Public Safety

A four year old boy is in stable condition at UNC Hospital after he was struck in the neck by gunfire in Cerro Gordo Monday. The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and State Bureau of Investigation are “all hands on deck” working on the case, Sheriff Bill Rogers said. “This wasn’t someone involved in the shooting,” he said. “This was just a little kid.” The child was riding through...

The man who killed a Bladenboro resident in a drive-by shooting will serve up to 28 years in prison. Daniel Autry pleaded guilty today (Nov. 4) in front of Chief Superior Court Judge Ashley Gore to charges of second degree murder and firing into an occupied dwelling. Gore sentenced Autry to 23 to 28.67 years in prison. The plea took place in Bladen County Superior Court. On Jan....

An Elizabethtown man is out on bond on felony drug charges because he failed to wear a seatbelt. James Warner Littrell, 19, of David Street, Elizabethtown, was charged with possession of psychedelic mushrooms, drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor marijuana possession. He was released on $2,500 secured bond. Dep. W. Holden stopped Littrell on Honey Field Road Wednesday after noticing Littrell was not wearing a seat belt, according to the...