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 [...]

This photo cleaned up enough to show the car that rolled last weekend in Bear Creek:   Took this photo on my phone Saturday night: Drowned out by all the spotlights is a smashed-up, rolled-over car. The trooper at the scene – Bear Creek Road between Bogue House II and my living room in Hubert [...]

I grew up in a Christian home. I still hold onto many of those beliefs. I support the death penalty. I don’t like crime. I believe the Second Amendment isn’t about personal protection or hunting and sporting rights. It is, and always was, about an armed citizenry keeping its government in check. As such, I [...]

The court case of an Emerald Isle businessman accused of assaulting a woman last year was continued Friday to a later date in N.C. District Court in Carteret County. Booking photo Douglas Craig Starcke, 31, is charged with assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious injury and communicating threats. Starcke co-owns South Swell Surf Shop and [...]

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 [...]

Investigation Discovery, one of my favorite cable networks, is featuring the Cesar Laurean case Saturday. I’ve seen the program and it is interesting. Read the news. The actor playing Sheriff Ed Brown doesn’t look much like the real deal, but other than that the re-enactments are good. Two photo stills from the show’s re-enactments- Laurean [...]

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. -