Former athlete shot, killed
MAXTON — A 22-year-old shot and killed at a party in Maxton last weekend was a former standout football player and basketball player at Purnell Swett High School.
Tyrell McDonald died at Scotland Memorial Hospital after deputies found him lying in the parking lot of Sarah’s Place on South Patterson Street with a gunshot wound early Sunday morning, according to Randall Graham with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.
McDonald was named to The Robesonian’s All-County football team during his junior year in 2011.
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3 charged with drug trafficking
ROSEBORO — Three people, including a teenager, are facing cocaine trafficking charges following a routine stop Friday, Aug. 19. Child abuse charges were also brought as an 11-year-old was riding in the vehicle.
Sampson County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division agents conducted the traffic stop on Old Mintz Hwy (N.C. 411) near Claudes Drag Road, south of Roseboro. According to reports, there was 31.4 grams of the drug (about 1.1. ounces) seized during the stop.
Arrested were Earl Jeffery Melvin, 38; Kimberly Melvin Lane, 44; and Alexis Monticia Lane, 17, all of Roseboro.
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Police seek money snatcher
WHITEVILLE — Police here are looking for a man they believe stole $310 from a woman as she sat in her car on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at about 9:40 a.m.
According to the police report, the man approached the woman’s car and reached inside the window, grabbing the woman’s purse. When she resisted, the man reached inside the purse and took an envelope containing the money. He then fled on foot.
Investigators say the suspect is described as a black male, 5-feet, 10-inches tall with a “natural” haircut.
Anyone with information can call the Whiteville Police Department at 910-642-5111.
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Electrical fire at West Columbus
CERRO GORDO — An electrical issue was the source of a small fire inside the West Columbus High field house on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
School officials say the fire was extinguished by coaches and no significant damage was reported.
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Carolina League may tap Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE — The city could be in line to have a Carolina League baseball team locate to a proposed new stadium.
According to reports, the Class A Advanced league has already placed a team in Kinston and is looking for a second home. The league currently has eight teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Delaware.
Fayetteville is proposing an affiliation with the Houston Astros and building a $33 million stadium in the downtown area that would be ready for play in 2019.
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Two plead guilty for Fairmont murder
LUMBERTON — Two people have pleaded guilty in connection with the death of Fairmont 16-year-old Daquan Stephens in 2013, doing so just as jury selection for the trial began.
Jerod Kutree McNeill pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder on Tuesday, and Bobby Deshawn Jones pleaded guilty Monday to being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, according to District Attorney Johnson Britt.
Stephens, a student at Fairmont High School, was shot and killed on March 22, 2013, while playing basketball at Calvin Haggin Park in Fairmont.
Jones was sentenced to a minimum of eight years and eight months, and a maximum of 11 years and five months in prison. McNeill was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.