Public Safety

Nicholas J.C.  Mitchell turned 18 on Thursday, and was indicted for first degree murder as an adult. Mitchell and Kenneth Bernard Wooten are alleged to have shot and killed Michael Jason Scott, 54, on Ward Street in Whiteville in June 2023. Wooten was arrested shortly after the killing. Mitchell was later taken into custody and detained in a juvenile facility, Whiteville Police reported at the time. Mitchell’s address...

Two people were transported to Loris Hospital after they were accidentally shot Sunday. Tabor City Police reported that they were dispatched to Forest Glen apartments just before 1 p.m. A resident met police on the stairs and said two friends had spent the night with her. The unidentified male “had a gun in his pocket,” the report said, and when he got up, the weapon fired twice. The...

For the third time in less than 30 days, the sheriff’s office has arrested a suspect for child sex abuse. Andy Gene Strickland, 68, was arrested by Greenville, S.C. Police Feb. 20, according to a news release from the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office. He is being held under $1 million secured bond. Strickland faces three charges of taking indecent liberties with a minor. The sheriff’s office said that...