482-4418
--••Trass™ •
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
50*
Fleeing DV suspect surrenders
Clerk of Court: Officer
failed to handcuff
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
A man who fled police last
Wednesday seconds before being
jailed on a domestic violence or
der for threatening to kill his wife
and children, turned himself in
later that night.
Demetrius Ellis White, 31, of
Whitemon Lane surrendered to
Edenton police around 8 p.m. af
ter arrangements had been made
with his family that no additional
charges would be added for flee
ing, said Edenton Police Chief
Jay Fortenbery.
“We had
made arrange
ments for him
to turn himself
in lieu of addi
tional charges,”
Fortenbery said
Thursday
Because White
had not been offi
cially placed in jail, he could not
have been charged with escape,
Fortenbery said. Instead, White
White
could have faced misdemeanor
resist and delay
White bolted from officer Azure
Malone as the two entered the
sally port and after Malone had
checked her service weapon in a
lock box, Fortenbery said. White
was to be held 48 hours without
bail per the domestic violence
order.
“Apparently, he had a last min
ute change of heart and decided
to book,” Fortenbery said.
Malone began a foot chase and
lost contact with White in the
vicinity of the Edenton post of
fice. Fortenbery acknowledged
that Malone delayed calling for
backup.
“We’re taking a look at some
things that she could have done
better,” he added. “We’re looking
at this as a learning experience.”
Malone, a rookie Edenton po
lice officer since late May failed
to follow proper security proce
dures in her handling of White
that contributed to his 4:25 p.m.
escape, said Clerk of Court Mike
McArthur.
“She took it as routine and it
could have gotten her and others
killed,” McArthur said Thurs
day
Wednesday’s circumstances
that led to White’s escape infuri
ated McArthur.
“The officer failed to follow se
curity guidelines that are taught
in basic law enforcement train
ing and posted at the courthouse
door,” McArthur said Wednes
day
He described the suspect as a
large man and Malone as a small
frame female.
“(White) was belligerent in the
yard and unrestrained - against
police department policy and
See WHITE, 2A
Chase
ends in
Chowan
By CATHY WILSON
Perquimans Weekly
A 25-year-old Hertford
man led officers from three
different law enforcement
agencies on a high-speed
chase through the streets
of Hertford and into Per
quimans County Sunday
afternoon before eventu
ally stopping in Chowan
County.
Police say no one was
injured in the chase that
reached speeds of 85-90
miles per hour through
town streets and over 100
miles per hour on county
roadways. The chase ended
on Highway 32 in Chowan.
Steven Matrez Tillet, of
the 600-block of Woodland
Church Road, faces felony
charges of fleeing to elude
arrest with a motor vehicle,
possession with intent to
manufacture, sell or distrib
ute drugs, and maintaining
a vehicle as a place to sell
drugs. He is also charged
with no operator’s license
and a vehicle window tint
violation.
Following his arrest, Til
let was taken to Albemarle
District Jail under a $4,500
secured bond.
Hertford Police Chidf Joe
Amos said patrolman Allen
Peterson first stopped the
1999 Ford Escort driven by
Tillet around 2:30 p.m. on
U.S. 17 South near the high
rise bridge for a window
tint violation and no iden
tification. As the officer sat
in his police cruiser check
ing vehicle registration in
formation, Tillet drove off,
turned on Church Street
and sped through down
town to Grubb Street where
he continued speeding into
the county on Center Hill
Highway.
Members of the Perqui
mans County Sheriffs De
partment joined the chase
See CHASE, 2A
Back-to-School T ime
L_
-- . ... ■ ..Viii, ir.rV
STAFF PHOTO BY REBECCA BUNCH
Students study their class schedules for the upcoming school year during an open house at John A. Holmes High
School last Thursday. School starts again in Edenton-Chowan Schools tomorrow.
