Wilmjax News

WILMINGTON — One of the oldest civil rights organizations, the NAACP, just announced it’s 64th annual North Carolina State Conference will take place right here in Wilmington.

The president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP made the announcement Monday.

The state chapter will be awarded for its efforts in legal and public activism.

Chapter President Rev. William Barber shared his excitement over having the conference here.

The conference will take place in October.

The North Carolina conference is the third largest in the nation.

Article here.

GREENSBORO — The Guilford County district attorney has requested a criminal investigation into state audit findings that N.C. A&T inappropriately moved $380,000 from a campus vending contract to the discretionary fund of former Chancellor James Renick.

The district attorney, Doug Henderson, has also asked the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation for a criminal investigation into alleged misuse of a grant from the Office of Naval Research.

“There were sufficient serious questions raised in the audit to justify an investigation of a criminal nature,” Henderson said Monday. “Whether they merit prosecution is another issue that will be addressed somewhere down the road.”

An audit report issued last month by the N.C. Office of the State Auditor found that money from a beverage vending contract was inappropriately moved to the Chancellor’s Discretionary Fund maintained by the N.C. A&T Foundation.

The money was used for items prohibited by UNC System policy, including commissioned art work, travel for Renick’s wife to accompany him on university-related travel and $150,000 for an annuity for a faculty member, according to the report.

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HENDERSONVILLE – Efren Olmedo Cortina, 47, was arrested Sunday by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office on four felony and two misdemeanor counts.

Cortina is being held in the Henderson County Detention Center under $181,500 secured bond.

Cortina is charged with one felony count of first degree kidnapping, one misdemeanor count of assault on a female, one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, one felony count of trafficking in methamphetamine, one felony count of possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, and one felony count of maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for a controlled substance.

Cortina grabbed Erika Bonilla, the adult female victim, and forced her into his vehicle. He then transported her to his residence in the Spartan Heights community of Hendersonville.

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CONCORD, N.C. — A woman stabbed her husband and called 911 as he lie dying in their front yard, Concord police said Monday.

Mary Edith O’Neal, 37, is now charged with first-degree murder.

Police said O’Neal called 911 shortly before 1:30 a.m. and said Carlton Eugene Smith, 31, had been stabbed and was lying in the yard near their home on Tulsa Court Northwest.

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Police are still seeking three suspects today after a wild chase late Sunday afternoon near Concord Mills that involved a crash, a chase, and bullets striking a passing vehicle and a store employee.

Concord police say there were no serious injuries, however.

The series of events began about 3:30 p.m., when Pat Rogers, owner of Pat Rogers Harley Davidson off Concord Mills Boulevard, stopped to check on his business.

While making his checks, Rogers told police that he spotted someone inside his 2007 Cadillac Escalade, which was parking in front of the dealership.

According to Concord police, when Rogers approached the vehicle, a suspect jumped out of the Cadillac and ran to another vehicle, which was occupied by two other suspects. Rogers told police he realized items had been taken from his SUV, so he jumped in the Escalade and chased the three men.

Rogers tried stopping the getaway vehicle by crashing his Cadillac into theirs, and pushing both vehicles against a utility pole on the Concord Mills Boulevard ramp to Interstate 85.

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