The raid on a Slippery Log Road home Monday “was not a mistake,” according to Whiteville Police.
WPD Chief Paul Rockenbach said in a press release that James Richard Ward Jr., 46, was arrested on charges of breaking and entering a motor vehicle, larceny of a motor vehicle, and misdemeanor larceny. His address on the arrest warrant was listed as 212 Slippery Log Rd., Whiteville. He was placed under $25,000 secured bond.
Warrants show that Ward allegedly took an International truck and two industrial air conditioning units with a total value of $5,600 from the Gurganus Farm Store in Whiteville on Oct. 10. Investigators tracked the truck and HVAC units to Ward, and obtained search and arrest warrants for him on Oct. 26.
The arrest was a joint operation between WPD and the sheriff’s office, since Ward lives outside the city.
The case blew up on social media after Tonya Ward Evans said deputies detained her 17-year-old son after breaking a glass door to gain entry during the execution of the warrant. In social media posts, Evans said deputies broke the glass door less than a minute after knocking and announcing themselves.
“Now tell me how anybody had time to open a door,” she wrote.
Evans said she was at work when the search warrant was executed. When her daughter arrived home, Evans said, a deputy cursed at her and threatened to arrest her if she did not leave the property.
Evans said that Ward lives in an apartment at 200 Slippery Log, in front of her home at 212. She said that Ward has lived at 200 Slippery Log for two years, and has even been visited there by his probation and parole officer. The apartment has a separate address and is part of a business that was at 200.
Evans also said that Ward has been on house arrest, and his monitor is registered at 200 Slippery Log. She said an eviction notice filed against Ward Oct. 1 listed his address as 200.
Both the CCSO and WPD emphasized that the search warrant was for the correct address, and Ward was arrested in a building “located directly in front of the residence.” The search warrant was signed by a “judicial official,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release. The search warrant has not been filed with the Clerk of Court’s Office, but delays of up to a week are not uncommon while investigators inventory items seized during the execution of such warrants.
“The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, in coordination with the Whiteville Police Department, arrived at the aforementioned address and executed the search warrant,” the CCSO said in its statement. “As confirmed by the Whiteville Police Department, the search warrant was served at the proper premises.”
Sheriff Bill Rogers said he “stands firmly behind the men and women” of the CCSO.
“The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that misinformation can spread quickly and may not accurately reflect the facts of the situation,” the press release said. “The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office would like to emphasize that, despite the criticism our deputies and detectives may face in the performance of their duties, the personnel involved in this incident acted appropriately and in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws, as well as Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Policies and Procedures.”
WPD also emphasized that the warrant was for the correct address.
“To address misinformation currently circulating on social media,” Rockenbach said in a statement, “we want to clarify that the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the correct residence, within its jurisdiction, at the request of and in coordination with the Whiteville Police Department. The individual sought in connection with the investigation was subsequently apprehended at a building located directly in front of the residence.”
Neither agency explained Ward’s connection to the Evans family. The juvenile detained by deputies was not charged.
Ward has several cases pending in Columbus County, including multiple traffic violations in an October traffic stop by Whiteville Police, defrauding a drug test in August, and a charge of carrying a concealed weapon (brass knuckles) from February. Ward is scheduled for a probable cause hearing Nov. 9.
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