This year’s theme is A Pirate’s Adventure.

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Christopher Cantwell was interviewed by Vice News during his stay Sunday night for a segment on the Charlottesville protests.

The police department was made aware of his stay Monday night. Roanoke Rapids police, the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and Weldon Police Department followed up on the tip and found Cantwell checked out and was no longer in the area.

“Our agencies collectively worked together and contacted state, federal agencies, Charlottesville Police Department and the Virginia State Police about Mr. Cantwell’s location,” Hasty said in a statement.

The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Cantwell as a one-time drug dealer, candidate for Congress and aspiring stand-up comedian, who now hosts Alt-Right luminaries such as Matthew Heimbach, Augustus Invictus and Andrew Auernheimer, aka, Weev, on his call-in talk show “Radical Agenda,” which is live-streamed via Facebook and UStream three days a week from his home studio in Keene, New Hampshire.

SPLC says on its website in his show and in mordant essays published on his website, christophercantwell.com, this 36-year-old self-proclaimed fascist – whose style borrows from such mainstream shock jocks as Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony — argues for an Anglo ethno state free of African-Americans, Jews and non-white immigrants, save, perhaps, for the occasional exception.

Hasty said it was not clear where Cantwell was headed after he left Roanoke Rapids.

No protest permits

Meanwhile, Hasty said in the statement, contrary to a social media post, the city has not received any requests for special use permits for any type of rally, protest or march and has not approved any.

“While we respect people’s Constitutional right to peacefully assemble, that doesn’t mean we support or condone violence,” Hasty said. “There’s no place for racism, bigotry, and hatred in Roanoke Rapids and we rebuke any attempt to bring it into our community. As a police department, we’ve worked to bring unity to both the department and this community in recent years.”

Said Hasty in the statement: “There are always going to be people spreading rumors to take advantage of these situations to forward their cause.  We ask that our community remain mindful when they hear them. As always we are here to protect and serve our citizens.  Should there be any credible threat of violence or protesting it will be investigated and the information will be put out for our community.”

Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp stated, “I have not had any type of permit or request submitted for any type of rally or march. Nor will I sign or approve one.”

Weldon police Chief James Avens has not received any type of permit/request for this type of activity.

“The Roanoke Rapids Police Department hopes this will put to end social media posts that are being posted which are not fact-based,” Hasty said.

“It’s to bring the community together,” said Helen Reed, administrative support staff for the fire department. “It builds relationships and trust.”

The event will be held at Fire Station 1 on Roanoke Avenue starting at 4 p.m., Chief Stacy Coggins said. “It’s to get people into the fire station and to let the firefighters know the people they are serving. We want to let them know this is their fire department.”

The event will feature a water slide and a fire safety puppet show put on by members of B Shift, which includes Josh Sparks, Matthew Dube, Ramah Long, Darrell Saunders and Gordon Pearson.

Elle the Pit Bull will be at the event with her owner, Leah Brewer. The pair will demonstrate stop, drop and roll and a story will be read.

There will be information tables on first aid, Safe Kids and Citizens on Patrol will be doing child IDs.

Cardinal Innovations and RHA will provide information on mental health.

Silly Cheeks will provide face-painting and children under the supervision of firefighters can spray water on fire safety props to douse Freddy the Flame.

The Roanoke Rapids Fireman’s Club will be selling new T-shirts as a fundraiser for the community projects it does. The T-shirts are $20.

Bags of back-to-school supplies will be handed out.

Coggins expects the Safety Fair to wind down around 7 p.m., when the last Fridays in the Park of the summer begins with The Deep performing at Centennial Park. The free show runs from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

“Anytime we can form partnerships with other organizations is an excellent opportunity,” said Main Street Development Director Christina Caudle. “To do free activities for all walks of life is a really good fit.”

The 16-page document also shows ties to two men arrested in March following a traffic stop on Interstate 95.

Documents contained in electronic federal court files show Tara Finis Simmons and Charles Lee Wright Jr. face charges of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

The husband and wife had their initial appearance before Magistrate Judge James E. Gates in Raleigh Thursday. Gates set a probable cause and detention hearing for 10 a.m. Tuesday and the couple were remanded to U.S. Marshal custody, a minute entry in the proceedings says.

Simmons and Wright were stopped late Wednesday night outside Scotland Neck. Approximately 102 bricks of heroin were found in the vehicle they were driving.

