Spent Sunday morning knocking on doors in the neighborhood where a 15-year-old girl was stabbed then shot to death during an alleged domestic dispute between her older sister and her Marine boyfriend. 15 is just too damn young to be caught up in all that drama. Read the news. Here are a few photos of [...]

Video of the suspects being booked into jail. ———————————————————————— Two active duty Navy corpsmen and one who was recently discharged were arrested Friday in the shooting deaths of a Carteret County father and son. Investigators detailed the case at a press conference Monday. Read the latest news from the press conference. Read the arrest news. [...]

I’ve been contacted by several local fundraising vets who are upset with a Navy wife who has been the promoter of two failed concerts linked to military charities. Lauren Peterson from her twitter account: Read the news.

A woman married to a Jacksonville man who married another woman appears happy to now be divorced, according to her Facebook page. Read the news. -

Two Camp Lejeune Marines face accusations of rape in what one official called the worst rape and sodomy case they had ever seen. Read the news. After the story was published, 1st Lt. Kristen McCarthy, the deputy public affairs officer for the 2nd Marine Division, sent me an email clarifying that Kaiser and Krout have [...]

Mike McHugh sent me pictures he took of the crime scene photos the D.A. presented during his press conference. I share them now – 111 Fieldcrest Drive: The window: The broken screen: ————————————————————————————————– David Darling was killed April 8. His death was determined to be justified by District Attorney Ernie Lee based on the state’s [...]

Mike McHugh and I spoke today with the Marine who killed two home intruders April 15. Read previous post. He was well-spoken and polite, but said he didn’t want to comment at length about the incident. He said he thought the media coverage of what happened was fair and the community has been supportive. He [...]

Maurice Skinner and Diego Everette were killed April 15. “These deaths, although tragic for the decedents’ families, are justified pursuant to the facts and circumstances of this investigation and the law of North Carolina.” – District Attorney Ernie Lee. Lee said the state’s newly updated Castle Doctrine applies in the case. Read the news. The article [...]

Elizabeth Tourish lets Daily News photographer Don Bryan know how she feels during her booking process Saturday after being arrested on charges of selling cocaine, delivering cocaine and maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance: Read the news. A complete list of those arrested or still being sought will be available later in the week. [...]

A tipster sent me an email Friday to tell me about a drug search at Swansboro High School, saying they wanted to help me “get on the ball!!!!” Sigh. I knew about the drug search – which happens frequently (searches, not me knowing) – almost as soon as it began. Please don’t construe this post [...]

A prominent Jacksonville lawyer was charged Thursday with driving while impaired and unsafe lane change. Deke Owens is a personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of John Drew Warlick, which also lists his areas of practice as family law, criminal law and civil litigation. He was charged by Jacksonville Police Department officer Scott Eichelberger, [...]

Marine Col. Daniel Lecce is always first to crack a joke about his diminutive height, but there is nothing small about this Devil Dog. Lecce tackled tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms and wildfires during his two years as commander at Camp Lejeune. Read about his last few days on the job. Read about the change of command. [...]

This is not a comment on the guilt or innocence of the community watchman who apparently shot and killed a teenager in Sanford, Fla., last month. This is a question of image and why the media is ignoring readily available photos showing  that teenager in a possibly different light. I’m not saying that dressing a [...]

The Onslow County grand jury has indicted Timothy Akers on a open count of murder. Akers is accused of shooting a woman last year. Read the indictment. Read the news.

Jejuan James hasn’t paid his property taxes totaling $766.53 for 2011. He has a pretty good excuse: He’s been locked up in jail on attempted murder charges since December. Crime scene investigators looking over the car James is accused of shooting up: The Daily News published the complete tax list of property owners, including James, [...]

Sheriff Ed Brown wants to use inmate labor to cultivate farmland. Read the news. The divining rod jokes were inevitable, but work farms seem like a good idea to me. Why should people convicted of a crime get to sit at a picnic table and play cards or watch TV all day long? Hate the [...]

Smoke inhalation caused the deaths of three children in last week’s Southwest area house fire, according to medical examiners. The fire was the result of a malfunctioning refrigerator, according to the N.C. SBI. Read the news. Tabitha Pittman, 12; Elijah Pittman, 8; and Gabriel Pittman, 6. Funeral arrangements haven’t been made. -

Just posted this to my Facebook page: Holy smokes. I can’t take the innuendos anymore. It’s funny how many people think it’s a big deal who I go to the gym with. It’s never been a secret. I’ve seen court officials and cops there several times. I’m not hiding anything. Guess if we were playing [...]

Albert J. Ellis Airport Chief Hans Miller has been named Peace Officer of the Year by the Veterans of Foreign Wars N.C. District 4, which covers much of eastern North Carolina. After receiving the award Miller spoke to family and friends, but stopped just shy of announcing his intention to run for Onslow County Sheriff. [...]

With so much talk about the new Onslow County Jail’s smoke control system lately, it’s disturbing to see what happens when such a system doesn’t work…or is nonexistent… County Manager Jeff Hudson said it was better to be delayed than to rush into the building and then have a tragedy. While not a new building [...]

Judging by the photos on his MySpace account, bank robbery suspect Rodney Milton had just one thing on his mind: Read the news of his arrest. Milton appears to be on parole in Pennsylvania. Not so easy to rob a bank in Jacksonville after all, huh?

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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:

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 license, according 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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

- Robert Lewis has been convicted of manslaughter in his son’s death. Read the news. Photos from the trial are at the end of this post. I have covered every murder trial in Jacksonville in the last five years. I have seen some good lawyering on both sides, but I honestly think Ernie Wright put on [...]

In a courtroom brawl one lawyer likened to the 1974 Madison Square Garden rematch between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, prosecutors this week are attempting to prove Robert Lewis is responsible for his son’s death while his attorney is painting him as a sympathetic father and career police officer who has lost his livelihood. Read the news. Judges [...]

A triple-homicide remains unsolved because federal investigators believe they know who did it, but just can’t try him. Read the news. Carlton “Butch” Smith is the only person to ever be charged in the case. There were beard hairs found at the scene. Butch had no facial hair at the time. I am filing a Freedom [...]

The Jacksonville•Onslow Chamber of Commerce hosted the Second Annual Onslow County Public Safety Awards last week. Read the news. There were a total of 19 nominations in the four categories. Nominations came from Jacksonville Police Department, N.C. State Highway Patrol, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, Military Police Camp Lejeune, North Topsail Fire Department, Piney Green Volunteer [...]

Jacksonville City Councilman Jerome Willingham has a full-time civil service job in D.C., pays rent in Maryland and is registered to vote there. Read the news – part one. Read the news – part two. I promised a big-picture story about Willingham a couple of years ago. Took a while, but the time has arrived. [...]

A Richlands man who has been in custody since the shooting death of his wife was charged with her murder early this morning. Read the news. I posted earlier that I beleived the homicide to have occured in the livingroom, based on better info I think the shooting happened in the kitchen of the house [...]