Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Single Copies 50£
Vol. LXXI,
Town gets
tough with
property
owner
From Staff Reports
Edenton officials are poised
to take action in cleaning up an
eyesore on the east part of
town.
Known as Harris Shopping
Center, and located at the inter
section of North Broad Street
and Paradise Road, the site has
been deteriorating for years.
The Chowan Herald received a
letter to the editor several
months ago that was critical of
the town’s adoption of a resi
dential parking ordinance. The
author wanted the town to
clean up sites such as the
nearly abandoned shopping
center.
“The resident was right in
the sense that we needed to
take action to abate the Harris
nuisance,” Town Manager
Anne-Marie Knighton said.
Edenton-Chowan County
building inspections con
ducted checks of the property
"and found numerous safety
code violations,” Knighton
said.
“We deemed the safety is
sues to be such that we discon
nected utilities and ordered
tenants to vacate the property”
she said.
The property owners have
met with town officials “and
outlined their plan of action,”
she said. Knighton said the
property owners are working
with a potential buyer who re
portedly would either demol
ish and rebuild, or repair the
site for commercial use.
“We gave the property own
ers until the end of February
to receive a demolition permit
from the Edenton-Chowan In
spections and Planning De
partment and present suffi
cient documentation that a
contract has been entered into,
with a firm completion date,
for the immediate demolition,
and removal of the building,”
Knighton said.
As an alternative to demoli
tion, the owner may, prior to
See OWNER On Page 4-A
INSIDE
Calendar.A2
Church.65
Classifieds.D4-8
Editorials.A6
Football Forecast.. C6
Learning.Dl-3
Obituaries.B6
Society.......B2
Sports.. Cl-8
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Chowan Herald file photo
The wreath-laying ceremony is one of the most moving parts of the annual Veterans Day
ceremony held each year at the Chowan County Veterans Memorial. This year's ceremony will
take place this Thursday morning at 11 a.m.
Veterans Day ceremony planned
for tomorrow at Memorial site
BY RON GREEN
Commander
American Legion Post 40
This month marks the an
nual occasion to remember
those who have served our
country and those who con
tinue to serve. In honor of
those soldiers, Chow'an Coun
ty will hold a Veteran’s Day
Celebration November 11 at
the Chowan County Veterans
Memorial starting at 11 a.m.
Authorities investigating death
of Edenton man on Hwy. 17
BY RYAN BURR
Cox NC Publications
An Edenton man was killed
early Friday when a vehicle
struck him from behind while
he was walking south on U.S.
Highway 17, about five miles
south of Hertford, a state High
way Patrol sergeant said.
William Edward Bond Jr., 33,
of East Peterson Street, was
killed instantly from injuries
sustained by the collision and
thrown onto the median, said
Sgt. Tom Griffin. Based on ve
hicle debris left at the scene,
authorities now believe it was
a light color Toyota Camry
made between 1994 and 1997
which struck Bond and left the
scene. Authorities believe the
car was also driving south on
the highway
Griffin said Bond had left a
newly reopened nightclub - for
merly called Hillcrest - a few
miles south of Hertford just
before 2 a.m., according to wit
nesses there. Bond was report
edly heading back to Edenton,
as were several other patrons
that night, but he did not have
a driver’s license or a car.
The accident occurred about a
mile and a half south of the club
at around 3 a.m., Griffin said.
Bond's body lay in the road for
hours until a passing motorist
reported the situation to the
Highway Patrol just before 7 a.m.
Also responding to the scene
were the Perquimans County
Sheriff’s Office and Perquimans
Emergency Medical Service.
in said authorities suspect
id*
See related story
on American Legion
memorial bricks
onpage3-A
The speaker for the celebra
tion will be Chowan County
resident Tom Hall, former US
Navy jet fighter pilot and POW
of the Vietnam War.
The color guard will be the
Bond had been drinking, but they
have not seen the blood alcohol
results of an autopsy which was
performed Friday afternoon.
Authorities could not say for
certain that the driver did not
stopafter the accident to check on
Bond, Griffin said. There are no
tire marks on the road where the
impact occurred, so Griffin said
it is likely the car did not slow
before hitting Bond. Although
Bond’s body was found on the
road, it has not been confirmed
whether the car struck Bond on
the road or just off the road.
There are no tire marks in the
grass from the Toyota, however,
Griffin said.
