State briefs: Man arrested after 2 deputies dragged by car

Published 11:14 pm Saturday, December 25, 2021

WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — A North Carolina man was arrested on multiple charges Saturday after he dragged two deputies with his car while he attempted to flee from a traffic stop, according to a sheriff’s office.

Deputies with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office stopped a car for speeding on northbound U.S. 52 at around 1 a.m. Saturday, a news release said. The deputies called a K-9 team for backup.

When the K-9 team arrived, the driver of the stopped car jumped back in and tried to get away. The dog and both deputies tried to stop the car, but the deputies were dragged for an undetermined distance before they were thrown from the car. The dog remained inside the car until the driver crashed, the news release said.

Charges filed against Ricky Wallace Simon, 28, of Rural Hall, including assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer to inflict serious injury and possession of a firearm by felon. Wallace is jailed on a $505,000 bond and it’s not known if he has an attorney.

Man charged in fatal apartment shooting

WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — One man was killed and another man was wounded in a shooting in North Carolina resulting from an attempted armed robbery at an apartment, police said Saturday.

Winston-Salem police said officers responding early Saturday to a report of a shooting at a location northeast of downtown found two men with gunshot wounds.

Police said Roy Lewis Moore, 71, and Rodney Delane Lindsey, 37, were both taken to a local hospital. Moore died, while Lindsey was listed in critical but stable condition, according to a news release.

Detectives determined the shooting was the result of an attempt to rob Moore which led to an exchange of gunfire. The suspect, identified as Roman Robert Nelson Jr., 20, was found with a gunshot wound at a Greensboro hospital. He is also listed in critical but stable condition. Police said Nelson was in custody on a charge of murder.

Moore’s death was the 43rd homicide in Winston-Salem in 2021, compared to 29 at the same time in 2020.

Two killed in wrong-way collision on I-40

GREENSBORO (AP) — Two men were killed and a third was injured after a wrong-way crash on Interstate 40 in North Carolina, a police department said.

The Greensboro Police Department said a 2004 GMC Envoy being driven by William Junior Grimes, 50, of Greensboro was heading east in the westbound lanes of I-40 on Friday when it hit a 1960 Ford Thunderbird being driven by Tony Hester Vinson, 5o0, of Greensboro.

Grimes and Vinson were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Traveras Trenten Chrisp, 38, of Burlington was a passenger in Vinson’s car and was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.

Police continue to investigate the accident, the news release said.

Chief on leave after telling officers about false vax cards

OAKBORO (AP) — A police chief in a small North Carolina town has been placed on unpaid leave because he reportedly told officers about a “clinic” where they could get COVID-19 vaccination cards without actually being vaccinated.

WBTV in Charlotte reports that Oakboro Police Chief TJ Smith was put on leave for a two-week period that started Tuesday. The town is west of Charlotte in Stanly County

Oakboro Town Administrator Doug Burgess wrote Smith a letter that informed him of the punishment. Burgess said the chief violated the town’s personnel policy, which bars acts of fraud, endangering the property of others and serving a conflicting interest.

The town manager says any more violations would lead to discipline, which could include dismissal.

Smith said in a statement that he made a mistake.

“I didn’t profit from it,” the chief said. “I couldn’t possibly profit from it, and I didn’t do it from a place of malice. I care deeply about others, and I sincerely appreciate that I have a job that allows me to serve them and to see things improve in my community.”

Police: Suspects robbed 2 men, kill another man in shooting

DURHAM (AP) — The suspects in a fatal drive-by shooting also are accused of robbing two people in a nearby apartment complex moments earlier, a North Carolina police department said.

The Durham Police Department said in a news release that officers responding to a location in east-central Durham around 6 p.m. on Thursday found a man and a juvenile who had been shot, The Herald-Sun of Durham reported. The man and juvenile were shot at from a vehicle as they stood outside, police said.

The man died after being taken to a local hospital, while the 17-year-old suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Just before the shooting, police said, the suspects robbed two people at gunpoint in a nearby apartment complex. Police did not say how many suspects were linked to the robbery and shooting or provide any other details.

As of Dec. 11, 39 people have been shot and killed in Durham in 2021. There were 30 shooting deaths in Durham at the same time last year, police data said.

Durham has recorded 48 homicides this year, the most in a single year since at least 1995, the last year for which police have electronic records available.