Complaint

The criminal complaint was filed late Thursday by a Nash County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant sworn as a federal task force officer through the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The document begins with a recap of the March 13 arrests of Herbert Lamont Cherry and Tony Reams after the pair were returning to North Carolina after buying multiple bricks of heroin in New Jersey for what the task force officer describes as a drug trafficking organization operating out of Scotland Neck, Tarboro and Nash County.

Cherry this week entered a guilty plea in that case.

Reams, according to the document, made several statements regarding the heroin and names of other people within the operation working out of Scotland Neck, including its leader.

In that interview Reams identified Simmons, who goes by the street name T-baby, as reputedly being the organization’s usual courier but a feud with the leader at the time caused her and Wright to back out.

Reams received a call from the leader to act as the courier, a pickup and delivery which led to his and Cherry’s arrest.

August 7

The federal task force officer on August 7 applied for and received a court order authorizing installation and monitoring of a trace and trap device with GPS and Geolocation capabilities.

On Wednesday, the federal task force officer contacted Verizon Wireless to report the data was not being sent out for this target telephone. He learned that afternoon Simmons requested her cell number be ported to a different provider.

After locating the correct provider the agent requested the same geolocation information as in the original order.

First location alert

Around 7 p.m. Wednesday, the agent received an alert indicating Simmons and Wright were near Woodbridge, Virginia, and were traveling south on Interstate 95, “more than likely, returning from Patterson, New Jersey.”

The task force agent deployed several law enforcement officers from various agencies to include Nash, Edgecombe and Halifax counties as well as DEA agents to respond to the North Carolina and Virginia state lines.

Shortly before 11 p.m., the suspect vehicle was located and observed traveling south on Highway 125 toward Scotland Neck.

City County Drug Task Force Captain A.M. Harris paced the 2017 Nissan Murano, which Simmons was driving, at an estimated speed of 58 in a 45 mile per hour zone.

Harris conducted the stop near the intersection of Highway 125 and Access Road.

During the encounter, Harris immediately detected an odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and notified City County Drug Task Force Agent D.R. Radford, who arrived with his dog, Tony.

Canine sniff

With Simmons out of the vehicle, Radford had Tony perform a canine sniff of the outside of the vehicle. Tony gave a positive alert to the driver’s side back corner panel for the presence of narcotics.

Simmons, according to the complaint, admitted she had smoked marijuana in the vehicle earlier.

The vehicle was searched by members of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of Radford.

Shortly before 11:30 p.m., Radford located three packages wrapped in black electrical tape. The packages were located in the rear spare tire storage area.

Simmons and Wright, who was sitting in the back seat, were arrested and taken to the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office.

The couple’s 11-year-old daughter, who was sitting in the front seat, was also transported to Halifax for safety until a family could be notified.

The suspected heroin was field tested with positive results by members of the City County Drug Task Force.

There was a total of 102 bricks of heroin located which contained fifty baggies in each brick.

Interviews

Wright waived his Miranda Rights and explained he and his wife left Sunday for New Jersey to visit family and shop.

He maintained he had no idea what kind of contraband was in the vehicle.

Simmons denied any knowledge of any type of contraband as well, but did state she and her husband had driven to Patterson approximately six previous times.

In concluding the affidavit the federal task force agent wrote, “The information contained in this affidavit reveals that beginning on an unknown date in 2017 and continuing until or about August 17,  2017, Wright and Simmons conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one hundred grams or more of heroin and possessed with intent to distribute one hundred grams or more of heroin. I believe that there is probable cause for the issuance of this criminal complaint and arrest of the aforementioned individuals.”

Three were awarded scholarships and since then five more have been awarded the scholarships, said Reverend Charles McCollum, president of the Roanoke Valley Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

From that meeting an idea was born to explore how to enhance economic opportunities within the Roanoke Valley, McCollum said in a recent interview.

That idea will manifest itself in the form of an August 26 economic summit called Creating Healthy & Wealthy Communities: Helping Community Leaders Create Wealth Through Innovative Economic Opportunities.

(A flyer with more information and a list of speakers is attached at the end of this story)

The event will be at Inborden Elementary School in Enfield, starting with a breakfast from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.and then a forum from 9 a.m. to noon. Afterward there will be a chance to meet the speakers from noon to 2 p.m.

