Public records
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on October 18, 2004 1:59 PM
Pet dies in fire
A man left a pot on the stove Saturday, went to the store and returned to find his home at 136 Cambria Lane on fire. His pet dog died in the blaze, officials said.
"It was a bad situation," said Belfast volunteer Fire Chief Chris Gurley. "It had a head start on us. It was pretty much totaled."
The kitchen was damaged heavily from the fire, but smoke and heat also damaged much of the remainder of the single-wide mobile home, Gurley said.
"It was a freak thing, an accident," the chief said.
The resident was not identified.Pikeville volunteers assisted at the scene.
Death investigation
yields information
A weekend investigation into the fatal shooting of a young Dudley man has yielded "good information," a Wayne County sheriff's officer said today.
Billy Joe "B.J." Gregory, 24, was shot and killed Friday night in the mobile home that he shared with another person at 201 Hazelwood Drive.
Sheriff's Capt. George Raecher said a neighborhood canvass on Saturday yielded "beneficial" results, but he did not elaborate. Gregory was found alone in the home.
The other resident returned to the mobile home later Friday night and was interviewed. Raecher declined to identify the person.
A witness had told deputies that a white man was seen running from the home soon after a gunshot was heard. No arrests have been made.
Teen wounded
A Goldsboro teen-ager was wounded before dawn Sunday in a shooting in the 300 block of Rollingwood Drive near Dudley, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office reported.
The victim, Derek Leonard Bryant, 16, of Audubon Avenue, was rushed by ambulance to Wayne Memorial Hospital, where his condition was not immediately known.
A witness told deputies that five people walked by the home at about 12:10 a.m. and one opened fire into a group of about 15 people in the front yard. Only Bryant was struck. The shooters could not be described.
Three hurt in wrecks
Three people were injured in four recent traffic collisions in Wayne County, officers reported.
*A driver was injured at 3:10 p.m. Sunday on U.S. 70 East near N.C. 111 South, Goldsboro police said. Lavon Hall, 52, of Kinston may have had a seizure, and the car ran off the right side and struck a mail box, the report said. Hall was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, the report said, and his condition was not immediately known. Damage was put at $2,000.
*Damages were estimated at $7,500 at 2:50 p.m. Saturday on North Spence Avenue near Cashwell Drive, police said. Bobby L. Roberts, 22, of Wright Brothers Avenue, was charged with a safe-movement violation. Police said he had pulled from a parking lot and the pickup that he was driving collided with a sport utility vehicle driven by William Arthur Smith Jr., 43, of Peele Street.
*A passenger was injured at 9:15 p.m. Friday on Dr. M.L. King Jr. Expressway near North Berkeley Boulevard, police said. Angela Cotton, 33, of East Holly Street was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, the report said, but her condition was not immediately available. Her driver, William Marcus Cotton, 33, of East Holly Street, was charged with a safe-movement violation and no liability insurance. William Cotton tried to turn onto the service road at Frema Motors, and the car struck a traffic island and a fence, police said. Damage was set at $500.
*A pedestrian was struck by a car at 4 p.m. Thursday in a driveway in the 4200 block of Arrington Bridge Road, the Highway Patrol said. The victim, James Mathes Barnett, 39, of Arrington Bridge Road, Seven Springs, was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital, the report said, and his condition was not immediately available. Barnett was walking toward the car, the car started toward him, he tried to move away but was struck, the report said. The driver, Timothy Matthew Osbon, 20, of N.C. 111 South, Seven Springs, was charged with hit and run involving personal injury.
Investigations
Wayne County law-enforcement officers are investigating these reports:
*Video-game equipment, about $794 and a television were stolen after a window was broken at a home on South Slocumb Street, Goldsboro police said. The resident, W. Lee, estimated the value of the stolen property at $1,050, not including the cash.
*Damage was estimated at about $2,700 at a home in the 700 block of Mark Herring Road near Seven Springs, sheriff's deputies said. The resident, Kimberly Eason, reported that a well and vinyl siding to the home were damaged and dirt had been put in the gas tank of a lawn mower.
*A white 2004 Yamaha four-wheeler was stolen from the 900 block of Old Mill Road, deputies said. The vehicle was valued at $2,500.
Edited on Thursday, December 1, 2005.