Public records
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on January 30, 2004 2:01 PM
Three hurt in wrecks
Three people were injured and damages were estimated at $35,500 in three recent traffic collisions in Wayne County, officers reported.
*Two people were injured and damages were estimated at $10,000 in a two-car collision at 9:40 a.m. Thursday at North Jefferson Avenue and Peachtree Street, Goldsboro police said. One driver, Nathaniel Brown, 76, of Royall Avenue, and his passenger, Mary Frances Porter, 54, of South Jefferson Avenue, were treated and released from Wayne Memorial Hospital. An eastbound motorist, Sherry H. Best, 31, of Friendship Church Road, Faison, was charged with a stop-sign violation.
*Damages were estimated at $18,000 in a two-vehicle crash at 6:55 p.m. Thursday at Wayne Memorial Drive and Royall Avenue, police said. A southbound driver, Veronica Lee Moses, 45, of East Walnut Street, was charged with a stoplight violation. The other driver who was going west was identified as Leroy Davis, 48, of Princeton Road, Princeton.
*A driver was injured and his sport utility vehicle was demolished in a wreck at 12:06 p.m. Wednesday on Claridge Nursery Road near N.C. 581, the Highway Patrol said. Vernett McClarin Currie, 45, of South Bentonville Road, Four Oaks, was released after emergency-room treatment. The driver was charged with exceeding a safe speed after the SUV struck ice, ran off the right side out of control and overturned. The SUV was valued at $7,500.
Fires put out
A mobile home used as a workshop in the 400 block of Ruskin Road was destroyed Thursday morning in a fire caused by a faulty space heater, Wayne County fire officials said.
The unidentified owner was lighting a space heater, Dudley Fire Chief Kendall Lee said, and it caught on fire. He escaped unharmed.
"It was pretty well gutted," Assistant Chief Chris Whitman said.
The building did not have electricity or plumbing, Lee said.
Arrington and Mount Olive volunteers assisted in putting out the fire.
A wall fire at the Georgia-Pacific plant in Dudley on Thursday afternoon also caused minor damage, Whitman said. The plant's fire brigade had the fire under control by the time Dudley, Arrington, Mount Olive and New Hope volunteers arrived, according to reports.
House break-ins
An estimated $10,190 worth of property was stolen Thursday from two homes near Dudley, according to reports filed with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
An estimated $5,220 worth of entertainment equipment was stolen from a home in the 100 block of North Lincoln Drive, deputies said. The resident, Angela R. Perkins, reported the theft of a DVD player, 125 DVDs, 50 video games, three video-game players, a video cassette recorder and 30 compact discs. A thief inflicted about $150 in damages to a door to get inside.
Another $4,970 worth of property, including jewelry, clothes and entertainment equipment, was stolen from a home in the 100 block of Pearl Street, deputies said. The resident, Demetrius Kornegay, said a gold necklace, 12 rings, six bracelets, sports team apparel, 20 DVD movies and a DVD-VCR combination were stolen. The thief damaged a door to get inside. Damage was set at $30.
Investigations
Wayne County law-enforcement officers also are investigating these reports:
*About 50 feet of electrical wire was stolen between Wednesday and Thursday after a lock was cut at a storage building at a construction site on Memorial Church Road, sheriff's deputies said. The wire, owned by Laughlin-Sutton Construction Co. of Greenville, was valued at $50. Damage was $10.
*A blue 2000 Ford Mustang that slid off Old Mount Olive Road on Monday was reported stolen, deputies said. The car, valued at $20,000, is owned by Rebecca Ann Walton of Deep Run.
*A coin-operated air machine was stolen between Dec. 23 and Thursday from a gas station at 2101 Wayne Memorial Drive, Goldsboro police said. The machine, owned by Air Express of Charlotte, was valued at $850.
Two charges
An 18-year-old man from Goldsboro was arrested Thursday night by Wayne County sheriff's deputies and charged with two felony offenses, forgery and uttering.
Ryan Steven Compton of Cambria Lane was released from custody on a $5,000 unsecured bond.
Teacher charged
Grantham art teacher Ben Gufford, Jr. resigned Thursday after an arrest on misdemeanor marijuana possession.
According to Johnston County court records, officers found less than an ounce of marijuana on Gufford during a traffic stop. He was released from jail on bond.
Stan Alleyne, spokesman for the school system, said this was Gufford's third year as an art teacher at the school. He has also taught at Southern Academy and in May was honored as the Zeno Spence art educator of the year.