City man will face assault charges
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on June 7, 2006 1:45 PM
A Goldsboro man accused of slashing a woman with a razor earlier this year at a mental health agency has been indicted by the Wayne County Grand Jury on a charge of attempted first-degree murder.
Samuel Donnel Austin, 42, of South John Street also was indicted on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill while inflicting serious injury.
Austin was accused by Goldsboro police of slashing a woman Feb. 13 at the Area Services and Programs building at 715 Simmons St. The victim, Pauline Gassaway, 56, of Goldsboro, was rushed by ambulance to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where she was treated and released.
Police responded to the agency after the 9:15 a.m. assault, obtained a description and identity of the suspect and searched for him. After more than seven hours, officers from B-shift, the Special Enforcement Unit and the Support Services Division found Austin at 4:45 p.m. in Willow Dale Cemetery. At the time, police theorized that he was trying to get home.
Austin was placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $52,500 bond.
Drug trafficking
Five people have been indicted on multiple drug trafficking offenses after investigations last year by the Goldsboro-Wayne County Drug Squad and federal, state and city authorities.
Two people were arrested Oct. 6 and charged after the stop and search of a vehicle and then the search of a home on Nick Drive in New Hope. The resident, Rigoberto Rosales-Villa, 30, and Fermin Ramirez, 32, of Wilson were indicted on five trafficking counts.
The other three people were arrested Sept. 1 after an undercover investigation. Cetawayo Hatcher, 34, of Stanley Chapel Church Road, Dudley, and Miguel Rodriguez, 36, of Cornerstone Mobile Home Park, Seven Springs, were indicted on nine trafficking counts. Jaime Alejandro Martinez-Sanchez, 29, of County Hill Lane, Newton Grove, was indicted on eight trafficking counts.
Burglary, rape charges
A 23-year-old Goldsboro man has been indicted on charges of first-degree burglary, armed robbery, attempted first-degree rape and attempted first-degree sexual offense.
Jeffrey Gorham of Fourth Street was accused by police of barging into a woman's home at night on Nov. 15, awakening her and trying to sexually assault her. Gorham was jailed in lieu of an $85,000 secured bond.
Other indictments
During their monthly meeting, the grand jurors handed up 35 other true bills of indictment. They could not act on three bills, because witnesses were not present.
Eleven people were indicted on such property crimes as breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen property. Nine more were indicted on drug charges.
Three indictments were handed up on assault charges, sex offenses and fraud violations. One person was indicted on a weapons charge.
Five people also were indicted as habitual felons. If any is convicted of a fourth, non-overlapping crime, then his sentence would be lengthened significantly.