GREENVILLE – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced in federal court, before United States Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Swank, Daquanjra Tasha White, 28, of Fayetteville,  pled guilty to one count of Sex Trafficking of Children.

During the defendant’s guilty plea hearing, the Government summarized the evidence supporting the defendant’s guilty plea.  Throughout the fall of 2015 into 2016, White, met the minor on Facebook, struck up conversations about White’s escorting services, and convinced the minor to meet with her.  When the minor got together with White, she took pictures of her (in various stages of undress), posted those pictures on Backpage, took the victim or arranged for her transport to various hotels, arranged for her to have sex for money with men, and took portions of the monies collected. White told the minor what to charge and what to do, even stating the girl worked for her.

At sentencing, the defendant faces not more than life in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Fayetteville Police Department conducted the investigation of this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

RALEIGH — A Caledonia Correctional Institution minimum custody inmate who left his outside work assignment on Thursday was captured early Friday morning.

Clayton Campbell (#1454355) was captured in Rocky Mount by the DPS Prisons Emergency Response Team and local law enforcement at 12:08 a.m. without incident.

Campbell, 24, now faces escape charges. He will be demoted from the minimum custody facility at Caledonia to one of the state’s higher security facilities.

Campbell was convicted of identity fraud and theft in May 2015 and was scheduled for release this October.

On January 20th, a white, Carson 7×12 enclosed trailer was stolen from Peacock Road in Chadbourn. The suspect vehicle is believed to be a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD with a utility bed. If you recognize the vehicle in these photos or have information about the incident, please contact Columbus County Sheriff’s Office at 910-640-6629.

CLINTON – A Correction Enterprises employee is facing charges tonight after he was caught this afternoon allegedly attempting to bring contraband into the Sampson Correctional Institution Laundry facility. Correctional staff discovered nearly 59 grams of marijuana, two cell phones and tobacco in a duffle bag as Christopher Bishop was trying to enter the facility just before 3 p.m. today.

The Clinton Police Department was called in to investigate. They have charged Bishop with two felonies — Providing a Phone to an Inmate and Providing Contraband to an Inmate, along with misdemeanor Providing Products to an Inmate. His bail was set at $5,000. 

Bishop, 42, a 2nd shift supervisor at the Sampson Laundry, has been with Correction Enterprises for 3.5 years. He has been placed on investigatory leave pending the outcome of an investigation. 

“I want to commend the alert staff who stopped the contraband from making it into the facility,” Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks stated. “I also want to thank the Clinton Police Department for their prompt response. The safety and security of our employees, the inmates and the public are our top priority, and we will work to ensure those who violate the public trust face the consequences.”

By Erin Smith

A Dublin man who was arrested following a 6-hour standoff with police in November, had his case continued recently.

MacKenzie Brisson was arrested following the standoff on November 21, 2017. He is charged with three counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and his next court appearance is scheduled for March 5th.

He is represented by Whiteville attorney Harold Pope.

The case stems from a day when Brisson barricaded himself in a home on Paul Brisson Road and shooting rounds of ammunition inside and around the home. No one was injured in the incident and law enforcement did not return fire. After Brisson ceased shooting, law enforcement officers sent a robot inside the home to check on Brisson and he was located inside a truck inside the garage of the home, unharmed.

By Erin Smith

Anthony Holt

A Haw River man who was arrested following an undercover operation by the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division and North Carolina Probation and Parole officers was found not guilty on a felony possession charge and other charges were dismissed.

Anthony Holt, 50, of 719 East Main Street, Haw River, NC, was found not guilty on Tuesday in Bladen County Superior Court of Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Crack Cocaine, and the State dismissed the charge of Sell and Deliver Cocaine. He was represented by Attorney Allen Johnson.

Holt was arrested in May 2017 during an undercover operation operation and charged with Possession with Intent to Sell and Deliver Crack Cocaine, Manufacture Crack Cocaine, Sell and Deliver Cocaine.  Also arrested in that operation was Christopher Deaver of Luther Brisson Road, Bladenboro, who was charged with with Possession With Intent to Sell and Deliver a Counterfeit Controlled Substance.

By Erin Smith

Bancroft

An Elizabethtown arrived at Cape Fear Valley-Bladen Healthcare seeking treatment of a gunshot wound to his leg on Thursday night. According to the Elizabethtown Police Department, the hospital notified the department shortly before 9 p.m. a patient was being treated for a gunshot wound.

Lt. D. Cheshire said the man was uncooperative and incoherent when officers arrived at the hospital. During the investigation, Mark Bancroft of Elizabethtown, who was treated for the gunshot wound, was also found to be in possession of a stolen firearm.

“It was reported stolen from Norfolk, Virginia,” said Lt. Cheshire.

Once Bancroft was discharged from the hospital, he was arrested and charged with possession of a stolen firearm and placed in the Bladen County Jail under a $10,000 secured bond.

A Bladenboro man who had a prior criminal record was charged Thursday with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after allegedly beginning to raise a rifle toward a deputy before fleeing, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Marcus Theodore Hill, 29, of Holly Britt Court in Bladenboro, is in Bladen County Jail under a $100,000 bond.

