AP-US-AWOL-WEAPONS-EXPLOSIVES
AP: US military explosives vanish, emerge in civilian world
An Associated Press investigation has found that the U.S. military has a missing explosives problem. Hundreds of pounds of plastic explosives have vanished over the past decade, as have hundreds — and possibly thousands — of armor-piercing grenades. These were not rusty war trophies cast out of grandpa’s attic. They came from military bases and shipments. Troops falsified records to cover up some thefts, and in other cases didn’t report explosives as missing. The consequences can be deadly. In August, an artillery shell exploded at a Mississippi recycling yard, killing a worker. The Pentagon says it is serious about explosives accountability and that the amounts are minuscule compared to overall arsenals.
OVERDOSE DEATH-MAN CHARGED
North Carolina man in custody charged in overdose death
BEAUFORT, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s office says a man has been charged in connection with the overdose death of a man more than a year ago. Carteret County deputies charged 32-year-old Anthony Joseph Reese of Hubert following the Jan. 17, 2020, overdose death of David Shane Defeo. A news release from the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office says Reese was identified by detectives as having sold the heroin that caused Defeo’s death. The death by distribution charge added $100,000 to Reese’s bond, raising the total bond to $650,000. He had been in custody on a number of drug charges.
SECURITY FIRM-DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT
Ex-manager at security company files discrimination lawsuit
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A former manager at a North Carolina-based security company says in a lawsuit that she was fired because of her race and for raising concerns about what she said was a culture of racism. The Charlotte Observer reports the 18-page lawsuit was filed last week in Superior Court in Mecklenburg County, and names CPI Security Systems and CEO Kenneth Gill as defendants. It details what former call center director Kelley Phelps said is a “deep-seated culture of racism” at the company that eventually led to her retaliatory firing in August 2020 after 20 years with the company. CPI declined comment because the lawsuit is ongoing.
SUPREME COURT-HUDSON
NC Supreme Court’s No. 2 justice won’t seek reelection
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robin Hudson says she won’t seek reelection next year. She’s the second-longest-serving justice currently on the court. In her announcement Wednesday, Hudson cited mandatory age limits that would significantly curtail her service if she won reelection to an eight-year term. State law requires justices to retire at 72. Hudson turns 70 in February. Her decision was announced days before candidate filing begins. Two of the court’s seven seats will be up for election in 2022. Justice Sam Ervin IV already said he’s running again. Hudson and Ervin are both registered Democrats, who currently hold a 4-3 seat advantage over Republicans.
ELECTION 2022-HOUSE
NC state legislators Davis, Edwards begin US House bids
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More current North Carolina state legislators have thrown their hat into the ring to run for Congress next year. Democratic state Sen. Don Davis of Pitt County on Wednesday kicked off his campaign for the 2nd Congressional District seat. And three-term Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards of Henderson County began his campaign for the 14th Congressional District seat on Tuesday. Current state Rep. James Gailliard and former state Sen. Erica Smith have already started their bids for the 2nd District Democratic nomination. The 14th District seat became interesting to some potential candidates when incumbent GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn decided to run in the 13th District next year.
TRAFFIC STOP-GUNS
North Carolina man gets 8 years in prison on gun charges
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A North Carolina man who according to authorities had a dozen guns in his vehicle he was not legally allowed to possess when he was pulled over in Rhode Island in 2017 has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Federal prosecutors in Providence say 43-year-old Anthony Mondrez Thompson was sentenced Wednesday. Authorities say in addition to the guns he had ammunition clips, camouflage-patterned clothing, a stun gun, night vision goggles, handcuffs, and a machete in his vehicle. He pleaded guilty in November 2020 to being a felon in possession of firearms.
NEW LAWS
NC inmate safety, juvenile justice changes begin Wednesday
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — All or portions of over two dozen laws the North Carolina General Assembly approved this year took effect as the calendar changed to December. Measures starting Wednesday are designed to protect expectant mothers behind bars in part by prohibiting their shackling. They also raise the minimum age for prosecuting children in juvenile courts from 6 to 8 years old. All law enforcement officers are now required to report a fellow officer’s apparent excessive force to a superior. The legal process by which a family can review police body camera footage has been altered. And there are tougher rules on stealing catalytic converters and police equipment.
JURY AWARD-FABRICATED EVIDENCE
Jury awards man $6M after finding police fabricated evidence
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A federal jury on Wednesday awarded a North Carolina man $6 million after finding a detective made up evidence and performed an inadequate investigation that led to convictions that sent him to prison for more than 20 years. The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the jury in Winston-Salem found former Durham police detective Darryl Dowdy fabricated evidence in the case and trial that resulted in Darryl Howard being convicted in 1995 of killing a woman and her daughter in 1991. Dowdy denies the accusations, but his attorney says they will accept the decision.
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