News Briefs for September 7, 2025
Tallis Jeremiah Vereen has been formally charged with the February murder of Ervin Hakeem Johnson. Vereen was arrested on unrelated charges days after Johnson was killed, and shortly before his body was found in a pond near the Johnson home.
Whiteville Police arrested a man for attempted murder Thursday after he slashed another man on J.K. Powell Boulevard. Altrell Baldwin, age 23, was held under no bond. He allegedly attacked James Walters. The victim was transported by private vehicle to Columbus Regional.
Kalani, Kendall, Josephina and Sophia Melvin will be eulogized in a memorial service Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. at Worthington Funeral Home in Chadbourn. The four girls died in a structure fire Saturday near Chadbourn. The girls’ father Patrick Ellis said a funeral service and interment will be held at a later date. The structure fire is the worst in more than a century, and has made national headlines.
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