Swansboro police arrested John L. Giltz, who turned 66 Thursday. He is charged with murder in the shooting death of 50-year-old Suzy Zemlick. Read the news. – Mike McHugh, Daily News columnist and master researcher, liked this otherwise sad case because Giltz and Zemlick are a whole lot easier to track down on the Web [...]

UPDATE: INVESTIGATORS SAY MATTHEW ZEMLICK IS NOT A SUSPECT IN HIS WIFE’S DEATH. MATTHEW ZEMLICK DOES HAVE RESTRAINING ORDERS ON FILE AT THE ONSLOW COUNTY COURTHOUSE. Read the latest news in the case. —————————— Details are beginning to emerge from the Monday shooting in Swansboro Heights involving a resident of S. Dogwood Lane. The Daily [...]

Police are tight lipped on Monday’s homicide in Swansboro. Read the news here. Mike McHugh and I bounced some information around and here’s what we came up with: The address where crime scene investigators were working Monday is rented by John and Helen Giltz. I dialed their number in the phone book with the South [...]

Due to several requests, I am posting this letter here so that more people can read it without having to befriend me on FaceBook. I will be asking commissioners about this letter, interviewing the sheriff and continuing to gather information this week about the current situation at the Sheriff’s Office. —————————————————— Commissioner W.C. Jarman, Chairman [...]

An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. NO. COA11-912 NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS Filed: 17 January 2012 Cherokee County No. 10-CVS-561 SEAN [...]

YES. I am aware a high-ranking deputy sheriff was fired last week. YES. I am aware the sheriff collected deputies’ phones back in December. NO. I don’t know whether the two have any correlation whatsoever. Everybody wants me to write about the malaise at the Sheriff’s Office, but no one wants to go on the [...]

Michael Ward – the guy who gives new meaning to being popped in the can – will most likely be shipped back to Georgia as soon as possible. Detectives – who say they still strongly believe Ward smuggled a handgun into the Onslow County Jail  in his ass – say they’d like to just see [...]

While I want to see the autopsy report before saying for sure, SSgt. Senn’s death sure sounds like drunken head trauma syndrome. I wrote about that in 2007. It is a decent report on the phenomenon. Read that report here. Best quote ever: “I’ve seen plenty of dead drunks who died in wrecks.” – Dr. [...]

Michael Ward is suspected of having a gun in his rectum when he was booked into the Onslow County Jail. Read the news. Read the official press release from the Sheriff’s Office. It seems besides having a suspected ability for really packing it in, Ward has a proclivity for making up identities. He is charged [...]

A Southwest man remains in jail after being charged in a drunk driving crash that killed two friends and injured his brother and fiancee. The decedents were not wearing seatbelts. Read the news. Also check out this well-done video by WCTI12 that shows the group at the pool hall moments before their fatal ride. There [...]

Daily News content editor Amanda Hickey sent me this link to share on the blog. This 17-year-old Hendersonville girl was charged with leaving her baby in the trash. We had a similar case here a few years ago. Looking for more information, I searched the web using the words “”baby” and “trash.” It is depressing [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 1: “JHW-018.” The popularity of spice and bath salts hit the tipping point in 2010 as military members substituted the synthetic for marijuana since it left [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 2: “No reasonable jury.” Sentenced in May 2010 to life in prison in the Sept. 16, 1972, shooting death of Marine Sgt. Bill Miller, retired Marine [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 3: “Pasquotank.” Although convicted murderer Cesar Laurean spent all of 2011 locked up in a state prison 150 miles from Jacksonville, his infamous crime continued to [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 4: “Justified.” During a tragic incident in February, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy shot and killed an off-duty fireman in their upscale Swansboro subdivision. The fireman was [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 5: “Unsealed.” While this story didn’t quite grab everyone like I thought it would, there is no denying its lasting impact on local law enforcement. No [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 6: “Gavel to Gavel.” My publisher once told me the life’s blood of a community newspaper was local trial coverage. This year was a good example. [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 7: “In the public eye part IV – Jail House, Not.” The past year proved troublesome for local government officials as the City of Jacksonville was [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 8: “Marine Behaving Badly.” Taking a pleasant break from murdering women, Marines who allegedly committed criminal acts this past year were accused of some silly shenanigans. [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 9: “Dogs Out” From deputies being attacked to children being mauled, pit bulls continued to live up to their reputation as an aggressive breed. The problem, [...]

