THE.
Twenty-fifth Year, Number 16
VICIC'iKACON
Cittr 1HI WUNSWICK MACON
Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, February 26, 1987
25c Per Copy
26 Pages Plus Insert
Authorities Investigating
Leland Woman s Murder
BY hTTFA SMITH
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s
Department and the SBl arc in
vestigating the Monday morning
murder of a I>eland woman, the third
murder in the county within the past
two months.
Beverly Jaye Potter Mintz, 23, was
a.m. Monday. When Mrs. Potter
went to her daughter's home around
noon, she found her i
There were no signs of a forced en
try and neighbors reported seeing
nothing unusual between 10 a.m. and
noon, the period in which Davis said
the murder occurnKl.
tuiiiiu ucdu III iior iiOir
h-.- h"r
mother shortly after noon. She had
multiple stab wounds in her chest
area, according to Brunswick County
Sheriff John Carr Davis.
According to Davis, Mintz's one-
year-old son was also at the
residence when the slaying took
place, but the child was unharmed.
Mintz lived with her cousin and
their children on Village Koad, about
one mile west of U.S. 17.
Davis .said Mintz's mother, I,or-
rainc Potter, tiad talked to her
daughter on the telephone at about 10
Several businesses are located on
the road where the victim lived.
DavLs said that anyone who may
have seen something suspicious
while traveling the area should con
tact the sheriff’s department.
According to County Coroner Greg
White, Mintz apparently died from
massive blood loss due to the .slab
wounds. He said her body was sent to
the Regional Coroner's Office in
Jacksonville for an autopsy.
When contacted Tuesday, Sheriff
Davis said law officials had no
suspects but that lus department and
the SBI have received some calls
from people who have offered infor
mation. He said they are checking
out all the calls for leads.
He added that there were no signs
Mintz's murder is linked to the two
others that have occurred here in the
past two months.
One of those murders was that of
Davis’s son-in-law Thomas U. Sum
mer, 32, who was found stabbed to
death Dec. .30 in a van near the en
trance to Orton Plantation off N.C.
133. Two pounds of marijuana were
also found in the van. No charges
have been filed.
Another murder victim, Joe S.
Kcevc-s, 31^ was shot in the Ivtck at
his home on Feh. 6.
A warrant for the arrest of Ronnie
Ix:e Clemmons of Ixiland was Issued
following the shooting, but county
wide manhunts have yet to secure his
arre.st.
Two Die In Sunday Accidents
Two Brunswick County men were
killed in separate accidents last Sun
day on Brunswick County highways.
Dead are David leon Stallings, 23,
of Shallotte, and John Howard Adam,
72, of Yaupon Beach.
Gibb Alva Dozier, 32, of Ixris, S.C.,
was charged with manslaughter,
driving while intoxicated and with
having no driver's license after he
allegedly crossed the center line and
collided with Stallings while travel
ing southbound on S.R. 1303 about
four miles from Calabash. According
to the report filed by Trooper Jerry
V. Dove, Dozier hit Stallings' vehicle.
then continued moving about 200 feet
ill the southbound lane before runn
ing off the left side of the road.
Dozier was driving a 1976
Oldsmobile and Stallings a 1980
Toyota. The accident occurred at 1
a.m. Sunday.
Then at 3:20 p.m. Sunday, Ali
Humad Alradwan of Maxton was
charged with death by vehicle in con
nection with Adam’s death.
According to Trooper Danny
Harwell’s report, Alradwan was
traveling north on 133 on %-wet
roadway whdn he liw^tontrbl ot his
veNcle and veered off the right
shoulder of the road. He then came
back on the roadway and struck
Adam’s car on the driver’s side. The
report said Alradwan was traveling
too fast for safety.
The report did not say what type of
vehicles Alradwan or Adam was
driving.
Alradwan is scheduled to appear in
Brunswick County District Court on
March 16 and Dozier on March 17.
The two deaths bring the county’s
highway fatalities to three this year.
1/Bst .vear there had been only, one,
highway fatality at the end of
February.
Summer Rental Firms Protest
April 1 Sales Tax Increase
BY SUSAN USHER
O v«»v»
ing was all wrong, summer rental business operators
voiced objections Wednesday night to an optional half
cent sales tax adopted earlier this month.
The tax goes into effect April 1, several months after
rental agents have set 1987 rates, printed brochures and
rate cards—and booked the bulk of their reservations for
the season.
Agents spoke at lengtli of the extra time and expense
the change would put on them—and the loss of goodwill
they expected from vacationers asked to pay a few
dollars more.
"Had we had some advance warning . . . ,” said
Miller Pope, who runs Tne Winds resort at Ocean Isle
Beach, ’’I’m sure we could have accommodated this."
Alan Holden, whose Holden Beach firm processes
13,000 vacations a year, said goodwill is already a pro
blem because cottage owners have had to increase their
rental rates about $100 per week to make the same net as
last year, what with property taxes increasing three to
four times over last year as a result of revaluation and
insurance increasing similarly.
