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Duplin Journal Staff
A man was rescued this morning after Fire and EMS units responded to a call requesting help for an overturned vehicle with a person pinned inside at approximately 7:30 a.m.
The single-vehicle accident occurred on I-40 westbound lane near the 382-mile marker during a heavy downpour. The driver of the red pickup truck ran off the road and struck a tree. Units working on the patient extrication had to remove the top of the pickup truck to rescue the man.
“It was a prolonged extrication due to the way the vehicle came to rest on its side in the wood line,” Brandon McMahon, Emergency Medical Services director, told Duplin Journal, adding that the extrication of the patient took approximately one hour.
The patient was transported to ECU Health Duplin Hospital and later transferred to ECU Medical Center in Greenville. He is in critical condition.
During the rescue, a firefighter was injured while trying to extricate the patient from the vehicle. The firefighter received an electrical jolt when lightning struck the downed fence he was touching. He was wearing protective equipment at the time he was injured.
“Lightning struck away from us on that fence and it ran the fence. He felt it in his hand,” Chief Boney told Duplin Journal, adding that the firefighter went to the hospital to get checked and he is doing fine.
During the rescue, a firefighter was injured while trying to extricate the patient from the vehicle. The firefighter received an electrical jolt when lightning struck the downed fence he was touching. He was wearing protective equipment at the time he was injured.
“Lightning struck away from us on that fence and it ran the fence. He felt it in his hand,” Chief Boney told Duplin Journal, adding that the firefighter went to the hospital to get checked and he is doing fine.
According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol there is an ongoing investigation.
Update: Rose Hill Fire Chief Gary Boney, who is at the scene told Duplin Journal that it was a lightning pop. Fortunately no one was electrocuted. Crews are still on scene working on the patient extraction.
Breaking News: A firefighter has been electrocuted while working on a patient extraction at an accident on I-40 at the 382 mile marker.
According to David Miller, Fire News director it is unknown whether the firefighter was struck by lightning or by other electrical source. More information to follow.
WARSAW — Albert G. Searles was sworn in as Warsaw town commissioner on July 8, during the regular town hall meeting. Searles was appointed by the board last June to fill in the seat left vacant by the late Commissioner Russell Eason until the 2025 municipal elections.
The NC DMV is also now charging processing fees for all credit and debit card transactions
Last week, rate increases announced by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicle went into effect, with the most significant increases in the cost of regular and commercial driver licenses, driver improvement clinic and restoration fees.
The cost of a regular driver license is now $32.50 for a five-year license and $52 for an eight-year license. Learner’s permits and provisional licenses increased $4, now costing $25.50. Duplicate licenses can be obtained now for $16.
Fees also increased for commercial driver licenses. The cost of an application for a CDL increased $8.25, now costing $51.50. A class A, B or C CDL, which is valid for five years, now costs $127. The annual CDL endorsements went up between $2.50 to $3.75.
Other fees such as driver improvement clinics and DL restoration went up as well with driver improvement clinics going from $70 to $83.50. The fee for a non-alcohol related DL restoration is $83.50 and $167.25 for alcohol-related restorations.
The annual fee for regular private passenger vehicle registrations is now $46.25. A title application now costs $66.75. Registrations for commercial vehicles, motorcycles, for hire vehicles, house trailers, low-speed vehicles and electric vehicle fees are among others that saw an increase.
Additionally, as of the beginning of this month the NC DMV is charging a processing fee on all transactions paid for with a credit or debit card. The fee for in-person transactions is 1.22%, online transactions are 1.85% and self-service kiosk transactions are 2%.
According to the NC DMV, the new fees are part of an adjustment required by law every four years. The adjustment is based on the percentage change in the annual Consumer Price Index.
Visit ncdot.gov for a complete list of fee changes.
The deadly shooting took place in Beulaville, however none of the parties were from Duplin County
According to the office of District Attorney Ernie Lee, last week Antonio Murphy, 29, pled guilty to the murder of 21-year-old Michael Deangelo Bryant Jr., along with various charges stemming from the events that transpired in Beulaville the night of Feb. 6, 2020.
The Beulaville Police Department responded to a shooting at approximately 8:30 p.m. at the parking lot of a McDonald’s located on West Main Street in Beulaville and called the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for help with the homicide.
According to the DA, the SBI investigation revealed that Murphy, Bryant, and Randy Anthony Rolla Jr., 19, none of whom were from Duplin or knew each other, agreed to meet in Beulaville for a transaction.
When Bryant and Rolla arrived, Murphy and another individual got in the back seat of the car where the two victims were sitting and attempted to rob them at gunpoint. When Bryant reached for his gun, the two individuals in the back seat opened fire, striking Bryant and Rolla.
According to the DA, the assailants ran to a separate vehicle driven by a third person and fled from the scene.
Bryant and Rolla were transported by EMS to the hospital in Kenansville, where Bryant was treated for a gunshot wound to the back which fractured his shoulder blade. Rolla had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and a second to the torso. Due to the extent of his injuries, he was transported to ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville (formerly known as Vidant Hospital), where he was pronounced dead.