Bus route, dress code await students
Sheriff says to
expect delays
By REBECCA BUNCH
Stqff Writer
When schools start
Thursday, more than
2,300 students will enter
Chowan County classrooms for
thei 2011-2012 school year.
As with any new school year,
some changes will occur.
For instance while there Will
be no significant changes in
bus routes for the year, con
solidation of some bus routes
is planned according to Brad
Bass, transportation director
for the school system.
Bass said that the changes,
which he described as an effort
to keep costs down, are being
discussed during open house
at each of the county’s four
schools.
Bass added that about 19
teacher assistants and 14 caf
eteria workers are among those
driving the 46 school buses that
criss-cross Chowan County on
any given school day. Two of
the buses are designed for the
exceptional children’s program.
“We’re looking at ways to
shave a little time off the bus
routes, which gets the students
to school a little sooner and
limits the amount of time the
See SCHOOL, 3A
Group
wants
10-year
lease ext.
Town offers
three years
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
Negotiations are under
way to determine whether
the Northeast Commis
sion will be able to secure
a long-term lease for the
building it now occupies
on Edenton’s waterfront.
me commission s cur
rent lease expires in De-'
cember. It has occupied
the building on West Water
Street since 1996, but had
sought a 10-year lease re
newal.
Town Manager Anne
Marie Knighton said that
the commission pays the
town $1,700 in rent for
what is a prime spot on the
downtown waterfront.
“We often get questions
from newcomers and visi
tors as to why we have gov
ernment
offices
located
on the wa
terfront,”
Knighton
said.
Vann
Rogerson,
Northeast
Commis
sion president and chief
executive officer, said that
location is a primary rea
son why he’d like to see
the commission’s offices
remain there.
“It is a beautiful loca
tion and one that, when
we have visitors, certainly
shows off the community
to its best advantage,” Rog
erson said.
Knighton said that the
commission had request
ed a long-term extension
Rogerson
See LEASE, 3A
Schools see sweeping changes in discipline policies
By PETER WILLIAMS
Staff Writer
Schools across North
Carolina will open this
year with a new discipline
policy designed to keep
©2009 The Chowan Herald
All Rights Reserved
students in school.
Officials in the Albemar
le say the state-mandated
change will have the big
gest impact of all of the
changes this year.
“It’s going to mean
changing the way that we
communicate with our
parents," said Brenda
Lassiter, a spokeswoman
for Perquimans County
Schools.
In the past, a specific vi
olation like fighting might
result in a specific penalty,
like a 10-day suspension.
“The way it will be now
is consequences can’t have
a single predetermined
punishment,” Lassiter
said. “That’s different to
what we’ve been doing.”
The policy gives more
latitude to principals and
allows them to take into
account other circum
stances that they couldn’t
in the past;
. For a minor violation,
like being disrespectful,
the first choice is parental
involvement. The penalty
could also include isola
tion and being required to
sign a behavior improve
ment agreement.
The policy doesn’t
change rules on expul
sions. Students who carry
A bomb or weapon to school
can still be expelled. How
ever, those students sus
pended for 365 days can
now request readmission
to school after 180 days,
Paul O’Briant, then inter
im superintendent in Cur
rituck, told his board in a
meeting in July.
“What the state is con
centrating on is trying
to reduce the amount of
student suspensions,”
said James Bunch, the
assistant superintendent
in Perquimans County.
“They made 32 revisions
to thfc discipline policies
that local schools have to
adopt. This is something
all school systems have to
look at.
“Now principals have to
look at mitigating or ag
gravating circumstances,”
Bunch said. “The principal
gets to look at what type
of previous discipline this
See DISCIPLINE, 2A
Indiam Summer/ Efe&tjka!) *> H|storici Hfjjptfaiafl
Crafts, food, entertainment
Free Street Dance Friday Night
» ’‘■'T'V ihumiii jM.MM.vr _
°** «!f ‘ crafts, food, entertainment . Sept. 9th, 6 to 10 p.m.
Sept. 10th, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.