Asheville Men Plead Guilty To Voluntary Manslaughter
(Asheville, NC) -- Two Asheville men are guilty in a November 2016 shooting death. They entered guilty pleas to voluntary manslaughter yesterday in Buncombe County court. Prosecutors say Travis Mayfield was shot to death during an argument at the Deaverview Apartments. District Attorney Todd Williams says he wishes there was more the legal process could offer the family to lessen their grief. The two men were facing first-degree murder indictments.
Teachers Plan March On May 1st
(Raleigh, NC) -- The stage is set for a teacher march in Raleigh. The North Carolina Association of Educators voted at its annual convention last weekend to call for a day of action on May 1st. Ralliers from across the state are expected to protest for more raises, school counselors and Medicaid expansion. Just under 20-thousand people marched on Raleigh last May in the March for Students and Rally for Respect.
Gas Prices Continue Rise In NC
(Asheville, NC) -- The rise of gas prices is continuing in North Carolina. Triple-A says it's a trend that will most likely continue through Memorial Day weekend. The state average rose three cents in the last week up to two-50-per gallon. That's a 20-cent jump over the past month. Counties in the western corner of North Carolina like Buncombe, Transylvania, Jackson and Madison are all above the state average.
Student Falls Down Stairwell In Hickory
(Hickory, NC) -- Hickory school officials say a middle school student was seriously injured yesterday. An 8th grader at Northview Middle School reportedly fell down an open stairwell. The 13-year-old was flown by helicopter from the school to Charlotte to be treated for injuries. Additional counselors are expected to be at the school campus today to talk with students if needed.
Cherokee Can Pick Sochan Under New Agreement
(Cherokee, NC) -- A new agreement will allow select members of the Cherokee tribe harvest a certain plant on its ancestral land. Great Smoky Mountains National Park's superintendent and the Cherokee's principal chief signed a pact yesterday that will reinstate the rights of the tribe to pick sochan, which has been a traditional food for thousands of years. Picking of the plant wasn't previously allowed in national parks, but the rules were relaxed three years ago.
Cullowhee Named A Top Micropolitan Area
(Cullowhee, NC) -- Cullowhee is being named one of the top micropolitan areas in the nation. The Walton Family Foundation listed the city at number 13 for areas with an urban core of ten-to-50-thousand people. WLOS-TV says Western Carolina University was credited with helping drive the economy.
Officer Kills Suspect Armed Man Outside Burger King
(Charlotte, NC) -- The CMPD says an officer shot and killed an armed man outside a Burger King yesterday. Police Chief Kerr Putney says the man refused orders to drop his gun and was shot when the officer felt a threat. Witnesses told police that the armed man was arguing with an employee before the shooting at the Beatties Ford Road restaurant near I-85. No one else was injured.
Group Protests Officer-Involved Shooting
(Charlotte, NC) -- Protesters at the scene of an officer-involved shooting yesterday don't believe the man killed was armed. The Charlotte Observer reports that a group gathered outside the Burger King on Beatties Ford Road. The CMPD says the man was armed and refused orders to drop his weapon. A witness told one protester that police shot the wrong man.
Woman Arrested For University City Murder
(Charlotte, NC) -- A woman is facing a charge of murder in northeast Charlotte. A man was found on the ground outside a home on Faires Road in the University City area on Monday morning. He died after resuscitation efforts failed. It didn't take long for the CMPD to arrest Shakeli Lewis for first-degree murder.
Theater Shooting Suspect Arrested
(Charlotte, NC) -- An 18-year-old from Indian Land is the suspected gunman from a movie theater shooting in Concord. It happened Sunday night at the AMC Concord Mills 24. The victim has since been released from the hospital. The suspect was arrested on a count of assault with a deadly weapon yesterday.
Mother Charged In Murder Of Four-Year-Old
(Huntersville, NC) -- A mother is being accused in the death of her four-year-old son in Huntersville. The child died last October and no arrests had been made in the case until yesterday. Lashonda Hudson is now facing murder and negligent child abuse. No details have been released on the child's death.
Uptown Harris Teeter Goes Self-Checkout
(Charlotte, NC) -- A Harris Teeter in uptown is switching to strictly self-checkout lines. NBC Charlotte is reporting that the West 6th Street store is the only one of 240 that is doing away with the traditional way of having an employee check out a customer at a cash register. The average transaction size is reportedly much smaller for customers at this Harris Teeter than anywhere else. The company says they aren't cutting staff.
