Public records
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on January 30, 2005 2:05 AM
Break-ins cleared
with man's arrest
A 19-year-old Goldsboro man has been arrested by Goldsboro police and charged with numerous felony crimes in connection with vehicle break-ins, burglaries and thefts.
Michael Christopher Fields of Third Street was arrested Monday by police and charged with fleeing to elude arrest and possession of a stolen car.
After a further investigation, Fields was charged Friday with three counts of second-degree burglary, eight counts of breaking and entering of a vehicle, seven counts of larceny and two counts of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. He also was served with probation violations from Lenoir County.
Fields was placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $205,000 secured bond.
Investigator G.N. Lynch said the arrest clears crimes on Third Street, Lockhaven Drive, Wayne Memorial Drive, Bradford Place, Hillcrest Drive and Pine Ridge Lane.
A-shift Officers Steve Powers and Gary Fowler assisted in the investigation.
Fire investigated
PIKEVILLE -- A fire that caused about $4,000 in damages to a rental home has been turned over the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and the fire marshal's office for a further investigation.
Pikeville Police Chief Ken Barrett saw the fire at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at 103 Britt St. The fire was coming from a window, and he called for help. Pikeville volunteer firefighters put out the blaze that had spread to the attic.
Barrett told Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Shawn Harris that the owner had asked him why he did not let the fire burn. Barrett said the owner, Jeffrey William Wheeler of U.S. 117 North, Pikeville, had been having trouble with a former renter. The chief added that he had responded to several disputes between the two men.
Mobile home fire
A mobile home at 224 Mobile Circle was destroyed Friday night in a fire caused by cigarettes dropped under a bed, a Wayne County fire official said.
No one was injured at the Brenda Champion home that was valued at $4,000. The contents were valued at $10,000.
The first engine from the Arrington Fire Department arrived within four minutes of the 8:45 p.m. call. Fire Chief Randy Rogers said the residents tried to put out the blaze but could not.
"It was an old mobile home and once the fire got going, it was going," Rogers said.
Thirteen Arrington volunteers responded with three trucks, and seven Mar Mac firefighters assisted with four trucks. They remained for about two and half hours to put out the fire, investigate the cause and finish salvage work.
The Red Cross is assisting the family.
2 teens missing
Two teen-aged girls have been reported missing by their families to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Mirian Laila Glenn, 16, of 303 Ryan Court was described as black, 5-feet-5 and 112 pounds with black hair braided in a ponytail, brown eyes and braces on her teeth. When she was seen last, she was wearing a blue short-sleeved top, blue jeans and a black jacket.
Rochelle Jane Cabell, 15, of Courtland Place was described as black, 5-feet-5 and 115 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a tan shirt, blue jeans, white tennis shoes, a dark green and cream jacket and a heavy white jacket.
The girls, both students at Eastern Wayne High School, may be going to Charlottesville, Va. They have been entered in the National Crime Information Center as missing. Anyone with information on their location was asked to call Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Robert Chunn at 731-1481 or Goldsboro-Wayne County Crime Stoppers at 735-2255.
Telephone scam
MOUNT OLIVE -- Several Mount Olive residents have received calls from representatives with the so-called National Grant Association. The callers have said the residents are eligible for $8,000 grants from the government. Mount Olive Police Chief Emmett Ballree says the calls are bogus, because there is no such association.
Ballree said last week that the caller reads the resident's bank routing number from the bottom corner of a check and then asks the resident for the last four digits of their bank account to verify the information.
"The callers are very friendly and call the residents by their first names," he said. "I don't know how they got the information."
The callers have targeted all age groups and banking institutions, the chief said. The calls have been traced to New York and Canada.
Ballree urged residents not to give out the numbers or their bank accounts will be raided.
"The government doesn't call you at home," he said, "so don't give out personal or banking information."
Mount Olive police are working with Bell South investigators and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to track down the scammers.
Investigations
Wayne County law-enforcement officers are investigating these reports:
*About 500 music compact discs, a combination radio and CD player and a CD case were stolen Friday after a car window was smashed in the 900 block of Fairview Circle, Goldsboro police said. The owner and resident, N.S. Kornegay, estimated the value of the stolen property at $6,140 and damage at $75.
*Seven rings, two necklaces and three pairs of earrings were stolen Friday from a home in the 3800 block of U.S. 117 Alternate near Dudley, sheriff's deputies said. The thief had damaged a door to get inside. The resident, Jeffery Aultman, estimated the value of the jewelry at $1,700 and damage at $50.
*A combination radio and compact disc player and a Bible were stolen between Thursday and Friday after a car window was shattered in the 1400 block of East Pine Street, police said. The owner and resident, L.M. Stevens, put a $200 value on the stolen property and set damage at $250.
*Thieves broke into the Goldsboro bus station between Friday night and Saturday and stole an unknown amount of luggage, police said. Damage to a window was set at $50.
*Two weed trimmers, a gas blower and a hedge trimmer were stolen between Jan. 7 and Friday from a shed at New Stoney Hill Church at 1003 Poplar St., police said. The property was valued at $570.