The incident began when a Bladen County Sheriff’s Office deputy and N.C. Probation and Parole officers went to Holly Britt Court on Thursday to conduct an unannounced search of the residence of Keith Powell, who is on probation, says Sheriff James A. McVicker.

During the search, officers found a container with a white powder and decided to have it tested.

“My deputy went to his vehicle to retrieve some evidence bags and while he was doing this he was approached by two individuals,” McVicker said. “One began hollering at him, asking him who he was. My deputy, who was in plain clothes but wearing a vest with a Sheriff’s logo
on the front, turned and pointed his flashlight at his vest and told the individual he was with the Sheriff’s office.”

McVicker said the man began to raise a Norinco SKS rifle he was carrying. The deputy drew his weapon and ordered him to drop the rifle. The man turned and ran behind the mobile home. A probation officer came out of the house and drew his weapon after he saw the man with the rifle. The officers chased the man behind the house and, when ordered to drop the weapon, he did, McVicker said.

Powell was not charged pending test results from the seized white powder.

Hill’s previous felony conviction was not given.

K-9 Jaxx knows how to use his nose. That skill by the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office dog turned a routine traffic stop into the arrest of a St. Pauls man on drug charges.

Deion Dominick Gilchrist, 23, of Edgegrove Circle in St. Pauls, was charged Feb. 10 with possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana, felonious possession of marijuana, maintaining a vehicle for the sale of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, says Sheriff James A. McVicker.

Sgt. Daniel Clark saw a vehicle fail to stop for a stop sign at the intersection of Chickenfoot Road and Shaw Mill Road, McVicker said. Upon approaching the vehicle, Clark smelled the odor of marijuana and noticed a handgun on the dash of the vehicle.

Clark deployed K-9 Jaxx, who discovered two hidden compartments in the vehicle, according to McVicker. Clark searched the vehicle and found 2.3 pounds of marijuana in vacuum sealed bags along with other drug paraphernalia.

Gilchrist was taken to Bladen County Jail under a $10,500 bond. His vehicle also was seized as part of the investigation.

“I can’t say enough about our K-9 Jaxx,” McVicker said. “He is one of the best K-9’s we have ever had and Sgt. Clark is the reason for that. The two work together like the team they are.”

The Duplin County Sheriff’s Office is seeking your help in locating Javier Gomez (aka) Humberto Gomez Chavez.

Mr. Gomez is a 47 year old (Date of Birth 03/24/1970) Hispanic male who was last seen leaving Plantation Drive in Warsaw, North Carolina on Saturday, April 22, 2017.  A $5,000 CASH REWARD IS BEING OFFERED FOR ANY INFORMATION ON THIS CASE WHICH LEADS TO THE ARREST AND CONVICTION OF ANY SUSPECT(S) IN REGARDS TO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF JAVIER GOMEZ.

If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office at 910-296-2150.

GASTONIA – A Gaston Correctional Center minimum custody inmate who left his outside work assignment was killed today in a single vehicle accident.

The inmate, who was reported missing at 12:50 p.m., was driving a city of Lowell Ford pickup truck when it crashed at Exit 14 off Interstate 85 at approximately 2:15 p.m.

The Gastonia Police Department is investigating the accident. The Division of Prisons will investigate the circumstances surrounding his escape.

His identity will be released after next of kin have been notified.

By Erin Smith

Customers arriving at the Dollar Tree in Elizabethtown found the store closed on Tuesday morning. The Elizabethtown Police Department is on the scene at the store investigating an armed robbery as of 9:00 a.m.

Lt. Mark McMichael with the Elizabethtown Police Department verified the store, located at 1204 West Broad Street, was robbed. The scene is still under investigation.

No further details were immediately available. BladenOnline.com will have more details on this developing story as they become available.

RALEIGH – A Gaston Correctional Center minimum custody inmate who left his outside work assignment was killed today in a single vehicle accident.

David A. Woods (#0491245), who left his outside work assignment today and was reported missing at 12:50 p.m., was driving a city of Lowell Ford pickup truck when it crashed at Exit 14 off Interstate 85 at approximately 2:15 p.m.

Woods, 46, was originally from New Hanover County. He was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder and convicted on May 25, 1995.

The Gastonia Police Department is investigating the accident. The Division of Prisons will investigate the circumstances surrounding his escape.

On Wednesday, February 28, 2018, at approximately 10:02 p.m. officers with the Elizabethtown Police Department responded to a call from dispatch about a suspicious vehicle at the end of Silent Alley. 

Upon the officers arrival, officer Hunter Todd and K-9 officer Chris Price located a tan in color 1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo backed in the dead end road of Silent Alley. The driver was identified as Marcellus Hopper Jr, age 29. 

As officers approached the vehicle K-9 officer Price advised Hopper to show his hands.  Hopper threw out a green and white in color Newport cigarette box while putting his hands up.  K-9 officer Price opened the cigarette pack and located several bags containing marijuana and one bag containing cocaine. A round grinder was located in the center console of the vehicle which had marijuana residue in it.  

