Public records
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on June 1, 2004 1:56 PM
Victims of fire
'lost everything'
"We lost everything we had," said Robert McKinzie.
McKinzie and Jeffrey Taylor, two senior airmen at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, had scrambled from their rental home at 106 Belfast Ave. and then watched as fire destroyed it.
The cause of the Friday morning fire at 106 Belfast Ave. remained undetermined.
When they were asked by a reporter what they would do now, McKinzie said he was flying home to Montana for a week's leave. He said Taylor was staying behind to await a visit from his father who was flying in from Indiana.
The one-floor, wood-frame home was owned by Robert Batts of Goldsboro. The value and amount of damage had not been announced.
McKinzie and Taylor had lived in the home since November. They had been stationed at the air base since 2002 and had met each other in technical school while studying structural maintenance at Pensacola, Fla.
Fire and heavy smoke were still showing about a half-hour after the 10:45 a.m. alarm. Volunteer firefighters from Belfast, Patetown and Pikeville battled the blaze for almost an hour before getting it under control.
Water had to be shuttled in trucks from the nearest hydrant at the Belfast Academy alternative school on U.S. 117 North.
McKinzie and Taylor removed their vehicles from next to the home. But a neighbor's pickup and trailer remained near the driveway, but it was unharmed.
Wayne County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Shawn Harris, a certified fire investigator, said the fire had started on the back porch and spread quickly to the attic and then to the roof.
Previous story: Fire destroys Belfast house
Man robbed
A 20-year-old Goldsboro man was robbed of a silver necklace at Wal-Mart at 1002 N. Spence Ave., according to a Goldsboro police report.
Alan Ray Green told officers that a man asked him at about 10:20 p.m. Friday for a cigarette. When Green refused, the assailant punched Green in the face, grabbed the necklace and fled in a small blue car.
The robber was described as white, 6-feet and 180 pounds with short black hair and brown eyes. He wore a white shirt, blue pants and white shoes.
Traffic accidents
Several people were injured over the long Memorial Day weekend in traffic collisions in Wayne County, but no fatalities were reported. However, 17 people were killed during the weekend in North Carolina.
Wayne County collisions included these:
*Three people were injured and damages were estimated at $23,800 in a three-car collision at 10:27 p.m. Saturday at East Ash Street and Berkeley Boulevard, Goldsboro police said. One driver, Bobby Arnez Williams, 32, of West Greene Street, Snow Hill, and his passenger, Darrick Edwards, 33, of N.C. 903 South, Snow Hill, and a second driver, Angela Rose Weiss, 21, of Cannon Avenue, were treated and released from Wayne Memorial Hospital. Williams was charged with a stoplight violation. Police said the eastbound car that Williams was driving collided with Ms. Weiss' auto that was starting a left turn. The impact then pushed Williams' car into a stopped, northbound auto driven by Billye A. Briggs, 22, of Roxie, Miss.
*Two passengers were injured in a two-vehicle crash at 3:21 p.m. Monday at West Grantham and Florida streets, police said. Ashley Griffis, 19, of Fort Bragg and Samantha Davis, 19, of Rodgers, Ohio, were released after emergency-room treatment. Their driver, John Arthur Griffis, 23, of Fort Bragg, was charged with a safe-movement violation. Police said Griffis had turned from U.S. 70 and his car collided with a stopped pickup and trailer, driven by David William Powell, 35, of Planters Place. Damages were set at $6,050.
*A driver was injured in a one-car wreck at 12:25 p.m. Wednesday on N.C. 581 near Hardy Talton Road, the Highway Patrol said. Leigh Anne Sizemore, 44, of North William Street was released after emergency-room treatment. She also was charged with reckless driving after the car ran off the left side, struck a mail box, came back on the road, ran off the left side again, struck a ditch and overturned. Damages were put at $4,875.
*A car was demolished in a wreck at 3:50 p.m. May 13 on Pineview Cemetery Road near Arrington Bridge Road, the Highway Patrol said. The driver, Eduviges Perez Velasquez, 22, of Garland Drive, Seven Springs, was charged with reckless driving and driving while impaired after the car ran off the right side, struck a power pole and overturned. Damage was fixed at $7,800.
Truck stolen
A Western Star tractor-trailer truck and a semi-trailer loaded with charcoal briquettes were stolen between Sunday and Monday from the 117 Truck Stop at 1301 U.S. 117 South, Goldsboro police said.
Martha Carter, the driver for Alternative Transport of Kansas City, Kan., put a $75,000 value on the truck, a $10,000 value on the trailer and a $25,000 value on the briquettes.
She said she had parked the vehicle at 3 p.m. Sunday for the weekend and checked it on several times. It was gone at 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Police also are investigating these matters:
*Several tractors and mowers were stolen between Sunday and Monday after a fence was damaged at Dillon-Bell Implement Co. at 1401 U.S. 117 South, police said. The number of missing tractors and mowers and their value had not been determined. Damage was set at $150 to the fence.
*A book bag with books was stolen Saturday after a window was damaged at a home in the 400 block of Seymour Drive, police said. The resident, Lisa Lopez, estimated her property's value at $15 and damage at $25.
Investigations
Wayne County sheriff's deputies are investigating these reports:
*A gold necklace, a weed trimmer, a hand-held computer, a memory card, a portable compact disc player and speakers were stolen Monday from a home in the 100 block of Somerset Drive, sheriff's deputies said. One resident, Deena M. Stutts, put a $1,289 value on the necklace and weed trimmer. Another resident, Steven Michael Crowder, said the other property was worth $390. The necklace and the weed trimmer were recovered later.
*A green, four-door 1997 Mercury Sable was stolen Monday from the 100 block of Rachel Drive, deputies said. The resident and owner, Tamatha Taylor, said the car was valued at $7,000.
Missing
Two teen-aged girls have been reported missing to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
*Jarunda Domique Daniels, 13, of 3552 Indian Springs Road, Seven Springs, was described as black, 5-feet-1 and 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was seen last at 11 p.m. Sunday. No clothing description was available.
*Kimberly Jo Bennett, 17, of 1808 O'Berry Center Road was described as white, 5-feet-2 and 220 pounds with blonde hair and green eyes. When she was seen last at about 6 p.m. Sunday, she was wearing a red shirt and red pants.
She may be riding in a light blue Ford pickup.
Anyone with information on the location of either teen was asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 731-1481.