton Hooks, 72, of Rocky Mount and James Mangum, 69, of Tarboro on six counts each of obtaining property by false pretense.

The case was the result of an extensive seven-year investigation in 14 counties, including Bladen, conducted by the NC Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigation Division. Hooks and Mangum targeted senior citizens in a regional scam that involved the reallocation of money people had in savings and insurance policies.

“Preying on our senior citizens is wrong,” said Causey. “I am pleased NCDOI criminal investigators were able to recover nearly $11 million in this important case that hopefully will help deter white collar crime like this in North Carolina.”

Department of Insurance criminal investigators brought the case against Hooks and Mangum for influencing 77 victims across North Carolina to remove money from their 401-K and other life insurance policies and put it into an annuity product known as a “Fixed Indexed Annuity” from 2004 to 2011. Hooks and Mangum used their credibility as fiduciaries to move approximately $11 million into various annuity accounts with three companies that sold these products and garnered over $620,000 in commission payment for the sale of these products under false pretense. As part of a plea agreement with the court, these victims were refunded their initial investment plus interest by the companies to the victims.

It was discovered during the investigation that Hooks and Mangum also influenced four victims into making individual $316,000 investments, which they directly diverted into their bank accounts and laundered the money for their own personal use. These four victims were repaid the money directly from Hooks and Mangum as an additional part of their plea agreement.

Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Lock dismissed 100 counts of obtaining property by false pretense across Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Chowan, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Hoke, Martin, Mecklenburg, Robeson, Wake and Washington counties and suspended Hooks and Mangum’s sentence because all the victims would be repaid the money that was defrauded from them.