North Carolina News – July 27

North Carolina News – July 27

STOLEN TRUCK-HOMEOWNER DRAGGED

Sheriff: N. Carolina man drags homeowner with stolen truck

LEXINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s office has arrested a man who they say dragged a homeowner with a stolen truck. The High Point Enterprise reports deputies with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on Sunday about a break-in at a home near the Silver Valley community, The sheriff’s office says that during the break-in, a man tried to steal a truck and one of the homeowners was dragged by the vehicle. The truck wrecked and the man fled. Deputies captured 28-year-old Christopher Dunning of Thomasville and filed multiple charges, including assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Dunning is jailed on a $75,000 bond.

EX-PRISON MANAGER-EMBEZZLEMENT

Ex-North Carolina prison manager sentenced for embezzlement

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former North Carolina prison manager has been sentenced to at least four-and-a-half years in prison for embezzling more than $260,000 from the state over eight years. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports 50-year-old Michael Scott Ragan was a former business officer at Central Prison in Raleigh. According to an indictment, Ragan embezzled the money between September 2012 and March 2020 by using state-issued procurement credit cards and used it to buy Christmas decorations, gift cards, jewelry, pet supplies, appliances and furniture. Two of the credit cards came from other state workers who officials say didn’t know their cards were being used.

NORTH CAROLINA

COVID-19 surging as North Carolina set to ease restrictions

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have skyrocketed in recent weeks amid spread of the more contagious delta variant. But despite the rises in cases, the state appears unlikely to implement new restrictions. It is instead moving forward with plans to eliminate its statewide mask mandate and ease masking guidelines for high school students starting on Friday.  This has prompted concerns from teacher advocates that it may be less safe to return to work. The latest state data shows hospitalizations have doubled in the last two weeks and the rolling average of daily new cases has increased by nearly 200%.

TODDLER ON THE ROOF

North Carolina man cited after son rescued from porch roof

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man has been cited by police after firefighters rescued a 2-year-old from the roof of a home. Jacksonville police spokeswoman Beth Purcell says in a news release that officers and emergency personnel responded on Saturday to a report of a child on a roof over the front porch of a home on the north city of the city. Firefighters used a ladder to remove the child from the roof, and Purcell says the child was unharmed. Jacksonville police charged 22-year-old Justin Alexander Tueros with misdemeanor child abuse. Tueros was cited and released.

CHILD KILLED

4 arrested in drive-by shooting that killed 13-year-old girl

MONROE, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina say four people have been arrested and charged in the drive-by shooting of a 13-year-old girl. Monroe police said in a Facebook post all four have been charged with first-degree murder and are being held at the Union County Jail without bond. News outlets report that the men charged range in age from 18 to 22. Police say the girl was sitting with friends at a picnic table in Monroe, about 30 miles from Charlotte, on Saturday evening when someone in an SUV opened fire in their direction and then sped away. The child, who was not immediately identified, was treated at the scene and then transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

LEGISLATIVE SESSION

North Carolina General Assembly holds abbreviated work week

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly is slowing down this week as lawmakers prepare for budget negotiations and action on other measures during August. The state Senate plans no recorded floor votes until next week, while House leaders say they’ll take up legislation in floor sessions only on Monday evening and Tuesday. This week’s break is happening largely because some Republicans are traveling to a conference. Senate leader Phil Berger says his chamber is also awaiting the House to approve its version of the state government budget. The Senate approved its two-year spending proposal in June.

PLANE CRASH-OCRACOKE

Plane flips after landing on Ocracoke; no serious injuries

OCRACOKE, N.C. (AP) — Officials say no one was seriously injured when a small airplane flipped over onto its roof shortly after landing at the Ocracoke Island Airport on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. A news release from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore said the incident happened around 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The single-engine airplane came to rest in grass near the end of the runway, and emergency officials responded. Neither the pilot nor passenger required transport to a hospital. The Federal Aviation Administration was notified and no further details were immediately available.

ORGAN DONOR

North Carolina woman to become rare 2-time organ donor

WILSON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina woman is set to join the elite ranks of two-time living organ donors. The Wilson Times reports that on Tuesday, surgeons in New York will take part of 54-year-old Stephanie Allen’s liver and transplant it into her brother, Eric Allen. Stephanie Allen, a delivery driver and mother of four, previously donated a kidney to her sister in 2006. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, just 91 people have donated two organs to two people since April 1994.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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