Debbie Fox, of Sloane Realty, Ocean Isle Beach, told
commissioners, "I think this will be detrimental. 1 think
it wdll make a difference in people vacationing in
Brunswick County and whether they’ll come back.’’
Other speakers referred to the added work and ex
pense involved in notifying renters of Uie increase,
reprogramming computers and reprinting promotional
material.
“We’ll have to notify them ahead," said one
spokesman for Emily Willetts Realty in the .Southport-
Oak Island area. "When you have five hours to cheek in
thousands of people, you don’t have time to argue with
them over the counter."
Rae .Sioaiie, of Sloane Realty, Ocean Isle Beach,
questioned whether the companies could legally pass on
the tax increase to those vacationers who had already
paid deposits and signed rental agreements.
Several speakers suggested delaying the tax until
after I.abor Day, at the end of the prime season.
“You should have been around when we had our
public hearing," commented Chairman Grace Beasley,
adding, however, that the board would take the group’s
concerns into consideration.
Commissioners began discussion of the half-cent
sales tax last summer, but delayed consideration until
their first meeting in February. At an August hearing,
the handful of persons who spoke were equally divide for
and against the tax.
CAPT., PHIL PERRY of the Brunswick County
Sheriff’s Department shows a composite HhciCn of a
suspect in a 1979 murder that is still unsolved. On his
SIA»$ rMOtOevniASAAIlH
desk are manlla folders that contain infonnaiion on the
three unsolved snurders that hav
county in the past 10 years.
In
Files Never Close
On Unsolved Murders
BY ETTA SMITH
Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Phil
Perry has three folders locked in his office that he said
he takes personally.
They contain information on three of the unsolved
murders that fiave occurred in this county in the past 10
years. And Perry said he understands how the families
of the victims of those murders feel—the murder of his
mother 13 years ago has never been solved.
Although an arrest was made and the case went to
trial, there was never a conviction. And for a case to be
considered solved, or cleared, there must be a convic
tion.
The number of unsolved murdi^s in Brunswick
County over the past 10 years rose to four this week
when a Leland woman was found slain in her home.
The Monday murder of Beverly Jaye Potter Mintz,
23, is the latest of the unsolved murders.
The others from the most recent back are those of
Brunswick County Sheriff John Carr Davis’s son-in-
law, Thomas G. Siunmer, in December 1986; Matthew
D. .Spaulding in 1983; and Benny Eugene Smith in 1979.
In an interview last week. Perry said investigation
of unsolved murders.never ends, murders he has been
investigating continues, no matter how long it has been
since the murder occurred.
‘No unsolved murder is ever closed,” said Perry
Ever, if it takes years, wc continue investigating every
lead or rumor we hear.
“I know personally how the families of these vic
tims feel," said Perry. ’Tve been in their position.
They want to know who is responsible and want that
person off the street."
He added that usually the SBI is called in to in
vestigate a murder immediately after it happens,
unless a suspect is arrested.
1987—Reeves
Another recent county murder is considered un-
snlved—the Feb. 6 shooting death of Joe Reeves, 31, of
.Slwllottc. Reeves was shot in the back at his home on
Bellamy Street about 3 a.m. Another occupant of the
house provided information that led law officials on a
manhunt for Ronnie I>ee Clemmons, 30, of Leland. He
has not been captured, although the sheriff’s depart
ment has received numerous calls of sightings.
Reeves had .been scheduled to appear in court the
following week on multiple drug-related charges, a
grand jury had indicted him in October 1986 on charges
of selling marijuana and I.SD, and maintaining a dwell
ing for that purpose.
1986—Summer
Another unsolved murder under investigation also
appears to be dnig-relatcd. Thomas Gilbert Summer,
32, was found stabbed to death in his work van on Dec.
30, 1986, in an isolated area near the Orton Plantation
entrance. Perry said there are still no suspects or
motives in the case.
According to Coastal Division Supervi.sor Dave Mar
shall, the SBI is in the process of contacting the people
whose names appear in a ledger found in the van along
With two pounds of marijuana. He added that the SB! is
working on the assumption the murder was drug-
related. * .
1985-^pauldlng ” '
A 1983 muraer that remains unsolved is even more
puzzling to Perry and the SBI agents working on the
case, said Perry.
On July 12, 1983, Matthew D. Spaulding of Win-
nabow, 51, apparently went to his stables to feed the
horses and failed to return when expected by family
members.
Around noon that day, the sheriff’s department
received a cal! from a family member saying Spaulding
had ‘oeen found in the stables, apparently knocked out
by a possible prowler. When detectives arrived,
Spaulding was dead.
He had been shot several times in the back with a
'ZZ-caliber weapon. Perry said numerous interviews
have been conducted with people associated with
Spaulding, but so far there is no suspect.
1979-Sniith
The oldest unsolved murder still under investiga
tion by the s.herif f’s department is that of Bemiy Eugene
Smith, believed to be in his early 20s.
