Public Safety

• Victim was defending fiancé’s child, officials said. Two women are under secured bonds after allegedly beating and pepper spraying a woman, dragging her down a highway and running over her with a car while kidnapping a child. Elizabeth Harris, 26, of Whiteville, sustained multiple broken bones, a torn aorta and internal injuries in the June 26 assault, according to the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office.  Sheriff Jim McVicker...

An argument over property led to a shooting in April, and an arrest June 28. James Henry Smith, 38, was released on a $15,000 bond on charges of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and possession of a firearm by a felon. His address was listed as 515 E. Fifth St., Lumberton. The sheriff’s office reported that Norman Watkins purchased property on Parker’s Drive, Evergreen, that...

An assault victim in Tabor City used an unusual weapon to defend herself Friday – gasoline. Arrest reports from Tabor City Police and the Columbus Detention Center show William Leonn Kinlaw, 41, of 312 Wall St., Tabor City, was charged with assault on a female and held under a $2,000 secured bond.  The report showed that a someone at the Vasco station on East Fifth called 911 around...