State briefs: Officials say fire at Pilot Mountain finally contained

Published 11:55 pm Saturday, December 4, 2021

RALEIGH (AP) — A fire that burned 1,050 acres on Pilot Mountain in Surry County, is finally 100% contained, the N.C. Forest Service reported Saturday.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that smoke from the mountain will still be visible periodically, but firefighters plan to remove “excess hose and equipment” over the next few days, according to a Forest Service Facebook post.

With more dry conditions expected across the state, Forest Service officials on Saturday urged residents to take precautions against unintentionally causing a fire.

November saw 799 forest fires on state or private lands across North Carolina, according to the Forest Service, more than doubling the average of the 10 previous years, The News & Observer reported.

The N.C. Forest Service issued a burn ban over the past week and canceled all burn permits, citing dry and windy conditions that could cause flames to spread quickly.

1 dead after shed collapses

GOLDSBORO (AP) — A person has died after a shed he was moving fell on top of the individual east of Goldsboro.

WNCN reports that Wayne County officials said the incident was reported in a neighborhood near Elroy township at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Authorities said that Alex Economy, 64, died in the incident.

A neighbor said that a portable storage shed was delivered earlier Saturday to go in the backyard of the home where Economy lived.

Officials said the victim was trying to move the shed into his backyard by using jacks and concrete blocks. One of the jacks slipped because of soft ground and the shed fell on the victim, trapping him, officials said.

Police charge father
in son’s death

GREENSBORO (AP) — A North Carolina father is charged in the death of his son, police said.

Officers responding to a report from a residence on the southwest side of the city on Nov. 20 found Raymon Fernandez, 19, with injuries to his head, according to a news release from Greensboro police.

Fernandez was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and died on Nov. 27, the news release said.

On Thursday, detectives with the homicide unit charged Alexander Fernandez, 34, with second-degree murder. Alexander Fernandez is jailed on a $505,000 bond. It’s not known if he has an attorney.

Man sentenced to prison
for fatal shooting over $20

JACKSONVILLE (AP) — A North Carolina man was sentenced to prison on Friday in a fatal shooting over a $20 debt.

Malcolm Lambert entered an Alford plea in an Onslow County courtroom to second-degree murder and discharging a firearm into occupied property, WITN reported. In an Alford plea, a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but agrees there is enough evidence to convict them.

Authorities said Leroy Quinn of Jacksonville was shot and killed at an apartment complex on Nov. 19, 2018. Prosecutors said that Lambert went to Quinn’s apartment and demanded $20 that he was owed. Quinn refused to pay the debt and closed his front door.

Investigators said Lambert returned to Quinn’s apartment with four people, and one of them went with him to the back of the apartment. Lambert then fired four shots at the apartment, one of which hit Quinn in the heart and killed him, according to investigators.