Area News
Moped death discovered after daybreak
By DEUCE NIVEN A passing motorist spotted the three-wheel moped in a ditch soon after daybreak Friday, and discovered the body of a local man partially under the vehicle, Columbus County Assistant Coroner William Hannah said. Byron Keith Harrelson, 48, of FM Stanley Road, Clarendon, may have drowned sometime during the night, Hannah…
Read MoreLawyer pleads to obstruction, is disbarred: Update
By DEUCE NIVEN Dec. 14 update A brief court appearance with guilty pleas to misdemeanor obstruction charges ended separate criminal investigations into attorney Randy Lemay Cartrette on Monday. Felony charges leveled against the former assistant district attorney last week, and one from last year, were dropped as part of a plea deal. Superior…
Read MoreLawyer pleads to obstruction, is disbarred: Update
By DEUCE NIVEN Dec. 14 update A brief court appearance with guilty pleas to misdemeanor obstruction charges ended separate criminal investigations into attorney Randy Lemay Cartrette on Monday. Felony charges leveled against the former assistant district attorney last week, and one from last year, were dropped as part of a plea deal. Superior…
Read MoreGuitly plea in Ridgeland Acres double murder
By DEUCE NIVEN A guilty plea in a five-year-old murder case will send a Tabor City man to prison for up to 20 years, District Attorney Jon David announced Wednesday. Dryan Escabedo Vereen, 26, entered the guilty plea before Resident Superior Court Judge Doug Sasser in Whiteville on Wednesday, admitting his role in…
Read MoreVoters’ day: Runoff likely in Loris Mayoral race, Grayam’s out
Voting is over A run-off between Michael Suggs and Henry Nichols appears likely following one of the most active municipal elections in Loris in recent memory Tuesday. Incumbent city council member Joan Gause appeared to keep her seat, while fellow council member Thessalonia Graham lost in the unofficial counting. City Fire Chief Jerry…
Read MoreAttorney again subject of SBI probe
By DEUCE NIVEN Nearly a year after his arrest on charges of forging court documents, Whiteville attorney and former prosecutor Randy Lemay Cartrette is again the subject of an SBI investigation, agency spokesman Shannon O’Toole confirmed Tuesday. SBI agents have been assigned the investigation requested by District Attorney Jon David on Oct. 30,…
Read MoreChase, crash claims prison guard
By DEUCE NIVEN After fleeing from a parking lot collision, then the South Carolina Highway Patrol, a North Carolina prison employee from Tabor City died Sunday night when his truck slammed into a power pole near Longs, investigators said Monday. Casey James Blackwell, 32, died after being thrown from his 1990 Toyota SUV…
Read MoreRep. Waddell won’t run again
By DEUCE NIVEN State Rep. Ken Waddell will not seek a third term serving District 46, he announced Monday. Waddell, a Columbus County Democrat and former Chadbourn mayor, serves the district which includes all of his home county, and portions of Bladen and Robeson. He said family commitments, including helping to care for…
Read MoreKiller fired in self defense: HCPD
By DEUCE NIVEN Monday morning update Defending himself from an “unprovoked attack,” a Lumberton man shot and killed his would-be assailant inside a Green Sea home Thursday night, Lt. Raul Denis of the Horry County Police Department said Monday. Police will not identify the victim, Denis said, adding that the 22-year-old man who…
Read MoreKiller fired in self defense: HCPD
By DEUCE NIVEN Monday morning update Defending himself from an “unprovoked attack,” a Lumberton man shot and killed his would-be assailant inside a Green Sea home Thursday night, Lt. Raul Denis of the Horry County Police Department said Monday. Police will not identify the victim, Denis said, adding that the 22-year-old man who…
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