It will be an opportunity to bring together industry and business leaders, economic experts, entrepreneurs, practitioners, and others to discuss how to create long lasting community wealth by bringing new and innovative economic opportunities to rural communities.

McCollum said the idea of the summit is not to take away from what economic development officials in the region are trying to accomplish, but to help them. “Rather than criticizing, why can’t the community come together and help?”

McCollum said the SCLC is building relationships. “Economic development can’t do it by themselves. One of the main things is poverty. Why can’t we bring solutions to one of the biggest problems? This is our community. How do we impact poverty in our community? Do I sit on the sidelines and talk about it? Or do you get in the fray and do something something about it?”

Ervin Griffin Sr., a member of the SCLC, said the lineman program is a great example of the connections being built within the organization. “We’re one great swing away, one good hit away and we’re there.”

Sessions will cover the following topics:

Creating Revenue Streams from Green Energy

Using Federal Funds for Local Internet Buildouts

Matching Employers with Job Seekers

Accessing Small Business Funding for New and Existing Entrepreneurs

Innovations in Community Healthcare

Employment Opportunities in the Modern Energy Industry

The summit is designed to assist municipalities in accessing resources impacting poverty-stricken regions like Halifax County by improving the economic development outlook.  

Business community leaders, law enforcement, educators, faith-based organizations, students, citizens and stakeholders who are responsible for the improvement and the maximization of  the economic and financial health and well-being of that of the community and future generations are encouraged to attend.

The event is free but registration is required to attend.  

Lunch will be provided by the Halifax County Economic Development Commission.

For more information or RSVP email: charlesmccollumc@aol.com or go to www.rvsclc.com

Officer assaulted

On Thursday around 2:30 p.m.,  Captain B.L. Martin responded to a report of an intoxicated person at Halifax Regional.

Martin found security with David Howard Lee Horton, 59, of Conway.

When Martin approached to escort Horton from the property, he was struck in the face. Horton was taken into custody after a struggle.

Horton was arrested and charged with assault on a government official, damage to property, resisting/delaying/obstructing an officer, trespassing and was served an outstanding order for arrest. Horton received a $3,500 bond and September 6 court date.

Lieutenants C. Burnette, and J. Baggett and Halifax Regional security assisted.

Domestic assault

On Thursday around 3:30 p.m., Officer M. Hunsucker responded to a domestic in the 100 block of Creekside Court.  

He observed visible injuries to the victim’s face.  

Hunsucker arrested and charged Chavez Weaver, 24, of Roanoke Rapids, with assault on a female.

He was jailed without opportunity for bond and has an October 10 court date.

Officer J. DeSare assisted.

This was the fire department's third fair.

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Tripp said the four people murdered were of senior citizen age. The murders occurred sometime Sunday and were discovered this morning after a family member went to the residence for a welfare check.

Tripp said there appeared to be no signs of a struggle. Items were missing from the residence.

The sheriff’s offices of Nash and Northampton counties are assisting in the investigation as well as the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

No further details were immediately available as of this report.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at 252-583-8201, Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444 or the SBI at 919-779-8188.

Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp has declined to immediately release the names of the four who were shot and killed as investigation continues. He said one of the married couples were the hosts for the game and the other couple were longtime friends.

At a press briefing held outside the Enfield Volunteer Fire Department substation on Ringwood Road, Tripp said the couples ranged in age from their 50s to 70s.

He said detectives from surrounding agencies are assisting the sheriff’s office.

“The SBI has committed its resources to helping the sheriff’s office,” Agent Walter Brown said after the briefing.

A $6,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the case.

The sheriff’s office received the call around 9:30 this morning the two couples were shot multiple times at a dining table where they had gathered to play cards. There were no signs of a struggle, Tripp said, and items of value were taken from the residence. He declined elaboration.

The crime was discovered after a family member of the host couple went to the residence for a welfare check.

Tripp said he knew all four victims. “They were well known and well thought of.”

In his 33 years in law enforcement the sheriff said this was the first quadruple homicide he has investigated.

He declined to say whether investigators believe the home invasion was a random or planned attack.

In talking with the family members, Tripp said, “They’re in shock. It’s disarming when you lose family members this way. It’s disturbing.”

