The
ews
I ournal
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No.44Vol.l06
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, January 11,2012
Sheriff’s office seeks info on burglaries
Homeowners report rash of break-ins in McDougald Downs, other subdivisions in east
A recent armed robbery ana Dec. 30. The robber departed the Residents are asked to feep an area or other suspicious activity can serial numbers and photographs h
A recent armed robbery an
several reported breaking and en
tering cases have officers with the
Hoke County Sheriffs Office asking
the community’s help in catching
criminals.
A reported armed robbery oc
curred at the beauty shop located on
Pilgrim’s Mobile Home Park Drive
Dec. 30. The robber departed the
area with an undetermined amount
of money in a woman’s purse.
Officials are also seeking in
formation about multiple property
crimes in the McDougald Downs
subdivision area. There has been a
rash of crimes in the area in recent
months, the office reported.
Residents are asked to Keep an
eye out for any strange people who
do not live in the area who might
be entering the subdivision and
acting suspiciously. Officials also
asked residents to call if they spot a
person walking around carrying an
item that could potentially be stolen.
Unfamiliar cars driving through the
area or other suspicious activity can
also be reported.
Citizens can additionally help law
enforcement by being aware of any
strange activity in the area, recording
serial numbers of personal items,
taking pictures of items in the home
to help identify any item that may
be stolen and keeping copies of the
serial numbers and photographs in a
safe deposit box or other location for
safekeeping. Keeping track of serial
numbers can help officials return
property to the right owner if it is
stolen and later recovered.
Anyone with information on the
crimes should call the Hoke County
Sheriff’s Office at 875-5115.
The trail is better marked a year after a jogger was shot. Kemp Grumpier hiked the trail Tuesday with his dog, Dundee. (Ken
MacDonald photo)
Trail death investigation complete
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
The United States Army’s Criminal
Investigation Division completed its
probe into last year’s shooting death of a
Fort Bragg captain on the All-American
Trail, a spokesman said Monday.
Capt. Jeremiah Sipes was shot and
killed on New Year’s Day 2011 while
running on the All-American Trail near
Plank Road and King Road. A 911 call
released by Hoke County law enforce
ment officials suggested a hunter may
have shot Sipes by accident.
The C.I.D. finished its investigation
and turned the case over to the US. At
torney’s office. Army spokesman Jeffrey
Castro said.
“I can tell you that the CID
(See INVESTIGATION, page 4A)
Man charged
with posting
pom downtown
A Raeford man was arrested last week for reportedly
posting pornographic material in front of a downtown
grocery store.
Samuel Gaston Williams, 50, of the 100 block of
Harris Avenue was arrested on a charge of disseminat
ing obscene/pornographic material.
Police connected Williams with similar material
found posted in various spots in and around Home Food
Market on Main Street in Raeford over the past year,
according to a report. These same types of pictures
and writings were previously found in McLauchlin
Park at a time when Williams was living near the
park, police reported.
Williams was held under a $5,000 bond.
Wreck kills man
A Raeford man died Friday in an accident on Cal
loway Road that also sent two others to the hospital.
Jerry Keith Harris, 47, of the 100 block of Deaton
Road in Raeford was killed when his 1995 Jaguar hit
a tree about 10:30 p.m. January 6, authorities said.
Passengers Marvin Harris, 45, and Tony Harris, 48,
were also injured in the wreck.
Jerry Harris was driving west on Calloway Road
at the time of the accident. Harris lost control of the
car and ran off the road while going through a curve,
according to the State Highway Patrol. The driver
overcorrected to the left, and the vehicle spun around
and hit a tree, a report stated.
Speed may have been a factor in the wreck, of
ficials said. The Highway Patrol estimated the
(See WRECK, page 3A)
Two dead in fire
Girl Scout
cookies on sale
page IB
Who owns
a hospital?
page3B
Boy Scouts
get recognition
page 3 A
Calendar 2B
Classifieds 5B
Deaths 3A
Editorials 2A
Legals 4B
Sports 5 A
Worship 2B
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Autry in Top Chef top eight
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Autry at work on the set of Top Chef.
A chef with local ties is still in the running for the Top Chef
title on the Bravo network’s popular culinary competition.
Lindsay Autry, granddaughter of Raz and Ireni Autry of
Raeford, is one of the eight remaining competitors on the
“Top Chef: Texas” television show.
Already 21 of the original 29 chefs from across the country
have gone home, leaving Autry and seven others with seven
episodes left in the Season 9 challenge. The Top Chef winner
receives $125,000 and a feature in Food & Wine Magazine,
among other prizes.
Each week the contestants face a different kind of cook
ing challenge. Autry was recently on a team of three chefs
tasked with cooking chicken, pork and beef barbecue, plus
side dishes, for 300 people. Her team’s Asian-style twist on
barbecue won the challenge and a $15,000 prize.
Earlier in the season, Autry won an elimination immu
nity challenge after creating a meal from items provided
in a survival kit. The improvised “club sandwich” made of
(See CHEE, page 4A)
Two people died last week in a mobile home fire
on Heflin Road near the Hoke-Moore County line,
officials said.
The mobile home of Judith Seabolt, 81, and her
daughter Patricia Rogers, 60, caught fire last Wednes
day morning, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office said.
A woman called 911 around 7:30 a.m. and reported
that the kitchen was on fire and she could not get out
of the house. The two bodies found in the home were
sent to Chapel Hill for identification and to determine
the cause of death.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Authorities believe the fire started in the kitchen. The
Moore County Sheriff’s Office and the Moore County
Fire Marshal’s Office is conducting the investigation.
Broken axle sparks fires
Sparks from a broken trailer axle last week started
several brush fires along Calloway Road, Hoke County
officials said.
Richard Lucas of Roseboro was pulling a trailer
behind his 1995 Chevrolet truck Thursday when
something went wrong with one of the trailer ax
les. Part of the axle touched the pavement as Lucas
drove and the contact created sparks. The grass
(See EIRES, page 3A)
Investigation into death of ex-chief’s hancee completed
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
The State Bureau of In
vestigation is done looking
into the death of a former
Raeford policechiefs fiancee,
an agency spokeswoman said
last week.
The SBI turned the case
over to District Attorney
Kristy Newton’s office for re
view. The District Attorney’s
office has not yet released any
further details about the case.
Amanda Graham, 29,
died August 10 of a gunshot
wound to the head, according
to an autopsy report from the
State Medical Examiner’s
Office. At the time of her
death, Graham was engaged
to Kevin Locklear, a former
Raeford police chief and an
officer with the Red Springs
Police Department.
Locklear reported that
he and Graham had argued
at the home they shared on
Covington Avenue the day
Graham died. Graham went
into a bedroom and Locklear
heard two gunshots, accord
ing to statements he made to
police recorded in a sworn
affidavit.
The autopsy report sug
gested that alcohol might have
been a contributing factor in
Graham’s death, and a note
on the report suggested the
gunshot wound might have
been self-inflicted, but offi
cials have not announced any
(See GRAHAM, page 4A)