North Carolina News – February 7

North Carolina News – February 7

DEPUTY SHOOTING-NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina deputy kills man trying to flee traffic stop

LINCOLNTON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy has shot and killed a man who tried to flee a traffic stop and dragged the deputy through a field. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says deputies tried to stop a car on a road in Lincolnton on Saturday morning. During the traffic stop, the suspect tried to flee the scene, dragging a sheriff’s deputy through a field. While being dragged while inside the open driver’s side door, the deputy drew his service weapon and shot the suspect. The deputy was thrown from the vehicle, which struck a tree. Deputies on the scene tended to the suspect, who died at the scene.

FIRE CHIEF DIES

Chief of North Carolina volunteer fire department dies

GOLDSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Officials say the chief of a North Carolina volunteer fire department has died while responding to a call. WITN reports the Wayne County Fire Marshal’s Office said Chief James Radford of the Polly Watson Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched at 1:06 p.m. on Saturday to assist on a call in Wilson County. The fire marshal says when Radford reached the fire station, he suffered an apparent medical emergency and crashed into a parked car in the station’s parking lot. After firefighters treated Radford inside his car, he was taken to a local hospital, where he died. Radford was also a volunteer with the Fremont Volunteer Fire Department.

FATAL PUNCH-MAN CHARGED

North Carolina man charged after person he punched died

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Police in North Carolina say a man is facing upgraded charges after a man he was accused of punching died at a hospital. The Winston-Salem Journal reported 30-year-old Antuan Lamont Perry was initially charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury. Winston-Salem police say the incident is now a homicide case. James Christopher King was arguing with Perry shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday while the 73-year-old King was standing in his driveway. Police accuse Perry of punching King in his head during the argument and knocking him down on a concrete driveway on which he hit his head. 

FERTILIZER PLANT FIRE

Recent blaze at fertilizer plant wasn’t 1st fire there

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina city confirms that firefighters responded in late December to what an incident report called a smoldering pile of “fertilizer material” at a plant where, weeks later, an explosion and uncontrolled flames would force thousands to flee their homes. The Winston-Salem Journal reported details of the report Saturday in response to a public records request. On Dec. 26, residents living near the Winston Weaver plant called 911 to report smelling smoke and seeing haze. Following the most recent fire, city officials made no mention of the December fire and the fire chief said there was no attempt to hide it.

DRUG VIOLATIONS-10TH ARREST

Woman facing drug charges for 10th time in 3 years

MORGANTON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s office says a woman with a history of drug violations has been arrested for the 10th time in less than three years on new charges. The News Herald of Morganton reports the Burke County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that 31-year-old Curston Shay Graybeal of Marion faces multiple charges, including felony trafficking in methamphetamine and a felony probation violation. The latest charges came after narcotics investigators and probation officers conducted a search at a home in Connelly Springs which turned up 2 pounds of methamphetamine. Graybeal has been char

DOG RESCUED-QUARRY

North Carolina firefighters rescue dog trapped in quarry

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Officials say firefighters rescued one of two dogs trapped in a North Carolina quarry, using a crane to bring the 1-year-old animal to safety and a reunion with his family. The Charlotte Observer reports the Charlotte Fire Department received a call on Monday about two dogs stuck in a quarry near Interstate 485 in southwest Charlotte. Firefighters and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Animal Care and Control determined there was no safe way to rescue them. Quarry operators brought in a crane to lower a firefighter into the quarry to bring the dog out. The second dog in the quarry died before it could be rescued.

REDISTRICTING-NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina Supreme Court strikes down redistricting maps

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Supreme Court has struck down the state’s new maps for congressional and General Assembly seats and has ordered legislators to redraw them within two weeks. The 4-3 decision by the justices Friday declared that the Republican-controlled legislature violated the state constitution when it produced district boundaries than boosted GOP power within the state’s U.S. House delegation and within the state House and Senate. The ruling reversed a decision last month by trial judges who declared that although the maps were a result of intentional partisan redistricting, it wasn’t the judiciary’s place to intervene in a remapping process that’s inherently political. 

CHILD KILLED-COLD CASE ARREST

Sheriff: Uncle of slain girl tracked down 4 years later

BAYOU BLUE, La. (AP) — Police in Louisiana have arrested a man accused of raping and killing his 5-year-old niece in North Carolina more than four years ago. Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre says 23-year-old David Wesley Prevatte, of Lumberton, North Carolina, was arrested Friday in Bayou Blue, Louisiana. He says North Carolina’s Pender County Sheriff’s Office tracked him there after getting a warrant accusing him of first-degree murder and first-degree rape of Paitin Fields in November 2017. The little girl died Nov. 16, 2017, three days after her family brought her to a hospital, unresponsive. North Carolina news outlets report that she was Prevatte’s niece.

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