On June 21, 1979, Smith and a friend were riding a
motorcycle on -S.R. 1304 two miles from U.S. 17 at
Thomasboro when the friend said they met an oncom
ing vehicle.
The witness said Smith, who was driving, turned
the bike around and pulled up to the car. The driver of
the car and Smith had started to argue when the driver
of the car pulled out a small-caliber weapon and shot
Smith in the head. Smith died tlie next day in New
Hanover Memorial Hospital in Wilmington.
Perry said Smith's murderer was driving a green
Buick with out-of-state tags. Three or four people
reported seeing a car of that description, but the vehicle
was never located by law enforcement officers.
The file on Smith’s murder is much thicker than
(See FILES, Page 2-A)
SBI Joins Investigation Of Brunswick Tech's Continuing Ed Program
BY TERRY POPE
AND SUSAN USHER
The State Bureau of Investigation
has officially joined a state probe of
the continuing education program at
Brunswick Technical College.
A SBI agent arrived at the Supply
campus last Monday to begin work
ing with state auditors, who are now
in their sixth week at the school. The
auditors are conducting a review of
the continuing education program’s
finances.
BTC President Joseph Carter said
the SBI investigation is a "spin-off’
of the recent allegations and charges
of fraud involving continuing educa
tion classes at Cape Fear Technical
Institute in Wilmington. Carter said
he expects the invcstigaMcn to be
completed this week, though an SBI
agent wasn’t sure how much time the
investigation might require.
Dave Marshall, supervisor of the
SBI’s coastal district, said Tuesday
his office was brought into the in
vestigation by the state auditors. “As
a result of their audit work, they
referred three possible—I emphasize
possible-irregularities to us since it
involves state funds," he said. "The
allegations primarily center around
scheduling conflicts wherein it would
be impossible for a student or in
structor to be at two different places
at the same time.”
Marshall added that further In
vestigation may show the discrepan
cies are due to computer error,
drop/add activity or some similar
reason.
Both District Attorney Michael
Easley and BTC President Joseph
Carter have been briefed on the in-
vcatlgatian, he said.
Sheriff John C. Davis confirmed
Tuesday that his office had been ask
ed to help with the Investigation,
are involved in a very small way
We
he
said. One night last week, he said, of
ficers were asked to show the SBI
where several continuing education
classes were located.
“They have not requested any
other assistance," he added.
Marshall was hesitant to estimate
how long the SBI’s investigation
would continue. "It could be very In
volved or it could be a matter we can
resolve quickly," he said.
The SBI investigation of Cape Fear
Technical Institute began four mon
ths ago, he noted, and the end is not in
sight.
One agent has been assigned full
time to the BruTiSwlck Tech case,
though he has already been puUed
temporarily to work a higher-priority
investigation. The work will be con>-
plcted as expeditiously as possible,
he said. If needed, additional agents
may be a.ssigned to BTC as they are
freed from the CFTl case.
At the end of last Wcdnesday’9
board of trustees’ meeting, board
member James Rabon had already
made a motion to adjourn when tlie
Investigation was brought up by
board member Eugene Hewett.
Hewett asked Carter about a letter
the trustees had received in their in
formation packets prior to the
meeting.
The Beacon has obtained a copy of
the letter, which asks all board
members to "refer media inquiries
to our Public Information Officer,
Mrs. Connie Powell, for response.”
Carter told the board that the SBI
agent he had talked with would be
working with the two state auditors
to survey the school’s continuing
education program. '
“Is that the only thing they’re
checking, as far as you know?”
Hewett asked.
"That's the only thing, as far as i
know,” Carter replied.
The memo sent to the board
members was drafted by Chairman
David Kelly and dated Feb. 13. It
states, "President Carter Informed
me yesterday that Mr. Michael
Lewis, SBI agent, had visited him at
the college. During the discussion,
Mr. Lewis told Dr. Carter Uut the
SBI would be investigating the i^nti-
nuing Education Program at the Col
lege beginning Monday, February 16.
“i nave been assured that the
faculty and staff will fully cooperate
in the investigation and assist the
agents in every way.
"As information is made available,
every effort will be made to share It
with you on a timely basis,” it con
cludes.
Last November, the SBI announc
ed it would conduct an investigation
of Brun-swick Technical College and
Coastal Carolina Community College
to pursue allegations made agultist
the two schools.
The charges were made after
agents allegedly uncovered
fraudulent classes taught by Cape
Fear Technical College in Pender
County, resulting in $1.4 million hav
ing been paid to phony instructors.
One former C3FTI official has been in
dicted on more than 400 charges of
obtaining property by false
pretenses. Fifteen others have also
been charged in the scam.
Carter said he expects no
fraudulent classes to be found in
Brunswick County. The SBI agents,
he said, were obligated to investigate
since accusations against the school
were made and also publicized.
I^st month, the state auditor’s of
fice sent two auditors to Supply to
review financial records of the conti
nuing education program at BTC.
The auditors were expected to finish
their study by early February, but
arc stiil on campus.
In other business last Wedne.sday,
the board:
(See OTHER, Psgc 2-A)