Public records
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on June 29, 2006 1:45 PM
Couple charged
A couple from Carraway Creek Drive near Dudley was arrested Wednesday by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and charged with numerous felony offenses in connection with the theft of checks.
Tracy Michelle Whitfield, 38, was charged with 11 counts each of forgery and uttering and one count each of impersonating a law-enforcement officer and resisting arrest. Ms. Whitfield, who has used four aliases, also was wanted as a probation absconder. She was placed in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of a $131,000 secured bond.
Phillip Farra Hampton III, 43, was charged with five counts each of forgery and uttering. He was jailed in lieu of a $50,000 secured bond.
4 hurt in collisions
Four people were injured and damages were estimated at $41,700 in five recent traffic collisions in Wayne County, officers reported.
*Both drivers were injured and damages were estimated at $6,000 in a two-car, rear-end collision at 11:11 a.m. Wednesday at East Ash and North Jackson streets, Goldsboro police said. Eva C. Smith, 74, of Booker Street, Pikeville, and Annie R. Lewis, 67, of Ballance Road, Fremont, were treated and released from Wayne Memorial Hospital, a spokesman said. Ms. Smith was charged with failure to reduce speed.
*A pickup truck was destroyed in a wreck at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday on Parkstown Road near North Beston Road, the Highway Patrol said. The driver, Jose Rosario Diaz-Newcomb, 17, of Parkstown Road, LaGrange, was charged with exceeding a safe speed. The truck was valued at $4,500.
*A passenger was injured in a one-car wreck at 7:09 p.m. Monday on Eagles Nest Road near Sleepy Creek Road, the Highway Patrol said. Shanae Brown, 18, of Hideaway Circle, Dudley, was released after emergency-room treatment. Her driver, Joshua Maurice Bishop, 19, of Lou Alma Drive, was charged with speeding. The car, valued at $6,000, was demolished.
*A dirt bike overturned and the driver was injured at 9:17 a.m. Monday on Grantham School Road near McArthur Pond Road, the Highway Patrol said. Jeremy Wayne Carlton, 18, of McArthur Pond Road, Mount Olive, was released after emergency-room treatment. No charges were filed. Damage was set at $200.
*Damage was estimated at $25,000 in a crash involving a tractor-trailer truck at 3:35 p.m. Sunday on N.C. 55 near Suttontown Road, the Highway Patrol said. The driver, Roger Lee Lowman Jr., 33, of Whaley Family Road, Seven Springs, was charged with exceeding a safe speed.
Fraud case
A Goldsboro woman was notified of a relative's apparent death and asked to send money for legal fees to South Africa to collect a $4,100 inheritance, according to Goldsboro police reports.
Heather E. Williams, 22, received five $950 money orders for the inheritance, the report said, and took them to a credit union to verify them. The credit union held the money orders for five days to make sure that they were good. The money was deposited in Ms. Williams' account, and she used it to pay bills, the report said. A day later the credit union told her that the money orders were counterfeit, because security features were not on them, another report said.
Investigations
Goldsboro police are investigating these reports:
*About $2,261 worth of entertainment equipment was stolen from Express Audio at 1907 N. William St. The thief had damaged a door to get inside. The stolen equipment included an in-dash television, a combination radio and compact disc player, a CD player, a speaker, an amplifier and two subwoofers. Damage was set at $125.
*A moped and a helmet were stolen Wednesday from a carport in the 500 block of East Mulberry Street. Willie Bean put a $799 value on his property.
*A desktop computer, a data projector and a lead trainer programmer were stolen between from Wayne Community College. The equipment was valued at $7,078. The theft was discovered during an annual inventory.
Fire
Employees putting on a new roof at Wayne Memorial Hospital on Wednesday accidentally set the roof on fire, a Goldsboro Fire Department official said today.
The employees quickly put the fire out with extinguisher before firefighters arrived. Damage was estimated at $500. No injuries were reported.