County officials take aim at 'deadbeat parents' suspects
By Lee Williams
Published in News on October 10, 2006 1:52 PM
Have you seen these nine people?
Wayne County Child Support Enforcement officials say they have tried to track down these nine most wanted deadbeat parents, who owe a collective total of $233,518.90 in back child support payments, but to no avail. So, now, they are asking for the public's help.
Edward Earl Davis Jr., 31; Curtis Bynum Hawkins, 30; Erskine Erwin Kleinert III, 38; Ernest Woodley Triplett Jr., 32; Tarrian Damon Gaines, 36; William Henry Howell, 48; Dalton Ray Randolph, 26; James Russell Wooten, 43; and Kimberly Daly Dawson, 34, come from different backgrounds, but share one common thread. Each has been added to the child support enforcement officials' most wanted list, Wayne County Child Support Agent Diana Beasley said.
"These people live in town, but they are unable to be located," Ms. Beasley said. "I see them walking around, I know who they are, but I can't serve them because I'm not a deputy."
Ms. Beasley said she made the business of catching deadbeat parents a personal goal because she knows firsthand that when custodial parents don't get the financial support they need, the children suffer.
She knows it's important these nine people settle their debts, but added that money is not the only reason she decided to publicize the list.
"This is about the amounts they owe, but we need to locate these people," she stated.
She said she tried other methods to roundup elusive deadbeat parents in the past, but none proved more effective than publishing the lists in the local news media. She stated she hopes to publish a deadbeat list in the newspaper once a year.
"We've done roundups before, but because of the limited jail space, we've decided to try this," Ms. Beasley said.
She said not everyone ignores their child support order. Many people do pay their child support, she said, and she has the numbers to prove it.
"The Wayne County Child Support Enforcement collected $12,455,050.70 in the year 2005, and from January to September 2006, the total collected thus far is $10,036,796.19," she said.
Ms. Beasley said child support agents don't like playing tough, but those who ignore their child support order force them to employ more stringent measures to collect payments.
"It's so much easier for them to do what they are supposed to do, but unfortunately we have to take enforcement action," Beasley said.
Anyone with information on the nine most wanted deadbeat parents' whereabouts, employment or residence is asked to call Wayne County Child Support Enforcement at 919-731-1543. All callers with leads or information on these deadbeat parents can remain anonymous.