The
ews
■0 4 8 7 9
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Journal
Hoke County’s newspaper since 1904
75
No. 14 Vol. 114
Raeford & Hoke County n.c.
Wednesday, June 5,2019
Student held without bond for threat
‘I’m shooting the school tmr’ senior allegedly posts to social media
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Jackson
An 18-year-old student who posted
a message on soeial media last week
threatening to shoot people at Hoke
County High School is now in jail
without bond.
“F... all the b... a... teachers I had
to deal with in my school career,” the
message said (profanity redacted).
“I’m shooting the school tmr.”
Deputies arrested Jarell Marquise
Jackson, 18, of the 100 block of
Hollow Lane in Raeford on charges
of communicating a threat of mass
violence on educational property and
making a false report concerning mass
violence on educational property.
Jackson reportedly posted the mes
sage on social media Tuesday, May
28. A student informed a teacher,
who then called school administrators
around midnight to warn them about
the threat. Associate Superintendent
Roger Edwards said. The sheriffs of
fice also learned of the threat and went
to Jackson’s house that night.
Authorities acted quickly to keep
Jackson from returning to campus the
next day.
“They prevented him from being
there, that’s the first thing we wanted
to do,” Edwards said.
Hoke High Principal Dr. Adell
(See THREAT, page 10)
On the way home
A Blue Claws player rounds third base on his way to score a run as a Durham Bulls player yells for the ball during a game Monday night at the
Hoke County Parks and Rec Complex on 21 I. (Photo by Ed Clemente)
Hoke grad
murdered
in Charlotte
A woman
from Hoke
County was
shot and killed
last week in
Charlotte,
according to
authorities.
Monica
Kathleen
Smith, 26, died
Smith
May 25 from gunshot wounds. She
was shot in an apartment in north
Charlotte around 7:30 p.m., accord
ing to law enforcement. Investigators
(See VICTIM, page 10)
CycUst airlifted
after being hit
Emergency responders called in a
helicopter to airlift a bicyclist to the
hospital Sunday after a car struck
him.
David Leon Matthews, 61, of the
200 block of Marquesa Way in Kure
Beach was seriously injured in the
accident, according to authorities.
The wreck happened around 8:18
a.m. Sunday on Arabia Road in
Lumber Bridge.
(See CYCLIST, page 8)
Suspects connected to Allen Thomas home invasion
By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer
Investigators with the Pitt County Sheriff’s
Office have arrested a suspect found carrying a
stolen shotgun belonging to Hoke County Com
missioner Allen Thomas.
Authorities in Pitt County arrested Shyteek
Simon Williams, 21, on multiple charges includ
ing breaking and entering the commissioner’s
apartment in Greenville.
Thomas brandished a shotgun to defend him
self against an apparent home invasion at
the apartment earlier this year. The suspects
fled before police arrived. A few days later,
Thomas returned to the apartment to find
his television and the shotgun missing.
Pitt County deputies arrested Williams
and 22-year-old Shykeem Williams last
month in connection with multiple car
break-ins in the Belvoir community, accord
ing to authorities. During the investigation,
officers located the stolen shotgun.
“They were arrested after breaking into
several cars. Deputies searched their home
where they found my property. They have
ammiff
Hoke High band premiers piece
commissioned by film composer
since confessed to stealing my
things and are still in jail,” Thomas
wrote in a Facebook post late last
month. “Special thanks to Sheriff
Paula Dance along with the GPD for
their work on this ongoing investiga
tion.”
Greenville Police Department
public information officer
(See THOMAS, page 10)
By Diane Adame
Intern
By Ken MacDonald
At the end of October I found myself sitting
at a lunch table with a handful of people I didn’t
know, but there was certainly kinship. We were
among a thousand who had made our way to the
mountains to a get-together of the oddest assort
ment of people ever (and yes, I confess to being
odd). The girl sitting across from me had more
colors in her hair than a bag of Skittles, and
piercings in places that made me cringe. The guy
(See OTHER STUEE, page 5)
The Hoke County High School symphon
ic band premiered its newly commissioned
piece, “The Wilderness” at its spring con
cert Friday at Fayetteville State University’s
Seabrook Auditorium.
“The Wilderness” was written specifi
cally for the school’s symphonic band by
film score composer, Rossano Galante.
Galante has composed music for more than
60 studio films, including “A Quiet Place,”
“The Mummy” and “Logan.”
“It was amazing,” said DeVon Pickett,
Hoke County High School band director. “I
knew they had nailed it and when I looked
at Rossano, he knew they had nailed it.”
In 2017, the band performed Galante’s
piece titled, “Landscapes” at Carnegie Hall.
A few days after this performance, Pickett
posted a video of it on YouTube and caught
Galante’s attention.
“He was like, that’s extremely well for a
high school band to play that,” said Pickett.
Pickett and Galante began talking back
and forth about the band when Galante of
fered to commission a piece for them. How
ever, Galante was booked completing other
commissions for about a year and a half
Pickett decided to contact Galanate again
(See BAND PREMIER, page 8)
Allen Thomas prepares to defend him
self in this clip from his Facebook video.
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