Three Of Five Escaped Inmates Are Still At Large
(Nash Co., NC) -- A massive manhunt is underway in Nash County after five inmates escaped. Deputies say yesterday several inmates broke out of the Nash County Detention Center by pulling apart wiring for a fence in the exercise area then hopping two gates. Two of the inmates have already been caught, but three are still loose, and information leading to any one of their arrests is worth 500-dollars. Federal agents and U.S. Marshals have been called in to try and catch them.
Duke Agrees To A Nine Figure Settlement Over Falsifying Data For Research Grants
(Durham Co., NC) -- Duke University is paying more than 100-million-dollars to settle a lawsuit. Federal prosecutors argued that Duke knowingly submitted information they knew to be falsified or fabricated when applying for research grants. Yesterday, Duke agreed to pay the federal government 112 million-dollars to settle these allegations. A whistleblower will get nearly 38-million-dollars of the settlement. Duke said those responsible didn't report wrongdoing like they should have, and they have taken a number of steps to try to restore the integrity of research on campus.
Wake Forest Triple Murder Case Underway
(Wake Forest, NC) -- The triple murder trial of a Wake Forest man is underway. Prosecutors say Jonathan Sander shot and killed three of his neighbors in a Wake Forest neighborhood three-years ago. They think he killed them over an ongoing financial dispute. Sander had to be restrained yesterday because of courtroom outbursts, the judge says one more and he'll watch the rest of his trial from his jail cell.
Juvenile Arrested For Shooting And Killing An Infant
(Fayetteville, NC) -- A juvenile in Fayetteville is accused of killing a baby. Deputies in Cumberland County say on Friday night, a juvenile shot a three-week old girl in the head on Cricket Road. The juvenile was arrested for the death, but their age wasn't released. No motive was released.
Police ID Woman Killed In A Crash
(Durham, NC) -- Durham police are identifying a woman killed in a two-vehicle crash. They say yesterday afternoon, 80-year-old Mary Starks was in a van that was hit by a truck that crossed into oncoming traffic on So Hi Drive. Starks was killed and both drivers were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Fifty-six-year-old Scotty Johnson was charged with misdemeanor death and driving with a revoked license. Investigators don't think alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash.
Second Person Dies From A Fire This Weekend In Durham
(Durham, NC) -- A fire in Durham has now killed two people. The fire broke out Saturday at a home on Horseshoe Road and killed 73-year-old William Davis Senior. Thirty-nine-year-old Kyiandrea Terry had been taken to the hospital, but yesterday deputies announced that she died of her injuries. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Wake Forest Coach Pleads Not Guilty In Admissions Scandal
(Boston, MA) -- Wake Forest's women's volleyball coach says he's not guilty in a college-admissions scandal. Bill Ferguson was one of a dozen who entered not guilty pleas in a Boston court yesterday, including other coaches from several division-one universities. The group is accused in a racketeering scheme where coaches were allegedly bribed and surrogates took entrance exams in order to get kids into schools. Ferguson's lawyer said no one was admitted to Wake Forest who didn't earn it.
Greensboro Police Investigating Two Homicides
(Greensboro, NC) -- Greensboro police are investigating two homicides that happened about six hours apart overnight Sunday. A teenager was found shot to death on East Montcastle Drive shortly before 11 p.m. A 21-year-old was gunned down at the Brannon Park Apartments on Mizell Road around 4 a.m. Investigators say the shootings aren't related and no arrests have been announced.
Jury Selection Underway In Trail Of Accused Toddler Killer
(Winston-Salem, NC) -- Jury selection is underway in a Winston-Salem murder trial. Charles Thomas Stacks is accused of killing a two-year-old boy in August 2015. Winston-Salem police said the boy was found in a bathtub of cold water before he died a few days later from head injuries. Jury selection could last all week.
Reward Increases For Information In Fatal Greensboro Shooting
(Greensboro, NC) -- The reward is climbing for information in a late October deadly shooting in Greensboro. Officers say a man was shot in the parking lot of the Sedgefield Square Apartment Complex on Bernau Avenue October 6th. They believe the victim and suspect showed up at the lot together. The Greensboro News & Record says the reward stands at over 23-thousand dollars through the help of anonymous donors and Crime Stoppers.
Electric Scooters OK'd In Winston-Salem
(Winston-Salem, NC) -- Electric scooters are on the way back to Winston-Salem. The city council made a lift on the scooter ban official Monday with a quick approval on the consent agenda item. This means that the new transportation trend will be allowed again with a few extra rules. The scooters must be equipped with lights and can't be ridden on public sidewalks.