The sheriff’s office passed out flyers this morning announcing the offer of a reward for information which leads to an arrest in the case.

Tripp has asked for assistance from not only the SBI, but the sheriff’s offices of Edgecombe, Nash, Northampton and Warren and the Enfield Police Department and state Highway Patrol.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at 252-583-8201, Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444 or the SBI at 919-779-8188.

Photos were taken using a solar filter with a zoom lens set at 300 mm.

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Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp today released the names of the victims in the Glenview community who died of multiple gunshot wounds at the Harris’s house.

They were Mr. Whitley, 76; his wife, Peggy, 67; Janice Harris, 72, and her husband James.

For Locke the old limousine Mr. Whitley owned spoke of his nature.

Mr. Whitley, a retired farmer, drove the limo to a Tarboro rest home to pick up Enfield residents staying there and bring them back home for a baptist church ice cream social.

“They were great people,” said Locke, who is the town’s volunteer fire department chief.

The Whitley’s and Harris’s had been longtime friends, Locke recalled, and became closer when the Whitley’s house burned in 2000. “The Harris’s let them stay with them. To open up your house to another family for about seven or eight months, you’ve got to be really close to do that.”

(A $7,000 reward has been established for information leading to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at 252-583-8201, Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444 or the SBI at 919-779-8188)

The Harris’s and Whitley’s had a friendly card game every Sunday night, Locke said.  

Mrs. Whitley helped on Downtown Enfield Restoration and Preservation. “They were just fine people, just good people,” Locke said.

Locke said there was much hurt, anger and people upset over what happened to the four victims. “You hear about it on TV. You don’t think it can happen in your community.”

Mr. Harris was a retired gunsmith, Jeffrey Short said. “He was an excellent gunsmith for years. He knew old shotguns very well.”

Visits to Mr. Harris, who was known all around for his gunsmithing, were not short stays, Short said. “He would end up talking to people for two hours.”

Mr. Whitley, Short said, was well renowned. “There was not a bad bone in his body.”

Short connected with Mr. Harris over guns. Mr. Whitley loved his fishing club. “It’s just heartbreaking something like this can come into our community. The overall feeling is it puts the thought in mind it puts all families in panic mode, they wonder who did it. Everyone goes into defense mode. Everyone goes in a different mindset. I just hope justice is served. There’s cruel people in the world.”

Robin Lancaster described Mr. Whitley as an “outstanding guy in the community. He never met a stranger and was probably the modern day farmer from Paul Harvey. You couldn’t ask for a finer family. They were community friendly, true Americans.”

Like Short said of Mr. Harris, Lancaster said Mr. Whitley was the same way when it came to conversations. “I never heard him say a bad word about anybody. They were all-American people. That area’s lost a really good person in the community.”

The sheriff’s office continues its investigation into the home invasion and robbery which claimed the lives of James and Janice Harris and James and Peggy Whitley as they played a weekly game of cards.

Private citizens and friends of the family are posting the money for the reward, Tripp said. “These were well thought of people. It’s a tight knit community. It was so disheartening, not only for the family but the community of neighbors.”

Asked about progress in the case, Tripp said, “The only thing I’m saying is we have taken a major turn in the investigation since yesterday.”

He declined to say whether that means investigators have discovered a person or persons of interest in the case.

He declined to discuss what type of weapon was used or whether the victims were familiar with the suspect or suspects.

The sheriff’s office received the call around 9:30 Monday morning the two couples were shot multiple times at a dining table where they had gathered to play cards. There were no signs of a struggle, Tripp said Monday, and items of value were taken from the residence.

The crime was discovered after a family member of the Harris’s, the host couple, went to the residence for a welfare check.

Domestic disturbance leads to arrest

On Friday at approximately 10:45 p.m., Officer C. Batchelor responded to a domestic disturbance in the 100 block of Monroe Street.

The officer found the victim had visible injuries to her face.  

Jeremiah Hyman, 33, of Scotland Neck, was arrested for assault on a female and during a search was found in possession of narcotics and paraphernalia.

He was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Hyman was jailed without opportunity for bond and has a September 9 court date.

Officers D. Hundley and J. DeSare assisted.

Officer assaulted  

On Saturday at approximately 3:30 a.m. officers responded to a call about a disturbance in the 1000 block of Jackson Street.  