“The NC SBI worked diligently during the investigation to determine the identity of the suspects. Evidence obtained tied the defendant to the homicide. This evidence included forensic evidence, video surveillance footage, phone records, social media records and internet browser records. The FBI Cellular Analysis Survey Team assisted the investigation and prosecution,” wrote the DA in a news release, highlighting FBI Special Agent Harrison Putman for obtaining Murphy’s cell phone records, which placed him in Beulaville around the time of the homicide. “This was a challenging prosecution requiring a significant amount of time to prepare, meet with witnesses, review lab reports and social media records.”
The DA thanked everyone who collaborated on the case, from investigation to prosecution, he acknowledged the arduous work and countless hours that are involved in preparing a case for a successful prosecution.
“This was an effort made by all those involved to help remove this violent offender from our community and seek justice for the victim’s family,” wrote the DA, concluding that his office hopes the guilty plea will provide some degree of closure to the victim’s family.
Murphy pled guilty to second-degree murder, attempted armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury on June 27 in Duplin County Superior Court. He was sentenced to a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 32 years in prison.
BEULAVILLE — During the regular monthly meeting on Monday, July 2, the Beulaville Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with the demolition of an abandoned house at 406 W. Church St.
The board has been discussing the house for several months, with Beulaville citizen Nanette Outlaw appearing at each meeting to inquire about progress on the house. Town Manager Lori Williams reported that the family that owns the property refused a certified letter, and there was also no response to an ad regarding the property that ran for two weeks in the newspaper.
“We’ve exhausted all means of contacting the family by telephone calls, letters, notices in the paper,” Williams said. “We’ve not had any response. At this point, the town has done all we can do.”
At last month’s meeting, Williams reported that the town would move forward with getting quotes on the demolition and clean-up of the property. Public Works Director Ricky Raynor received one estimate for $10,750 from East Coast Emergency Response Service, and another for $6,500 from Rivenbark Construction.
“I don’t see any point in kicking the can down the road,” Commissioner Gene Wickline stated before motioning that the town move forward on the $6,500 quote.
The motion was approved unanimously, with Williams stating that she would follow up with Rivenbark Construction and determine an estimated timeline for the demolition and cleanup.
In other business at last Monday’s meeting, the board held two closeout public hearings on CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funding that the town received in 2020.
Josh Outlaw with Floyd Adams Co. made the presentations to the board, reporting first on the completed CDBG-NR project for neighborhood revitalization.
“The town was originally funded $750,000 in CDBG-NR for neighborhood revitalization funds,” Outlaw stated. “An additional $65,000 was requested and received, totaling $815,000 in total grant money. The proposed project was to rehabilitate four homes. After bidding and awarding all four homes, unfortunately one home requested to opt out so we ended up only working on three homes.”
The final total was $661,127 in CDBG funds that were expended, with $153,873 de-obligated due to the one house dropping out at the last minute.
“The closeout documents will be submitted to the Department of Commerce after you’ve adopted the meeting minutes,” Outlaw explained, adding that if more homes qualify for CDBG funding, another round of funding will be coming up in the fall.
A second closeout public hearing was held on the 2020 CDBG-CV grant, which was Covid funding, Outlaw said. “The town was originally funded $900,000. The project included $600,000 in a rehabilitation public budget line item to renovate the second story of town hall for use by a local food bank, along with $210,000 in public services money to provide rental and utility assistance for low-income residents and to purchase a vehicle for the food bank, along with $90,000 in grant administration budget,” he explained. “The final project included $740,000 in neighborhood facilities, $69,991.07 in public services for rental and utility assistance, $87,000 in administration. Total grant funds expended was $896,991.07.”
In other business at the July 2 meeting:
- Cole Williams with McDavid Associates gave an update on a water line the firm is working on. “We’re going to rebid that project on the 23rd,” he said. “We only had two bidders this time around. We need three to operate.” He added that the town has been approved for $602,500, which includes cleaning the line, CCTV and smoke testing. “In this case, they’re combining those grants. This will be enough to do the entire sewer system,” he said.
- The board approved the funding offer, approved the resolution to accept the offer and perform the project, and approved the professional engineering services procurement.
- Gwen Mercer, who appeared before the board last month to discuss a road closure, stated that she wanted to see the board take some action on the closure. Mayor Hutch Jones told her that the board had not understood that she wanted them to take action at last month’s meeting, and that she would need to get on the agenda for the next meeting.
- The town board approved an agreement for engineering services with Stroud Engineering.
- The commissioners also approved a Golden Leaf grant acknowledgment and agreement.
- A three-year mowing contract for $2,900 a month with Atlantic Coast Land, LLC was approved.
- Police Chief Karl Mobley reported that the police department is at full staff now, and has had a couple of larceny investigations over the past month.
- Mayor Jones told the board he’d like for them to discuss hurricane preparedness in the near future, stating that Hurricane Florence in 2018 “was an eye opener for all of us.” He asked that the department heads let the board know of any immediate emergency needs.
The Beulaville town board will next meet on Aug. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall.