Public Safety

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...

Johnathan Terrille Jordan will spend the next 10 to 23 years in prison on drug trafficking charges. Jordan, 36, was found guilty on two counts each of trafficking opioids and heroin, plus possession of drug paraphernalia, in Columbus Superior Court Wednesday. Superior Court Judge Tiffany Powers  sentenced him to 225-282 months in prison, ten years supervised probation and a $500,000 fine. In June of 2022, the District Attorney’s...

Emily Sandlin has been charged with accessory in the May killing and disappearance of Shanna Perry.  Sandlin, 46, is being held under $10,000 secured bond. She is charged with communicating threats and being an accessory to the murder. Warrants allege that Sandlin knew her husband Lance had killed Perry on May 1, but concealed that evidence. The warrant notes that she was not present when the murder occurred....