North Carolina News – September 10

North Carolina News – September 10

EDUCATION FUNDING

Judge sets deadline for N. Carolina to boost school funding

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge has set a mid-October deadline for state lawmakers to provide funding for improving public education or he will take action himself. News outlets report State Superior Court Judge David Lee said he was “very disheartened” that the General Assembly is funding a small part of a plan calling for at least $5.6 billion in new education funding by 2028. Lee says if the plan isn’t fully funded by a court hearing on Oct. 18, he will consider options on how the court can resolve the matter. 

VOTING RALLY ARRESTS

Judge: NC rally organizer resisted officer, didn’t riot

GRAHAM, N.C. (AP) — The organizer of a North Carolina get-out-the-vote rally last year that ended with police pepper-spraying and arresting participants has been convicted of resisting an officer and failing to disperse at law enforcement’s command, but a judge ruled that he did not riot. The News & Observer reports that Judge Lunsford Long announced the verdict Wednesday after a two-day trial for the Rev. Greg Drumwright. The charges are misdemeanors. Drumwright’s attorneys sought to make the trial about fundamental rights and highlighted miscommunication surrounding the rally. Prosecutor Kevin Harrison said the case was simply about following rules. Elizabeth Haddix of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law says the Greensboro-based pastor intends to appeal.

COVID’S SCARS-BURYING BLACK MORTICIANS

Virus claims Black morticians, leaving holes in communities

MULLINS, S.C. (AP) — About 130 Black morticians have died of COVID-19 across the United States. The deaths are particularly notable because of the prominent role that funeral directors have long played in many Black communities. Often admired for their success in business, a number have been elected to political office, served as local power brokers, and helped fund civil rights efforts. Their deaths have left some successors struggling to fill their roles. At the same time, the services they arrange can serve as communal touchstones that draw mourners together. When the pandemic hit, the very closeness that distinguishes Black funerals put morticians at risk.

MURDER SUSPECT- SEARCH

Man wanted for murders in two North Carolina cities arrested

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Police have apprehended a man wanted for homicides in two North Carolina cities over three days. A news release from the Greensboro Police Department says 29-year-old Malek Anthony Moore was arrested without incident on a street in Greensboro after a call from a resident. Moore was wanted for first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Christian Mbimba of Nashville, Tennessee, on Sept. 3 in Greensboro. Police officers found Mbimba’s body in the street. Moore also was wanted by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police in the for first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Gabryelle Allnutt on Sept. 6.

ASSAULT CHARGE-DEPUTY FIRED

North Carolina deputy fired after assault on female charge

LEXINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy has been fired after he was accused of assaulting a female. WGHP reports that the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that 47-year-old Donald Ray Mabe is no longer employed by the office. Mabe had been suspended from his job. In August, police responded to call about an assault at a home in High Point. Arrest records showed Mabe was accused of hitting or striking a woman, causing minor injuries. He’s specifically charged with misdemeanor assault on a female and is being held in the High Point jail.

MURDER SUSPECTS ARRESTED

Police arrest three, look for two more in N. Carolina death

ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. (AP) — Police have charged three men with murder and are searching for two more suspects in connection with a death in North Carolina in May. News outlets report the Roanoke Rapids Police Department says multiple charges were filed against 20-year-olds Anthony Shearin and Shantron Person, and 22-year-old Stepheon Ashe The three are being held without bond. Roanoke Rapids Police Chief Bobby Martin says officers found Fredrick Lee dead on the floor of a home from multiple gunshot wounds. Police say they two men being sought should be considered armed and dangerous.

EX-ARMY CAPTAIN-CONFLICT CHARGE

Ex-Army captain pleads guilty to aiding wife’s Army business

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal authorities say a former Army captain has pleaded guilty to charges that he helped his wife’s business with Army contracts. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina says in a news release that 33-year-old John Raymond Meier, who served at Fort Bragg, helped his wife sell a variety of items to the Army. In court, the government described how Meier provided his wife with quotes from other vendors to assure she would submit a lower quote and obtain the Army’s business. Meier faces a maximum sentence of five years’ in prison and a $250,000 fine.    

HUMAN TRAFFICKING-MAN SENTENCED

North Carolina man gets 13 years for human trafficking

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a North Carolina man to 13 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor and for aiding and abetting. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Antoine Lamar Wallace of Garner was sentenced on Wednesday in Raleigh. According to court records and evidence presented at a co-defendant’s trial, Wallace prostituted women between November 2014 and October 2015, including minors. Prosecutors say that after luring the victims with promises of food and shelter, Wallace and his co-defendant isolated and abused the victims and kept all the money the victims earned.  

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

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