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The
ews
Journal
it haiHx netl, it*s news to
No. 5 VoL97
ORD HC:
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50t
Wednesday, April 21,2004
Sheriff starts over on Brittany Locklear case
Task force formed, all to be interviewed again, DNA check stepped up
By Vicioriana Summi ks
Staff writer
Slicriff I lubert Pelerkin organized a
special task force last week to take an
other look at the unsolved murder case
of five-year-old Brittany Lynn Ux;klear.
She was deliberately drowned on Janu
ary 8, IWS in a drainage ditch off Ryan
McByrde Road and U.S. 401 South after
being sexually molested and abducted.
More than 100friends, family, neigh
bors, witnesses, school personnel, and
possible suspects will be interviewed or
“re-interviewed” under the supervision
of Chief Deputy Troy McDuftie, ac
cording to Peterkin, who will manage
the inquiry.
“Wearestartingthe investigation from
scratch,” Pelerkin said. “We are not just
talking to people. We will investigate
tlie cold case like it would have just
occurred.
" 1 ca 1 led a meet i ng last w eek to i n it iate
this with my staff."
Peterkin .said there are ;i “couple” of
concerns re\'ol\ iiig around the new' ho
micide inquiry into Brittany's death.
“Since there are going to be people
who are probably re-interviewed, some
of them may get upset." Peterkin said.
“We think it is essential that we examine
all the facts of this case from the begin
ning so we can linallv bring this killer
(See BRITl'ANY. page H/\)
Pevia
again
on TV
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
A story in the national maga
zine Cosmo Girl about South
Hoke kidnap victim Dana Pevia
titled, “Dangerous Attraction,”
led TV talk show host Montel
Williams to invite Pevia to be a
guest on his show.
The episode, wh ich was taped
last week in New York City, will
be aired during this season, ac
cording to Wanda Pevia, mother
of Dana, who accompanied her
to the show.
Dana, 17 and a Native Ameri
can, was 11 years old when she
disappeared from her South
Hoke home while she waited for
the school bus. Allegedly lured
away by her teen neighbor. Hec
tor Mojarro Frausto. he has si nee
been captured and is awaiting
(See KIDNAPPED, page 8A)
Raeford in pictures
35-year-old man
among honored
freshmen at UNCP
{Mgv l).\
Mill Prong
annual event is Sunday
School Board
sets budget
Births 2B
Calendar 3B
Classifieds 7B
Deaths 3 A
Editorials 2 A
Etigagements 2B
Legals 5-6B
Religion 4B
Schools 4-5A
Socials 2B
Sports 6 A
Weddings 2B
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PV!
3-county rampage
kills 1, injures 4
Former Raeford man jailed, accused
of stealing van, mnning over victims
•. ? A
it\
^3ngerous
-
Wanda Pevia. mother of kidnap victim Dana Pevia, displays a story published in Cosmo Girl
magazine, about Dana’s disappearance and abduction from South Hoke.
H'l Vl( lORIANN Si MMI RS
Staff writer
A former I ioke County resident who
rcccntU moved to l•llyettcville allegedly
stole a van, went berserk anddrove acros,s
three counties, running over people and
e\entually killing one.
The 25-\ear old Abdullah El-Amin
Shareef was apparently suffering from
a history of diug use and psychological
complications.
Authorities say he used the vehicle
repeatedly like a battering ram toward
pedestrians. Shareef allegedly left one
Linden man - his third victim ~ to die
under the mangled wreckage of the stolen
van after he struck him with it. Lionel
Bear! Ba.s.s, a .S4-year-old grandfather,
died after apparently being crushed by
the van.
Authorities say Shareef then stole the
victim's pickup truck, wrecking it later
in Fuqiiay-Varina after he rear-ended
a motorist. Prior to the fatality wreck
in Unden. Shareef injured two others
further south in l-’a\etteville and one in
northern Cumberland County with the
va n, wh ich was reported ly stolen from t he
City of Fayetteville. In Fui|uay-Varina,
Shareef allegedly struck his last victim
as he stood in the front yard of his father-
in-law''s home on N.C. 217.
Shareef's ramiiage letl Irom Cum
berland through 1 larnett County to the
Wake County line, where he was linallv
apprehended in Fuquay-Varina. 1 le ran
from authoritiescladonly inaT-shirtand
boxer shorts before they seized him.