Robert Earl Pittman Jr., 42, of Roanoke Rapids, who was reportedly intoxicated and irate about the disturbance, slammed a door on Officer M. Hunsucker.  

Pittman was arrested and charged with assault on a government official.

He received a $1,500 bond and September 8 court date.

Hunsucker was not injured

Hundley and Batchelor assisted.

Domestic disturbance leads to arrest

On Sunday at approximately 1 a.m., Hunsucker responded to a domestic disturbance in the 1000 block of Vance Street.

He found the victim had visible injuries to the neck.  

James Michel Harvey, 25, of Littleton, was arrested and charged with assault by strangulation.

He also had six outstanding orders for arrest from Halifax and Northampton counties.

He was jailed without opportunity for bond and given a September 6 court date.

Lieutenant C. Burnette, Hundley and Batchelor assisted.

Wanted person arrested after caught shoplifting

On Monday at approximately 12:30 p.m., officers responded to a larceny call at Walmart.  

Lee Van Jenkins, 37, of Roanoke Rapids, left the store with the items. Officer J. Shelburne located and detained him in the parking lot.  

The stolen items were recovered.

Jenkins had several outstanding warrants from an investigation by Investigator O.B. Wiltsie.

Jenkins was arrested and charged with larceny, two counts possession of stolen goods, breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and obtaining property by false pretense.

He received a $5,000 bond and September 1 court date.

Wiltsie’s case involved Jenkins allegedly breaking into a residence, taking items and pawning them.  

The report was filed by the victim August 4.

Officer J. Spragins assisted.

Mail theft

On Monday at approximately 1:15 p.m., Officer R. Cross responded to a larceny of mail call on East Eleventh Street.  

Cross located Saltore Bartholomew Siracusa, 65, of Roanoke Rapids, with the stolen mail.

Siracusa was arrested and charged with larceny and possession of stolen goods.

He received a $1,000 bond and September 22 court date.

Deputy Chief Andy Jackson, Lieutenant P. Parks and Master Officer A. Salmon assisted.

A vehicle parked in the driveway was also destroyed, Davie Volunteer Fire Department Chief David Padgett said.

Two adults and five children escaped the house uninjured and the American Red Cross was called to help assist them with lodging and other needs.

Davie received the call around 10:15 p.m. and firefighters found fire coming from the front of the house and the roof.

It was not immediately clear how long the fire had been burning before firefighters were dispatched.

Davie responded with two engines, a support vehicle and received assistance from Rheasville. Sixteen firefighters responded and began fighting the blaze. The fire was under control within a few minutes, Padgett said. Firefighters remained on the scene until 12:45 this morning.

Padgett said it is believed the fire started outside the residence. The cause is undetermined but not believed to be suspicious.

“I’ve been in communications with governor’s office to see if the governor will offer a reward,” he said this afternoon.

For those who want to contribute to the reward fund established by private citizens, family and friends they may do by making checks payable to Halifax County Crimestoppers, PO Box 123, Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870 with the memo Whitley-Harris case.

The sheriff should also be notified by sending him an inbox message or texting or calling him at 252-578-6761.

Meanwhile today, Tripp said he was not in a position to elaborate on his comments Tuesday that the investigation had taken a major turn.

He said the sheriff’s office continues its investigation into the home invasion and robbery which claimed the lives of James and Janice Harris and James and Peggy Whitley as they played a weekly game of cards.

The sheriff’s office received the call around 9:30 Monday morning the two couples were shot multiple times at a dining table where they had gathered to play cards. There were no signs of a struggle, Tripp said Monday, and items of value were taken from the residence.

The crime was discovered after a family member of the Harris’s, the host couple, went to the residence for a welfare check.

Bashore, Roanoke Rapids police Chief Chuck Hasty said, will discuss the HOPE Initiative implemented last year in the Nash County town.

The forum will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kirkwood Adams.

The HOPE Initiative allows those with opiate addictions to receive assistance from the Nashville Police Department without fear of incarceration.

Those seeking help for their addiction can come to the Nashville Police Department and request assistance. The Nashville Police Department will then work individually to get them the immediate resources and help they need. Individuals will also be able to turn over any drugs or paraphernalia they have without fear of arrest or prosecution. The Nash County District Attorney Robert A. Evan was consulted and is supportive of the program.

The drugs or paraphernalia will be disposed of properly.

