Public Safety

Two men ended up going to jail after a fight in Riegelwood March 15. The sheriff’s office was called to 18 Country Club Trail just after 1 p.m. to a report of an affray. Kenneth Anthony Hewett, 42, and Edgar Villalba Romero, 36, argued then began fighting, the report said. Hewett allegedly cut Romero with a box cutter, and Romero allegedly punched Hewett in the head. Hewett was...

Year-long Investigation Leads to Child Abuse Charge A Whitehall Road man was arrested Monday after he allegedly fractured his child’s skull in 2023. Joey Russ, 40, of 3233 Whitehall Road, Whiteville, was placed under a $5,000 secured bond on a single charge of felony intentional child abuse, causing serious injury, according to Detention center records. The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office reported that a social worker contacted deputies on...

Multiple sources have confirmed that Antonio Jamal Maultsby Jr. was the child killed on Braswell Road Saturday. The boy’s obituary said he would have turned eight years old March 29. At least six other people, including a toddler, were in the home when young Antonio was shot to death Saturday night. The report from Columbus County Sheriff’s Office said the boy died at Columbus Regional. The incident was...