Shareef, of Green Street, Raeford,
was charged by the Cumberland County
Slieriff's Office w-ith murder and one
count of attempted murder. He is being
held without bond. No motive is known
for the deadly episode. A not her pend i ng
charge of attempted murder is being
filed against him in I larnett County. He
is currently being evaluated at Dorothea
Dix llo.spital in Raleigh, a facility for
treating mental illnes,ses, where he was
hospitalized immediately following the
incidents.
Shareef had been residing at a half-
(Sce RAMPAGE, page 8A)
SBI probe of jail complete, DA to review report
By Victoriana Summers
Staff writer
The State Bureau of Investigation has
completed its probe into the jailbreak by
four inmates from the Hoke County Jail
on October 28.
'I'he final report, stemming from a tlve-
month investigation and almost 200 hours
of interviews, was recently turned over to
Di.strict Attorney Kristy M. Newton, ac
cording to SBI .supervisor Jerry Weaver.
Newton, with the unoflicial blessings
of the county commissioners, requested a
criminal inquiry be conducted by ttie SBI
last November.
Conflicting reports of how the escipe
actually occurred-either through asmall.
Some board members hoped the prol)c
w'ould show if human error was involved
in the escape, or if other improvements
“Right now, we are having to use a tremendous
amount of overtime for jailers to work double shifts
and deputies to also help staff the jail.
'Chief Delmty Troy MePuffie
back window or rear door of the jail annex
- and overcrowded conditions at the time
of the escape led to the routine request by
the DA’s office. Ttie four escapees were
recaptured shortly afterward.
needed to be made by county oflicials to
prevent further jailbreaks.
“In the preliminary interviews, it did
not appear there was criminal intent on
the part of the staff in I loke’sjail,” Weaver
said. “It was only up to the SBI to gather
the facts surrounding the escape.
“It is now totally up to the District At
torney todetcrmincifany criminal activity
iK’curred based on the information we
presented to her," he said.
“1 lowever, we can definitely say those
inmates did not escape out the narrow
window in the jail annex as was originally
indicated by local law enforcement. We
determined this was not the case after
interviews were conducted.”
Newton said she is still reviewing the
SBI’s report. She declined to comment if
(See JAIL, page 7A)
.11
>.i » H
^4 t f
The Moving Wall, coming here in Sept.
Moving Wall
to be here
for Festival
The Moving Wall, which memorial
izes the dead of the Vietnam War, iscom-
ing to Raeford the week of September
11 to 18, the week of this year’s North
Carolina Tlirkey Festival.
A half-size replica of the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial in Washington,
D.C., the mobile wall is constructed of
aluminum panels and has been traveling
for 20 years to locations that sponsor it.
Hoke County lost seven men in the
Vietnam War. Thev are memoria I ized on
a plaque located in Raeford City Hall.
Since it was first displayed in 1984,
the wall has traveled to N.C. only a few
times, and usually to large cities.
Three Vietnam veterans from Cali
fornia, John Devitt, Gerry Haver, and
(See MOVING WALL, page 3A)
New Food Lion planned
for Davis Bridge area
Bi Vktoriana Summi.rs
Staff writer
A new, multi-million dollar
Food Lion griK'ery store a)mplex
is proposed in the Davis Bridge
area east of Rocklish. A rezoning
application was submitted to the
county yesterday, according to
Hoke Planner Linda Revels.
“This isa wonderful opportunity
for more com mercial development
in Hoke,” Revels said. “It will also
be a convenience to citizens who
reside in that area.”
Pioneered by Fayetteville devel
oper Joe R iddle, president of R iddlc
Commercial Properties in Fayette
ville, the future Food Lion will
represent the second one Riddle
would open in Hoke County. His
first venture, the Food Lion shop-
pingeenterat Hoke Landing on U.S.
401, opened in March to receptive
shoppers from surrounding sub
divisions. Located approximately
eight miles rrorth of Raefirrd across
from East Hoke Middle School,
Hoke LandingalstracarmmcxJates
a Family Dollar Store and Video
Hut in the shopping plaza.
Riddle is requesting the Hoke
Planning Commission and the
board of commissioners rezone
the approximate 28 tract at Davis
Bridge to highway commercial.
Formerly ow tied by Da n Rat Icy, (he
toad fionlage aiea of tlie land on
Davis Bridge Road isalready zoned
neighborhood bu.siness. Riddle
wants permission to rezone also
a residential-agricultural portion
of the tract in the rear to highway
commercial. It would pave the
way for a consistent zoning for the
(See FOOD LION, page 7A)