The HOPE initiative is modeled after the Gloucester, Massachusetts, Angel program.

Asked if Roanoke Rapids would consider implementing a program like HOPE, Hasty said that decision would be dependent on funds.

The department’s current policy, he said, is “if someone says they need help we will refer them. We let them know there is help. It’s just not about arrests. It affects the whole family.”

Other speakers include emergency room staff at Halifax Regional and Halifax County EMS.

Resources from mental health providers will be available.

As of the last report Wednesday, the fund was at $13,000. As of this morning, Sheriff Wes Tripp reported, it is at $30,000.

The money represents the donations of several people, Tripp said. “This is just another example of how our community comes together to help each other.”

Tripp said he is still awaiting word from the governor’s office on a reward. The governor’s office typically grants rewards in the amount of $5,000.

(For those who want to contribute to the reward fund established by private citizens, family and friends they may do by making checks payable to Halifax County Crimestoppers, PO Box 123, Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870 with the memo Whitley-Harris case.The sheriff should also be notified by sending him an inbox message or texting or calling him at 252-578-6761)

Tripp today still declined to answer questions on the specifics of the ongoing investigation into the shooting deaths of James and Janice Harris and James and Peggy Whitley.

The crime was discovered after a family member of the Harris’s, the host couple, went to the residence for a welfare check.

He specifically declined to comment on whether it is possible the person or persons responsible were familiar with the Harris’s, who were hosting the Whitley’s for a friendly game of cards.

He also declined comment on whether the fact multiple agencies were assisting in the investigation means there is belief the person or persons responsible could be from one of those areas.

The case has been under investigation since 9:30 Monday morning, Tripp said. “We’ve been working day and night since Monday around 9:30, including the agencies that are helping us.”

He said of the assistance, “Words cannot express how humbled I feel. When we have good relationships with neighboring agencies, it helps tremendously and they know I will be there to help them.”

The Bloodmobile will be stationed in front of the Weldon Police Department located at 111 Washington Avenue.   

The American Red Cross is experiencing a severe blood shortage and has issued an emergency call for blood donations.

“The Weldon Police Department has stepped up to assist with this emergency,” Chief James Avens said. “A critical shortage of Red Cross blood donations may lead to delays in urgent medical care to vulnerable patients.”

Avens said the police department’s goal is to achieve 16 units. “If we can receive more than that it would be great,” Avens said. “It is very critical that we meet our goal. Someone’s life may depend on it.”

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-733-2767.

You may also email the police department at weldonpd@gmail.com with your name, phone number, email address and zip code or call at 252-536-3136 to schedule an appointment.

Chief Tyree Davis said in a statement Khiry Dickens, 24, was arrested Monday around 1 p.m. at a residence on Wildwood Drive.

Taphil Yancey was arrested earlier this month in connection with the shooting which occurred in Bell Street July 24.

Enfield police Detective Willie Murphy Jr. charged Dickens with possession of firearm by felon, felony discharge a firearm as a part of criminal gang activity, felony conspiracy, felony discharge a weapon into an occupied vehicle, felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, misdemeanor going armed to the terror of the people, and misdemeanor injury to personal property.

He was also served with an outstanding order for arrest on the charges of resisting a public officer and assault on a government official as well as outstanding warrants for resisting a public officer and assault and battery.

Dickens was placed in jail under $1,000,000 bond for charges related to the shooting; $50,000 bond for the outstanding warrants; and $5,000 for failure to appear.

Murphy said earlier this month the attempted murder is apparently related to a dispute between sets of Blood gang members. Yancey and Dickens have been identified as Blood members.

An occupied vehicle was shot several times and the driver’s side window was shattered.

The vehicle was in motion at the time of the shooting.

Semiautomatic weapons were used.

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Investigator Obert Wiltsie said there is evidence to suggest the victim’s credit card number was obtained and used Tuesday shortly before 7:30 p.m. at New Dixie Mart 9 on Julian R. Allsbrook Highway. It has also been used in other jurisdictions.

The victim in case still has the original credit so investigators are trying to determine whether the card was cloned or the number skimmed, Wiltsie said.

He said a couple of hundred dollars was charged to the card before the fraud was caught.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the police department at 252-533-2810, Wiltsie at 252-533-2823, or Halifax County Crimestoppers at 252-583-4444.