Latest news with #HarnettCounty
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
Harnett man sentenced in girlfriend's shooting death
A 25-year-old southwest Harnett County man was sentenced to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his 22-year-old girlfriend stemming from Jan. 8, 2022. Terrell Lewis Jackson was sentenced on June 30 to 44 to 65 months in the North Carolina Department of Correction with credit for 12 days in jail. Superior Court Judge C. Winston Gilchrist gave Jackson a 'mitigated term.' He had no prior convictions, according to eCourts. Jackson made an Alford plea in the case, in which he did not admit guilt but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence for a conviction. A charge of discharge of a weapon into an occupied property was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Jackson was originally charged with second-degree murder. According to a court document, the Harnett County Sheriff's Office responded to 4685 Rosser Pittman Road, north of Barbecue and south of the Carolina Lakes Golf Course. Jamaica Dei'Ona Allen was found dead on scene. She was sitting in the driver's seat of a black 2004 Mercedes SLK 230 Kiompressor, according to a court document. She was the mother of Jackson's children. Janet Jones, Jackson's grandmother, called 911, the document states. A semi-automatic handgun, Glock 23 .40 caliber, was found on the driver's seat of the vehicle, but Allen had a gunshot wound on her back left shoulder that authorities believe was the entry wound. An exit wound was found on her bottom right breast. Police believe the situation was staged as a suicide. A bullet was found in the vehicle's center console. Jackson was held on a $75,000 bond following his arrest. He listed an address on Happy Lane, one mile south of where Allen was found, according to a court document.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Yahoo
Harnett man charged with theft of vehicle
A southwest Harnett County man was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle stemming from June 20. Christopher David Yates, 52, of the 2200 block of Marks Road in southwest Harnett County, allegedly stole a while 2005 Chrysler 300 valued at $2,800 from Tyler McCandless, an arrest warrant states. Yates was held in the Harnett County Jail on $10,000 bond, but was not listed in the jail roster as of Friday morning, June 27. A misdemeanor second-degree trespassing charge against him stemming from March 3, 2024 was dismissed, according to eCourts. No reason was given. However, Yates made an Alford plea on April 7 to felony failure to report a death stemming from May 25, 2023. In that case, Sanford resident Silvanus Nicquan Verbal, 38, died, but he did not die of natural causes, according to a court document. In an Alford plea, one does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction. At that time, Yates listed an address in the 500 block of W. Main St. in Wallace in southeast North Carolina. He was arrested on May 27, 2023 and posted a $10,000 bond three days later. However, Yates failed to appear in court twice and was re-arrested on Sept. 8, 2023. He posted a $75,000 bond on Dec. 30, 2023. He was given credit for 118 days in jail and given a suspended sentence of four to 14 months and placed on unsupervised probation. He was ordered to pay fines and fees of $1,725. As of Friday, the amount due was $1,948, according to eCourts. Yates pleaded guilty on Oct. 11, 2022 to larceny by using a merchant's emergency exit door in Harnett County. He was given unsupervised probation for a year with credit for two days in jail. Felony charges of conspiracy and possession of stolen goods were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. According to a court document, Yates said he has a bachelor's degree in robotics.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Private schools reaping benefits of NC's voucher law expansion
Private schools in Chatham, Harnett, Lee and Moore counties benefited from an expansion of North Carolina's public voucher Opportunity Scholarship law. The expansion, which went into effect prior to the 2024-2025 school year, did away with a limit on how much a family makes in order to qualify for tuition vouchers from the state. Information about private schools' voucher funding was provided Thursday by Public Schools First NC, a non-profit organization committed to informing and educating North Carolinians about policies affecting public schools. In 2022-23, the largest cohort of voucher recipients in the state attended Grace Christian School in Sanford, garnering the school over $3 million. WUNC reports that after the income limit was removed, Grace Christian required for the first time that all students apply for the Opportunity Scholarships. Grace Christian saw a bump from $3.07 million to $5.13 million from the 2023-24 to 2024-2025 school years. That $2 million difference represents a 67% increase. Lee Christian School also saw a 67% increase, going from $1.1 million to $1.83 million in voucher funds for those two years. Calvary Education Center in Lemon Springs went from $114,932 to $272,020, a difference of 137%. Carolina Christian Academy declined 10% from $70,302 to $63,214. CHATHAM Thales Academy of Pittsboro went from $145,620 to $1.1 million, a whopping increase of 665%. Haw River Christian Academy, northwest of Pittsboro, jumped from $121,983 to $545,715, a difference of 347%. Jordan Lake School of the Arts, north of Wilsonville, increased 156% from $22,722 to $58,252. Holy Youth Christian Academy, which is in northern Chatham, south of Chapel Hill, saw a 9% increase, going from $399,616 to $433,884. HARNETT Cape Fear Christian Academy, northwest of Erwin, increased 94%, going from $751,152 to $1.46 million. Brookside Christian Academy in Dunn increased 69%, going from $691,187 to $1.16 million. Faith Education Academy, southwest of Dunn, went from $225,811 to $314,395, a difference of 39%. Miracle Tabernacle Academy, between Anderson Creek and Spring Lake, went from $379,840 to $426,580, a difference of 12%. MOORE O'Neal School in Southern Pines increased from $874,315 to $1.48 million, a difference of 381%. Episcopal Day School in Southern Pines increased 316%, going from $97,380 to $404,913. St. John Paul II Catholic School in Southern Pines increased 189%, going from $357,060 to $1.03 million. Covenant Preparatory School in Southern Pines went from $129,813 to $351,050, a difference of 170%. Father Vincent Capodanno High School, southwest of Vass, went from $100,626 to $216,198, a difference of 115%. Fellowship Christian Academy, southeast of Carthage, went from $384,803 to $803,408, a difference of 109%. ADVOCACY The nonprofit wants to raise public awareness about public funds being directed from public to private schools. In an email, Phillip J. Kirk, who served as chair of the N.C. State Board of Education from 1997-2003, said he supports school choice. 'Poor children deserve the opportunity to get a quality education when the traditional public schools fail them,' he said. 'Liberal policies are responsible for school choice growing in popularity. This growth will continue with strong Republican support.' The expansion eliminated the family income limit, which was $57,720 for a family of four in 2023-24. The voucher program started in the 2014-15 school year. Meanwhile, the Sanford Area Growth Alliance (SAGA) is raising funds for public school teachers, including pens, pencils, dry erase markers, notebooks, etc. The deadline to contribute is July 17, according to a June 25 email. For more information about that effort, email sgomez@ Data from Public Schools First NC shows the ethnic/racial breakdown of students served by the vouchers as follows: 63% white, 19% black and 11% Hispanic, among others. At least eight private schools raised their tuition to the exact amount of the full Opportunity Scholarship following the expansion, according to WUNC. In 2024-25, the voucher limit per student was $7,468.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Yahoo
Pizza and smoothies? Harnett woman charged with online fraud
A southwest Harnett County woman faces 18 felonies related to ordering food online with someone else's card. Kiersten Amber Wethington, 31, of the 80 block of Treetops Road in Johnsonville, west of Carolina Lakes Golf Course, was arrested June 6 and held in the Harnett County Jail on a $30,000 secured bond. Wethington allegedly ordered food items from Marco's Pizza seven times between June 22 and July 24, 2024 totaling $509 and from Tropical Smoothie Cafe 11 times from July 1 and Sept. 20, 2024 totaling $863. She is also charged with two misdemeanors for larceny and shoplifting in Hoke County stemming from Oct. 6, 2023. Wethington failed to appear in court twice in relation to those charges. Her June 6 arrest included a warrant for failure to appear. She was charged with misdemeanor simple assault in Harnett County stemming from May 18, 2021, but the case was dismissed with the note, 'parties agree,' according to eCourts. She was arrested by the Fayetteville Police Department stemming from June 23, 2020 on a misdemeanor charge of larceny by employee. The charge was dismissed because restitution was paid in full, according to eCourts. She was charged with misdemeanor simple assault stemming from Feb. 16, 2018 in Cumberland County. The charge was dismissed due to the 5th Amendment right against self incrimination claimed by Dylan Richard Wethington, according to eCourts, which is a right afforded a spouse. Dylan Wethington has had four charges against him dismissed for assault on a female, simple assault and a protective order from 2018 and 2019 because the prosecuting witness did not appear, according to eCourts. He filed for divorce in Scotland County, which was granted on Oct. 30, 2023. The couple were married for 10 years and had four children. They had been separated since December 2019, according to eCourts.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Harnett County receives smoke alarm grant
LILLINGTON — The Harnett County Fire Marshal's Office recently announced the receipt of Smoke Alarm Saturday and Smoke Alarm Canvasing grants from the North Carolina Office of the State Fire. In addition to the county office, the following local fire departments also received smoke alarms through these programs: • Angier & Black River Fire Department, Inc. • Benhaven Emergency Services • Erwin Fire & Rescue Inc. • Lillington Fire Department •Spout Springs Emergency Services These grants will support the 2025 Smoke Alarm Canvassing and Smoke Alarm Saturday Campaign, which runs from Sunday, June 1 through Saturday, June 7. The campaign focuses on identifying and equipping homes that lack working smoke alarms, particularly in sleeping areas. Smoke Alarm Saturday, a key part of this initiative, is a statewide event that brings together fire departments across North Carolina to raise awareness about the critical role of working smoke alarms in saving lives. Free Smoke Alarms and Installation Available Harnett County residents without working smoke alarms in sleeping areas are encouraged to request a free smoke alarm by filling out the request form. According to the National Fire Protection Association, between 2014 and 2018: • 41% of home fire deaths occurred in homes without smoke alarms. • 16% occurred in homes where smoke alarms were present but not operational. For more information, email rdaniels@ or call (910) 893-0743.
