DORM ROOF COLLAPSE

Heavy snow causes partial roof collapse at Brevard College

BREVARD, N.C. (AP) — Heavy snow during a winter storm Sunday caused part of a roof to collapse on a dorm at Brevard College. Authorities said all 50 students inside got out safely. Emergency crews responded to Jones Hall just after 3 p.m. Sunday. Melody Ferguson, a sophomore at the college, told WLOS-TV that she saw the roof collapse as she was walking past the dorm. She said as soon as the roof collapsed, someone pulled the fire alarm to alert authorities. Brevard Fire Captain Adam Hughey said that quick thinking with the fire alarm made all the difference. He said everyone got out and was accounted for. No injuries were reported.

AP-US-WINTER-WEATHER

Snow, ice blast through South with powerful winter storm

ATLANTA (AP) — A dangerous winter storm combining high winds and ice is blasting through parts of the U.S. Southeast. The storm knocked out power Sunday to tens of thousands of customers, felled trees and coated roads with treacherous ice. Highway patrols reported hundreds of vehicle accidents. In Florida, a tornado ripped through a trailer park. Three minor injuries were reported. Significant icing caused problems in North Carolina, while Virginia State Police said traffic stood still for hours on Interstate 81 in Roanoke County due to an accident. The storm system could cause hazardous driving conditions across the eastern U.S. into Monday, as it turns toward the Mid-Atlantic states and New England.

MURDER CHARGE-ARREST

North Carolina man wanted for December murder captured

TARBORO, N.C. (AP) — A man wanted for a murder in North Carolina has been taken into custody. WITN-TV reported that the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office says deputies arrested Orlando McNair on Thursday, three weeks after the crime. Deputies said McNair was wanted for a murder at a Pinetops home on Dec. 25. According to the sheriff’s office, he shot and killed a man and then abducted three children from the home. All three children were found safe the next day. McNair was taken into custody at a home in Conetoe. A woman who lived at the house, Brandan Jenkins, was also arrested and charged with harboring a fugitive from justice.

SHOOTING DEATH-GIRLFRIEND

North Carolina man accused in girlfriend’s death

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s office says a man who told police his girlfriend killed herself is charged in her shooting death. News outlets report that the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said that on Nov. 10, 61-year-old Michael Anthony McBride of Kernersville called 911 and said that his girlfriend, 52-year-old Tammy Denise Jester, shot herself in the head. Jester died at a local hospital. After examining on-scene evidence and receiving the medical examiner’s report, investigators determined that Jester did not shoot herself. McBride is jailed without bond on a first-degree murder charge.

CHILD SEX CHARGES

North Carolina man accused of multiple sex offenses

THOMASVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina say a man has been charged with multiple sex offenses after he was accused of having sex with a girl younger than 13. News outlets report that Thomasville police said 49-year-old Jeffrey Phillip Lackey of Thomasville is charged with statutory rape, statutory sex offense and taking indecent liberties with a child. Detectives said they began their investigation Dec. 1. According to police, the juvenile victim disclosed years of sexual abuse during a forensic interview. Investigators executed a search warrant Friday at Lackey’s home. No further details were available.

PHILANTHROPY-CHURCH FINANCES

At many churches, pandemic hits collection plates, budgets

Biltmore United Methodist Church of Asheville, North Carolina, is for sale. Already financially strapped because of shrinking membership and a struggling preschool, attendance at weekly services have plummeted during the pandemic, with many staying home or switching to other churches. Gone, too, is the revenue from renting out its space. So members voted last May to put the property, a two-building campus perched on a verdant knoll just off Interstate 40, on the market. Biltmore is just one of an untold number of congregations across the country that are struggling to stay afloat financially and minister to their flocks, though many others have better managed to weather the pandemic. 

WILMINGTON SHOOTING

Suspect kills 3 including child, shoots self at Food Lion

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Three people including a child are dead after a shooting outside a grocery store in North Carolina. Police say the shooting happened at the Food Lion grocery store in Wilmington around 4 p.m. Saturday. A fourth person was found alive with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams told The StarNews that the wounded person is suspected of killing the others, and is believed to have a personal relationship with the victims. Authorities have not released any of their names. 

MAN SHOT-DEPUTIES

Deputies shoot man suspected of killing relative

GRANITE FALLS, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say deputies shot and killed a man who held two women hostage after he allegedly killed his brother-in-law. WBTV-TV reports that the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home in Granite Falls Friday evening for an unknown trouble call. The sheriff’s office said in a news release that before deputies arrived, 56-year-old Troy Lee Carter attacked his brother-in-law, 46-year-old Timothy Lewis Davis. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene after being found outside the home with gunshot and stab wounds. The sheriff’s office said in the news release that deputies shot Carter after he failed to obey verbal commands. He died at the scene. No one else was injured.

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