North Carolina News – February 23

VIRUS CLAIM-ASSAULT CHARGE

Police: Woman claimed to have virus, blew into deputy’s face

LINCOLNTON, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say that a woman has been charged after she claimed to have the coronavirus and blew into a sheriff deputy’s face. The Charlotte Observer reports that the incident occurred Sunday evening in Lincoln County. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said Jasmine Louise McClain was already in police custody because she had been identified as a suspect in a stabbing. The sheriff’s office said she admitted to having tested positive for COVID-19 eight days earlier.  She was charged with assault on a government official. The sheriff’s office did not state whether McClain has actually tested positive COVID-19.

ANIMAL ABUSE

Sheriff: 12 malnourished dogs rescued from N. Carolina home

PEMBROKE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say 12 malnourished dogs found in filthy cages were recused from a North Carolina home. Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins says the dogs were found underfed and living in poor conditions at a Pembroke home. Wilkins says the dogs were seized and taken to a vet. Authorities say 25-year-old Nehemiah Pate was charged with 12 counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals. Pate was taken to the Robeson County Detention Center with a $2,000 secured bond. It’s unclear whether Pate has an attorney who would comment on his behalf.

TRAFFIC STOP-SUSPECT KILLED

Suspect dead, deputy wounded in gunfire during traffic stop

NEBO, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a suspect was killed and a North Carolina deputy wounded during an exchange of gunfire during a traffic stop. A news release from the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office said that the shooting happened during a traffic stop early Monday in the Nebo community in western North Carolina. The sheriff’s office said that the deputy exchanged fire with people in the vehicle. One suspect was killed and another was taken into custody, according to the release. The wounded deputy was treated and released from a hospital. The names of the deputy and the suspects weren’t immediately released.

OFFICER SHOT-ARKANSAS

Arkansas officer expected to fully recover after shooting

LONOKE, Ark. (AP) — Authorities say an Arkansas police officer who was shot multiple times during a confrontation at a fast-food restaurant with a man suspected of kidnapping a 14-year-old North Carolina girl is expected to make a full recovery. Officials in Lonoke, Arkansas, say Officer Cody Carpenter “is in good spirits given the circumstances” after the Saturday night shooting. Police say Carpenter and another officer confronted 38-year-old William Robert Ice of Jackson Center, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night outside of a McDonald’s restaurant. Ice was accused of kidnapping the girl from her North Carolina home. Ice was later found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say the girl was inside the vehicle at the time of the shootout but was not injured.

BLACK COLLEGES-ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Colleges to house new center that trains Black entrepreneurs

CHICAGO (AP) — A new center for training Black entrepreneurs will be opening in Atlanta as part of a collaboration announced Monday between Spelman College, Morehouse College and an advocacy organization made up of business leaders. The Center for Black Entrepreneurship is expected to start operating for the fall 2021 semester. Details of the collaboration were shared with The Associated Press ahead of the announcement. Morehouse President David A. Thomas said the new center builds on a long history of entrepreneurial spirit at these HBCUs and continues the schools’ legacies of providing opportunities for economic and social mobility for their students. He said he hopes the center will serve as a model for other HBCUs.

DEAD DOGS-REWARD OFFERED

$5,000 reward offered after 2 dogs found dead on road side

HENDERSON, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say that two dogs have been found dead in crates on the side of the road. WRAL reports that the dead dogs were found Wednesday in Vance County on Pool Rock Road. Vance County Animal Services said in a news release that the dogs were both males. One was white with black markings. The other was brown. County officials said that the white dog was in a small wire crate covered with a black tarp. The brown dog was in a beige-colored crate that was plastic. The Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society of Henderson is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

OFFICER SHOT-NORTH CAROLINA

Police: Officer shot and critically wounded, man arrested

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say that a police officer is in critical condition after being shot three times with his own gun during a struggle with a man in Kernersville. The Winston-Salem Journal reported Sunday that the man was later arrested. Quinton Donnell Blocker faces charges that include attempted first-degree murder and felony assault on a law-enforcement officer with a firearm. The incident occurred early Sunday at the Century Square Apartments. Arrest warrants said the officer had encountered Blocker earlier in the day after Blocker ran away from a traffic stop. Police said the officer then encountered Blocker at the apartment complex when the officer was there for an unrelated matter.

MOBILE HOME FIRE-CHILDREN DEAD

Two unattended children die in mobile home fire

HICKORY, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say two children have died in a mobile home fire in North Carolina. The fire broke out Saturday afternoon at a residence in Hickory, Officials said the victims are a young boy and girl, ages 7 and 8. Authorities said no adults were home when the fire broke out. Neighbors said the children’s mother was at work and that her boyfriend arrived at the home after the fire started.