911 Men accused of stealing almost 3,000 pieces of jewelry

Submitted by Gavin Johnson, Reporter

Friday, October 12th, 2012, 2:03pm

Men accused of stealing almost 3,000 pieces of jewelry

WHITEVILLE, NC (WECT) - Investigators say they have made two arrests in connection to a burglary at a pawn store.

Friday, South Carolina authorities transported Victor Davalos and Josniel Mena to the Whiteville Police Department.

According to police, the men stole nearly 3,000 pieces of jewelry from Pawn USA off Madison Street in Whiteville. The men allegedly broke into Pawn USA by cutting a hole in the roof.

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Community activists want night club shut down

Submitted by Gavin Johnson, Reporter

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012, 4:18pm

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Authorities in Columbus County are looking into the future of a popular hangout in Boardman after three people were shot at the establishment. There are people in the area who believe the place should be shutdown before another life is taken or another person gets hurt.

Antoine Ford, a 21-year-old college student, was killed in a shooting at Balls Night Club in 2009. Five others were wounded in that shooting.

Deputies said someone fired more than 50 gunshots outside Balls last year, while people were inside.

Officials with Columbus County Dispatch say they have been called to the club 17 times since January 2010.

Now, deputies say they plan to get ALE officials involved to help them address issues at the night club, but at least two community activists are frustrated the establishment was not closed years ago.

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Deputies investigating shootings in Columbus Co. nightclub

Submitted by Gavin Johnson, Reporter

Monday, September 10th, 2012, 6:19pm

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) - Columbus County sheriff's deputies are investigating a shooting that happened at Balls, a hangout spot in Evergreen early Monday morning.

According to investigators, around 2:00 a.m. two men from Lumberton were shot in the head at Balls Night Club in the nearby town of Boardman. They say a woman from Whiteville was also shot.

Deputies said they believe the shooting stemmed from a fight that happened earlier in Lumberton.

According to investigators Orlando Gaddy, 18, and Quinton Mitchell, 25, were the two men shot. They say Hope Smith, 26, who's from Whiteville was shot in the buttocks.

"I was on the porch at the club, when I turned to go inside, that's when I was hit." Said Hope Smith.

"I heard someone say, I got shot. They said Hope got shot. I ran to the front, saw her on the floor and the first thing I wanted to do is call for help." Said Christina Moore, Smith's friend.

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Woman charged with jury tampering out on bond

Submitted by Gavin Johnson, Reporter

Thursday, August 30th, 2012, 6:27pm

Woman charged with jury tampering out on bond

COLUMBUS COUNTY, (WECT) - A woman who was arrested for jury tampering is out on bond.

According to Columbus County sheriff's deputies, Karen Sealey Wright bonded out Tuesday afternoon. Her bond was $500,000.

On Aug. 24, Sealey Wright and her husband BJ Wright were both charged with jury tampering in his most recent court case. Wright was on trial this earlier this month for habitual felon charges, but the judge continued the trial to investigate the claims of jury tampering. Wright's attorney also stepped down from the case.

Karen Sealey Wright faces one count of offering bribes, one count of harassing/communicating with a juror, two felony conspiracy charges, three counts of obstruction and three counts of harassment of a juror.

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Three facing drug charges after joint synthetic narcotics investigation

Submitted by Sarah Crandall, Web Producer

Thursday, August 16th, 2012, 4:44pm

Three facing drug charges after joint synthetic narcotics investigation

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Three men are facing drug charges following a joint investigation involving synthetic narcotics between the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and the Whiteville Police Department.

According to a press release from authorities, two businesses, including Golden Tobacco in Columbus Corner’s shopping center and Zack’s Discount Tobacco in the Whiteville Mini-Mall, were served search warrants Wednesday.

The warrants came following complaints from citizens, which sparked a three-month investigation into the businesses for the past three months. The investigations resulted in undercover buys at both businesses.

Mohammed Saleh Mozib (Source: Columbus County Sheriff's Dept)

Maeen Mohammed Althahabe (Source: Columbus County Sheriff's Dept)

Samuel Elijah Jenrette (Source: Columbus County Sheriff's Dept)

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85 charges at checkpoint in Columbus Co. on Saturday night

Submitted by Ashley Barker, Community Web Producer

Monday, July 30th, 2012, 11:16am

85 charges at checkpoint in Columbus Co. on Saturday night

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Columbus County Sheriff’s deputies held a DWI checkpoint Saturday night.

Although the number of charges isn’t completely finalized yet, authorities said there were a total of 85 charges. There were four DWI arrests, 10 drug charges, two people arrested for being wanted by authorities and 10 open container violations.

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Dog chokes on rope tying him to a tree, owner charged

Submitted by WECT Web Staff

Tuesday, July 17th, 2012, 3:32pm

WHITEVILLE, NC (WECT) – Officers in Whiteville charged a man for animal cruelty for tying a dog to a tree using rope.

According to police, Rakeem Gaffney was arrested last week and had recently bought the dog. Police say the canine kept choking on the rope while he was tied to the tree.

According to investigators, Gaffney's girlfriend cut the rope with a knife and called police.

The dog has been returned to its original owner.

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