Public Safety

Keith Douglas Wilkins Jr. of Delco took an Alford plea on charges of indecent liberties Thursday in Columbus County Superior Court. An Alford plea means the defendant does not admit guilt but recognizes he could be convicted. Wilkins molested a 13 year old girl spending the night with his daughter in 2019, according to court documents. As part of the plea deal, Superior Court Judge C. Ashley Gore...

Justin Burney was found guilty in a Brunswick County courtroom today of multiple charges of statutory sex offense and indecent liberties with a minor, and sentenced to at least 104 years in prison. Burney’s trial lasted nine days, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Superior court Judge Jason Disbrow sentenced Burney to four consecutive terms of 300 to 420 months, followed by three consecutive terms of 16-29 months...

The Sunset Road fire moves into its second week tomorrow, and firefighters are on “seek and destroy” missions targeting smoldering hotspots in the 1,300 acre affected area. “The main focus now is seek-and-destroy missions,” said Incident Commander Trainee Josh Bell of the Forest Service. “We see smoke on the landscape, we go chase it. We see heat on the drone’s infrared imagery, we go chase it. Rinse and...