Public Safety

The second gunman in a murder-kidnap case that spanned three counties has been sentenced to life without parole. Bryan McLean was found guilty Wednesday (May 22) of first degree murder, and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in Bladen County Superior Court. Superior Court Judge Quinton McGee handed down the sentence. McLean’s co-defendant, Demecus McMillan, was sentenced to 27 to 34 months in prison  in January....

A notorious illegal nightspot in Evergreen has been shuttered under a state nuisance abatement order. Balls Night Club, located at 2753 Macedonia Church Road, was ordered closed by a Superior Court order this week. Balls and the Edge Lounge in Wilmington were closed after investigations by the Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) division and local authorities. District Attorney Jon David of Columbus and Ben David of New Hanover, along...

Someone threw a gasoline bomb through the window of a Pireway Road residence Sunday morning, a police report said. Jeremy Lee Blanton told Tabor City Police that he and his family were asleep around 2 a.m. when someone threw a Texas Pete bottle of gasoline through the window. Blanton covered the fire with a blanket and looked out the window, but saw no one. The report said Blanton...