I have compiled what I believe to the 10 most captivating local crime stories of the last year. These are the crime stories that got our readership talking. No. 10: “Party Rock.” The year began with a bang. A shooting at The Rock sent two people to the hospital, a man to jail and caused [...]

I’m always amazed that in a modern-day shootout so many bullets are wasted. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want anyone getting shot, but when 20 bullets fly between five people and only one person gets hit, it makes you wonder what’s going on. Read the news. Mike McHugh and I went to the scene [...]

A former officer with the North Topsail Beach Police Department is accused of peeping into the bedroom of a nude teenage girl while she toweled off and put on her bra and panties. Read the news here. I spoke with the district attorney late Tuesday, after deadline, and he said the case would be handled [...]

Maria Lauterbach was murdered four years ago this month. Just imagine, she was killed on Dec. 14, and most likely buried the following day. Her body was not discovered until mid-January while her killer went on with his life. I have written a column about people associated with the case moving on. Read it here. [...]

The Guardian has a new, in-depth article online which looks at rape in the U.S. military. Read the story. The article refers to “the case of 24-year-old lance corporal Maria Lauterbach, a marine preparing to testify that she was raped by fellow marine, Cesar Laurean, when she went missing in 2007. Although it was never [...]

A Newport couple have been charged with skinning a puppy. Read the news. Warning: the photograph below this line is graphic and may disturb certain readers. The picture is provided to demonstrate the serious nature of the charges. ——————————————————- ——————————————————- GRAPHIC IMAGE ——————————————————- —————————————————— Photo of skinned puppy provided by Carteret County Sheriff’s Office:

- Looks like this guy may have been planning a little Pearl Harbor of his own. Mr. Austin was loaded for bear but didn’t make it to his destination because Carteret County Sheriff’s deputies stopped him. Read the news. – The N.C. Court of Appeals has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Jarrell Wilson. Read [...]

While one alleged crook was robbing delivery drivers in Jacksonville another was beating up a store clerk with a framing hammer. Is it Black Friday all over again? Read about the guy accused of ordering pizza and Chinese and jacking the delivery drivers. McCarty: Read about the still-at-large suspect accused of robbing the Gum Branch [...]

Here’s a really interesting story from The Dayton Daily News about Mary Lauterbach and her efforts to change military culture. Read the article. Mary Lauterbach: “The moment that Maria reported the sexual assault, they concluded she was a liar. Even after she reported being sucker-punched and having her car keyed, which should have been red flags, [...]

- A Duplin County woman due in court today on a charge of driving a school bus drunk is dead after a weekend collision. 31-year-old Fontella Wilson from her Facebook page: Read the news. Read about her arrest earlier this year. Troopers told reporters that there was a faint scent of alcohol in Wilson’s car [...]

The first-degree murder trial of Soyer Moll is underway. Read the news here. Jacksonville lawyer Wally Paramore stands next to his client Soyer Moll with legal assistant Terrie Trim in the background: Wally told me today that Terrie has worked for him for 18 years. I have been covering murder trials in Jacksonville for nearly [...]

Christina Smith has made moves to leave her past and her former husband behind. Smith, who divorced Cesar Laurean in April, was remarried in July. The groom in that wedding paid $40 cash for a marriage liscence, accoridng to the Marion, Ohio, Register of Deeds. Special thanks to Off the Cuff regular KH for pointing [...]

A former high-ranking Pender County Sheriff’s deputy who picked up a young man earlier this year in Wilmington and was arrested shortly thereafter on charges of crimes against nature and johning for a prostitute was found guilty in court Thursday of the former and walked on the latter count. Mark Sloan was sentenced to serve 18 months of unsupervised [...]

Timothy Lacey pleaded guilty Tuesday to helping a co-defendant in the murder of a Jacksonville man two years ago. Read the news. A Daily News photo of Lacey in court with his attorney, Jacksonville lawyer Billy Joe Morgan (who is on a roll lately): From what I understand the victim in this case,  30-year-old Kevin Foley, provided [...]

The Pentagon’s inspector general is criticizing Camp Lejeune officials for inadequate and incomplete handling of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach’s rape complaint against Cpl. Cesar Laurean, who later murdered her. Read the news. The report found that the details of Lauterbach’s rape complaint were not entered into a database maintained by the base’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Response [...]

