A busy convenience store in Whiteville has closed its doors due to crime in the area.
Workers began emptying fuel tanks and packing up stock at the Speedway at 207 N. Powell Boulevard Monday. By ednesday afternoon the store was repainted, the gas tanks empty and bags covered the gas pumps.
Speedway is owned by the 7-11 corporation. Corporate headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The store has been a fixture for more than 30 years at the intersection of Burkhead and Powell, operating under different names, including Wilco Hess.
In recent years the location had become a hotspot for crime, ranging from shoplifting and assaults in the store to drug sales, prostitution and gunfire in the parking lot and the immediate area. Panhandlers also frequent the property, sometimes blocking the entrance.
A quick survey of Whiteville Police reports for 2023-24 showed multiple reports of public intoxication, shoplifting, obtaining property by false pretenses, larceny, assault on a handicapped person, and other crimes.
WPD was also called to the station by customers for complaints about shots being fired in the parking lot or on Burkhead Street beside the store. Multiple pedestrians have been struck in the area going to and from the store, including one woman who died.
The property recently underwent some improvements and repairs in anticipation of the expansion of J.K. Powell Boulevard, also known as U.S. 701 Bypass.