Hopper was placed under arrest and transported to the Bladen County magistrate’s office where he was charged with felony possession of cocaine, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and possession of marijuana paraphernalia. Hopper was given a $20,000 secured Bond and then transported to Bladen County Jail. 

By Erin Smith

The investigation into the breaking and entering of the Dollar Tree in Elizabethtown is continuing and now appears to involve similar incidents in multiple locations, according to the Elizabethtown Police Department.

Lt. D. Cheshire said on Thursday morning there is a possibility the incident could involve multiple law enforcement jurisdictions in North Carolina and South Carolina. He said numerous locations are reporting that Dollar Tree stores in their jurisdictions have been burglarized in a similar manner to the Elizabethtown store.

The Dollar Tree located at 1204 West Broad Street in Elizabethtown reported a breaking and entering on Tuesday morning. According to law enforcement officials, someone entered the store between the time it closed on Monday night and the time employees began arriving for work on Tuesday morning and removed cash from the store’s safe.

Lt. Cheshire said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information or who may have seen any unusual activity at the Dollar Tree overnight Monday night is asked to contact the Elizabethtown Police Department by calling 910-872-3126.

By Erin Smith

The North Carolina Department of Insurance reports a scam is occurring targeting people who are receiving their new Medicare cards. The new cards which are slated to be mailed to recipients in April contain a new identification number for the recipient which replaces the individual’s Social Security number.

The new card requires no action from the user and is designed to reduce the risk of identity theft. All the card recipient has to do once they receive their new Medicare card is to simply present the card at the time of service.

The Department of Insurance reports scammers are already contacting Medicare recipients and posing as Medicare personnel. The scammer will ask for personal information such as Social Security numbers and bank account information. They will also try to get the victim to pay for a new card or threaten to cancel the victim’s Medicare benefits unless they give the caller money. None of those scams are legitimate.

Mike Causey, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner, says do not give the caller any personal information over the telephone. Instead, hang up and contact your local police department.

For more information, call the Department’s Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) at 855-408-1212.

Bladen County Sheriff James A. McVicker is asking for help from the public in identifying a man who used a cloned credit card at an ATM machine in Clarkton on February 18, 2018.

The male subject in the photograph was seen accompanied by two white males. After his transaction at the machine he was seen getting in the silver four door sedan also pictured. These images were captured from the ATM camera.

If you have any information on this case please contact the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office at 910-862-6960.

By Erin Smith

The man involved in a standoff with law enforcement in Dublin in November had his case continued in Bladen County Superior Court on Monday.

Attorney Harold “Butch” Pope told the court his client, McKenzie Brisson, is in a treatment center in Asheville. A letter sent to his office recently said Brisson will be in the treatment center for 21 days and will then move to a recovery program, according to Pope.

The Bladen County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser continued Brisson’s case until April 2.

Brisson was involved in an armed standoff with law enforcement which lasted 6 hours in November. During the standoff, Brisson fired rounds of ammunition in and around a home on Paul Brisson Road in Dublin. The shots eventually ceased and law enforcement sent a robot into the house to locate Brisson. The robot was initially unable to locate Brisson inside the house, but he was eventually located inside a pick up truck in the garage of the home and taken into custody without incident. No was injured during the standoff.

By Erin Smith

A former Bladenboro Town Manager made an appearance in Bladen County Superior Court on Monday.

Delane Jackson, who once served as the town manager for the town of Bladenboro, appeared before Bladen County Resident Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser on Monday and informed the court he did not need a court appointed attorney. Defense lawyer Harold “Butch” Pope told the court he was making a “general appearance” on behalf of Jackson.

Judge Sasser continued the case until April 2.

Jackson was indicted in February by a Bladen County Grand Jury. The indictment was issued following a State Bureau of Investigation probe of Jackson, who resigned from his post in 2013.

Jackson is facing one felony count of obtaining property by false pretenses in excess of $100,000. The SBI probe involved a company called Cygnus to which Jackson is alleged to have ties. The company was contracted by the town to perform work at the town’s wastewater treatment plant.

By Erin Smith

A Bladen County Commissioner is now facing allegations of misdemeanor child abuse. BladenOnline.com has learned that Ashley S. Trivette, a Republican who represents District 3 on the Bladen County Board of Commissioners, is facing a charge of misdemeanor child abuse in Brunswick County.

According to court records, she is scheduled to appear in Brunswick County Superior Court on April 10, 2018. She is also scheduled in Brunswick County Superior Court on April 2, on charges of DWI and expired registration card/tag.

We’ve made attempts to reach out to Trivette and they were unsuccessful as of press time.

We have reached out to the Bladen County Republican Party for a comment and the party is unaware of the charges, according to Walter McDuffie, Bladen County GOP Chairman.

Related articles:

Bladen County Commissioner Trivette’s case continued

Commissioner Ashley S. Trivette case continued

Bladen County Commissioner Trivette arrested