In discussion of my column about Sheriff Ed Brown firing deputies he thinks are involved in extra-martital affairs, which appeared in Monday’s edition of the newspaper and is available online, several people have brought up Brown being fired from the local police department. Some folks have alluded online to Brown somehow being involved in an affair [...]

A would-be robber in a Spider-Man mask wielding a sword was taken down Wednesday by a woman with a broom. Read the news. Forget that the guy allegedly had a Samurai sword and still got a beat down, I find it hilarious that the crime scene was within web-spinner range of the guy’s home. Sheriff’s Sgt. David South’s [...]

A Jacksonville man – who hasn’t lived here in a while because he’s been on the lam – is accused of killing a Virginia man by running him off the interstate in a road rage incident. Read the news. Sessoms and his girlfriend (accussed of hiding pills in her bra): The real question authorities should [...]

George Hayden, convicted last year of the 1972 shooting death of Sgt. Bill Miller, was released by the N.C. Department of Correction shortly after the N.C. Supreme Court declined to hear the state’s argument against the Appeals Court overturning an Onslow County jury verdict. Hayden has been home for a few days. He has spent [...]

Sheriff Ed Brown says he’s not moving into his new diggs until his nine-item punchlist is complete. Read the news. During a pretty intense county commissioners meeting Thursday, Brown presented his list to the board after they denied his request to self-install bullet-resistant glass in his office, his receptionist’s office and the communication room — all [...]

Chuck Carnes and three other deputies were promoted Tuesday at the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Ed Brown said Chuck reminded him of himself at that age and if ”someone is going to get into something, it’ll be Chuck.”  Carnes addressing the deputies and other members of the public at the ceremony: – -Carnes flanked by [...]

Need some guns? The sheriff is selling plenty Saturday. Read the news. List of guns on the auction block: FNH 5.7 X 28 CAL.     SN#38118697 DRACO 7.62 X 39 CAL.     SN#DR6321-09 ACTION ARMS .45 CAL.     SN#000264 DESSERT EAGLE .44 MAG.     SN#41717 COLT DEFENDER SERIES 90     SN#DR31463 DESSERT EAGLE .50 CAL.     SN#32203486 KBI 7.62 CAL. WOODSTOCK     [...]

The Sheriff’s Office is now tracking firearms issued to its deputies and seized in criminal investigations. Read the news. Sheriff’s Capt. Pat Garvey firing a .45-caliber Colt into the Kevlar fiber-packed ballistic catch chamber: -

One of the most recent murder suspects arrested in Onslow County has appearently gotten into some trouble in jail.  Juan Hernandez is accused of killing his wife and is locked up awaiting trial. Read about the homicide here. He popped up on the first court appearance calander last week with charges of malicious conduct by a prisoner and assault on [...]

Family, friends and church members of a Jacksonville man killed last week in Wilmington marched Saturday to draw attention against street violence. Read the news. I never knew Jonathan Jones Jr., but I have met his parents and they are good people. Photos of Jonathan’s life: A memorial table: -

While it has the same address, jdnews.com looks 100 percent better. Check it out. The website’s content has been steadily expanding and improving since Amanda Hickey took the job a couple of years ago. Now it looks great too. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it today. The Peanut Gallery’s comments on the [...]

There was another fire in the same mobile home park Wednesday. Read the news. Detectives think they have a good lead on the perp… ————————————————————————— Authorities are searching for clues as to who and why a car was torched in the Southwest area Sunday. Read the news. First thing I thought of was the Timothy Spicer case. [...]

On this day 39 years ago Marine Sgt. Bill Miller was gunned down on Western Boulevard, then an isolated country road. Bill Miller in an early 1970s photograph: His killer, George Hayden, a retired Marine and former local police chief, was convicted in May 2010 of shooting Miller in cold blood. The N.C. Court of Appeals [...]

I forgot yesterday to include this photo of the mobile home on Mattocks Road: And to answer Jan’s question, I don’t know who the body was supposed to be. I don’t think the authorities had an identity either just a tip a body would be there. ——————————————————————– A search for a possible dead body led [...]

Photographer Ed Caram was on hand to snap some pictures of a bone – believed to be human – found Saturday at Surf City. Here’s Ed’s description: Surf City Police Officer David Beaver was given a human collar bone Saturday by some Marines at Surf City. According to Beaver the bone was found near 5th [...]