A crime scene reconstruc
tionist with the Highway Patrol
will conduct a detailed investiga
tion of the events before, during
and after the fatal accident, Grif
r
John A. Holmes high school
ROTC unit. Memorial
wreaths will be placed by
American Legion Post 40 and
any other patriotic and Veter
ans’ organizations.
Soloist for the event will be
Lynn Bundy who will per
form the “Star Spangled Ban
ner” and “God Bless Ame
rica”. Bagpiper, John O’Con
ner of Chesapeake, VA and
See VETERANS Page 3-A
fill said.
The owner of the club and se
curity staff knew Bond by name,
Griffin said, but they don’t know
for certain if he came by himself
or with others Thursday night.
There is no indication that
Bond was involved in any alter
cation with people at the club,
Griffin said, adding that the
owner “can’t figure out why
(Bond) would have been walking”
to Edenton.
“We’re still trying to get up
with some of the folks” who may
have seen Bond on Thursday,
Griffin said. “We are scratching
the surface to see what we can
come up with.”
The Highway Patrol asks that
anyone who recently talked with
Bond or who has information
about the incident please call
their office at (252) 331-4749.
l
Staff photo by Earline White
William Edward Bond Jr. is believed to have spent his final
hours at the Hillcrest Club a few miles south of Hertford. The
body of the Edenton man was found on Hwy. 17 Friday.
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Detectives discuss
strategies used to
deal with crimes
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Crime statistics can be as
difficult to pin down as end-of
grade test scores.
But crime stats in Edenton
point to a certainty, police of
ficer Brian Ferraraccio said
last week: Arrests are up be
cause there are more officers
hitting the streets.
With about 50 people on
hand for the monthly meeting
of the Edenton Discussion
group at Acoustic Coffee,
Ferraraccio rolled out num
bers to support his claim.
Through the end of Septem
ber, the first 274 days of the
year, police received 7,516 calls,
made 404 arrests and issued
361 citations. Those numbers
are comparable to the 2003 fig
ures.
“We have a pretty good hold
Suit photo by Sean Jackson
Weapons, drugs and a large cache of fake social security cards
were recovered by Edenton Police at a Church Street residence.
They are currently seeking'the man who Ijves there, Arturo
Calzadp "Bronco" Baeza, as a suspect in the case.
Suspect being sought
in weapons, Social
Security fraud case
BY SEAN JACKSON
Staff Writer
Edenton police are looking
for a West Church Street man
charged with selling drugs,
possessing illegal weapons,
and Social Security fraud.
On Nov. 5, police and proba
tion officers raided the resi
dence of Arturo Calzada
“Bronco” Baeza, 34, of 314 W.
Church St, after obtaining a
search warrant.
The search was conducted
after a 3-month investigation
by police detectives, according
to a press release.
Police seized more than one
pound of marijuana, cocaine,
two illegal firearms, and hun
dreds of forged Social Secu
rity cards, resident alien
cards, and fake IDs. Investiga
tors also seized a large amount
of equipment used in making
fake IDs, the press release
on crime,” he said. “Crime is
pretty well in check.”
The same appears to'be true
across the state. According to
the SBI’s annual crime report,
reported crimes dipped by 2.4
percent in 2003. Violent crime
fell by 5.3 percent.
Ferraraccio’s numbers in
cluded:
• 75 reported cases of break
ing and entering
• 18 public drunk arrests
• 40 drug arrests
• 90 larcenies
• 49 assaults
• 26 domestic violence ar
rests
• nine robberies
• two rapes ,
• one murder
Chowan County Sheriff
Fred Spruill said his depart
ment tends to focus on the
See CRIME On Page 4-A .
stated.
Police were still searching
for Baeza Tuesday.
“This is just a continued ef
fort by the Edenton Police De
partment to rid the Town of
Edenton of crime,” police
Chief Greg Bonner said
shortly after the raid. “I’d like
to commend the officers for
their excellent work in getting
to the bottom of this opera
tion.”
Bonner said the identifica
tion fraud could result in fed
eral charges against Baeza.
He also said he was “pretty
sure” police would seek a
grand jury indictment
against Baeza.
Officers involved in the in
vestigation included Det. Sgt.
Rhonda Copeland and Det.
Aaron Davidson.
Anyone with information
about Baeza’s whereabouts
can call police at 482 5144.
A