Public Records
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on April 11, 2004 2:02 AM
Woman charged
with burning her house
FREMONT -- A Fremont resident was charged Friday with setting her own house and her husband's car on fire, Fremont Police Chief Ben Reid announced.
The fire damaged a bedroom, and smoke damaged the entire one-floor, wood-frame home at 801 S. Sycamore St.
Gwendolyn Reid Gillespie, 48, was charged with second-degree arson and burning personal property. She was placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $10,000 secured bond.
Fremont volunteer firefighters had called Thursday's predawn blaze suspicious and had asked the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and fire marshal to investigate. Reid estimated the damage to the home at about $12,000.
A 1999 Chevrolet Geo Tracker sport utility vehicle, registered to the husband, Louis Gillespie, also was destroyed in the fire. Gillespie was not home at the time of the fire but returned later in the morning.
Fremont Fire Chief Chris Wilkerson said the SUV was parked in front of the house and the bedroom was in the back on the house.
"The guys did a real good job in knocking the fire down so quickly," Wilkerson said.
Fremont and Pikeville firefighters answered the 3:40 a.m. call and needed about two and a half hour to put out the fire, investigate the cause and finish salvage work.
Motel robbery
Three people from Goldsboro were arrested Thursday by Goldsboro police and charged with the attack and robbery of a motel guest.
Jenus Aubrey Hall, 32, and Jessica Stilley, 23, both of East Chestnut Street, and Larry F. Whaley Jr., 35, of East New Hope Road were charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping and common-law robbery. Each was placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $35,000 secured bond on the felony offenses.
The three were accused of barging into the room of an unidentified out-of-town truck driver at the Best Western motel at 801 Dr. M.L. King Jr. Expressway East, then assaulting and robbing him, Investigators Dale Foster and Trey Ball said.
Hall, Ms. Stilley and Whaley also had been charged Thursday by B-shift patrol officers with possession of stolen goods. Each received a $5,000 secured bond on that charge. Each was scheduled to have a first court appearance on Monday.
Apartment break-in
FREMONT -- A 19-year-old man has been arrested by Fremont police and charged with breaking into a woman's apartment on Friendship Drive in Fremont.
George Edward Mayes, 19, of Friendship Drive was charged with felony breaking and entering and two misdemeanors, larceny and injury to real property. He was placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $3,000 secured bond.
Investigations
Wayne County law-enforcement officers are investigating these reports:
*A man told workers at Sear's Auto Center on North Berkeley Boulevard that he wanted to buy a tire. He put a Guardsman truck tire, worth about $40, in his vehicle, but drove off without paying for it.
*Terrance Gooding reported that an unknown black man pointed a gun at him and kicked out the turn signal of his car, causing $150 in damages.
*Jerry Joyner, 67, homeless, was bitten by a dog Friday afternoon at the corner of Oak and George Streets. Joyner was taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released. According to the report, Joyner told officers that the dog was reddish brown in color with a short nose.
*A 30-year-old man allegedly terrorized a 25-year-old woman Friday night. According to the police report, the woman said she and the man had been arguing. She then said that he choked her, held her against her will for several hours and tried to stab her. The report stated that she was eventually able to escape to a neighbor's house, where she called the police. The suspect fled on foot when the police arrived.
*Keith Baker, 47, reported that some goods worth $400 were stolen from a vacant house Thursday on East Walnut Street. The merchandise included a television and stereo set.
*Modern Housing on U.S. 70 East, reported that someone entered one of the mobile homes on the lot and removed a refrigerator worth $800.
*Christina A. Oliver, 20, reported that someone put sugar in the gas tank of her 2000 Ford while it was parked in the lot at the Courtyard Apartments Thursday night. The sugar caused $700 worth of damage to the car.