:THE JONES COUNTY
NUMBER 41
TRENTON, N. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1C, 1968 v VOLUME XIX
Charges Made in Albert Jones' Murder j
Wednesday warrants were issued by Jones County Sheriff
Yates against two teen aged Marines, who wore absent
without leave from Camp Lejeune, charging thorn with the
February 6th murder of Jones County ABC Store Manager
Albert J. Jones Jr.
Wednesday night one of the pair, Richard Rodseky, 17, was
arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mont
gomery, Alabama, where he is being held pending extradi
tion.
The other warrant is for Martin David Rochelle, and ho
had not been apprehended early Thursday.
Sheriff Yates says the pair was using a car, stolen in Vir
ginia at the thne they are accused of the brutal robbery and
murdor.
Jones died about four hours after being stabbed and slashed
22 times at about 1:30 p.m. as he worked alone in the county
liquor store on US Highway 17 between Maysville and Pol
locksville.
The store was robbed of $234.35 in cash and three pints of
whisky.
Sheriff Yates says the charges were made on the basis of
"several different kinds of evidence", and he was especially
thankful for the help of the State Bureau of Investigation,
The Criminal Investigation Department at Camp Lejeune
and the FBI in bringing about this early solution of one of
the most brutal crimes in recent Jones County history.
At presstime Thursday it was not known whether Rodseky
would fight extradition to North Carolina, but his return is
considered nothing more than a formality even if he does
resist extradition.
Judge Turns Most Defendants Before
Him Loose; Some Enter Pleas to Clerk
Jones County Recorder’s
Court Judge Joe Becton started
Friday February 9, session by
dismissing two cases. Jasper Roy
-Payton of Route 1 Pollocks
ville had dismissed charges of
driving with a revoked license
and careless driving on grounds
of insufficient evidence, and Ed
ward Moye of 1130 Lincoln
Street in Kinston had dismissed
a charge of non-support.
Chess Roberts of Trenton was
found not guilty of assault on a
female.
Becton gave Corporal Gary
Richard DeSanders of Saginaw,
Michigan, a prayer for judgment
continued on payment of costs
for speeding 75 mph in a 60
mph zone, and the State took
nol prosses with leave in the
cases of Carlton Maurice Stanis
lawski of Havelock charged with
failing to yield right of way and
Zoddie Cunningham Waller of
Deep Run, charged with speed
Smith Not Guilty
Willi* J, Smith of Kinston
route 2 was found not guilty
of passing soveral thousand
dollars worth of bad checks in
recorder's court this week.
Smith's defense was that he was
hospitalized during the period
when his wife and son wrote the
checks on Smith Milling Com
pany to farmers in Lenoir and
Greene counties for corn and
soybeans. Smith said he thought
a check from a grain broker
had been deposited to cover the
purchases and this had not been
done, causing the checks to
bounce
ing 70 in a 60 mph zone.
In the only other case that
came before him in the relative
ly light session, Becton found
Charles Franklin Bryant of
Route 1 Trenton guilty of drunk
en driving and fined him $100
and costs. Bryant gave notice of
appeal to Superior Court and
posted a $200 bond.
Several defendants waived ap
pearance and paid fines and
costs as follows: Joseph Peter
Brazzelle of Jacksonville, John,
Adams Rouse of Seven Springs,
Sergeant Paul Bryan Fulton
Jr. of Camp Lejeune, Sergeant
Robert Glen Benson of Camp
Lejeune and Sergeant Ronald
Laverne Anderson of Camp Le
jeune all forked over $26 apiece
for speeding' 70 in a 60 mph
zone.
Myrtle Foy of Dover paid $26
for not having a driver’s license;
Preston Bryan Mercer of 700
Dixon Street, Kinston paid $13
for illegal passing; and Alvin
Grant of Route 2 Dover paid $13
for driving on the wrong side of
the road.
'GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT' HITS SNAG ON ITS VERY FIRST POLITICAL UNVEILING
By Jack Rider
"The best laid schemes o'
mice and men
Gang aft agley;
An' lea'e us nought but
grief and pain
For promis'd joy."
Among the best laid schemes
of the 1967 session of the North
Carolina Genearal Assembly was
a little legislative subterfuge
called “Numbered Seats.”
Until a collection of judical
nitwits stuck their greasy paw
into the North Carolina politi
cal jampot each county in the
state was allocated at least one
member of the State House of
Representatives, and there were
20 more representatives who
were allocated to the largest
counties in the state.
But along came Earl Warren
and his nine nitwits and an
unconstitutional fiat which esta
blished the ugly principle of
“One-Man-One-Vote”; upsetting
every state legislature in the
land.
This usurpation of power by
the federal judiciary resulted in
multi-county districts, such as
the 9th, which includes Jones,
Greene and Lenoir counties; and
to which’ just two house seats
were allocated.
Jones County had a 1960 popu
lation of 16,741 and Lenoir
County had 55,276 people.
If one assumes, as some ner
vous political Nellies have in the
past week, that everybody in a
given county is going to vote for
candidates for Ms home county,
and against candidates from
other counties it would be logi
cal to assume that any Lenoir
County candidate would be auto
matically elected over any candi
date from either Jones or
Greene counties.
Of course, anyone with a poli
tical memory as long as his nose
should know that voting has
very seldom followed such lines.
John Larkins, for instance, re
mained in the state senate un
til he got old and gray from
Jones County, despite the fact
that Jones was then in a six
county senatorial district which
included such big counties as
Craven, Onslow and Lenoir . . .
At a higher level of politics
Carl Durham held a seat in con
gress for as long as he desired
—retired undefeated, although
he was from Orange County—
population 42,970 and the other
munties of his congressional dis
trict were Alamance (85,674),
Durham (111,995) and Guilford
246,520); which seems to indi
site that voters surely have a
endency to vote across county
ines on such things as legis
ative seats at both the state and
fational levels...
Judge Paul Frizzelle served
intil retirement from small
Jreene County—beating Dick
hindy badly from big Pitt
tounty.
And of course, there, are many
sore examples of this, but sup
torters of Greene Countain Joe
lorton are taking a very pessi- 1
rustic attitude in veiw of the '
act that there are two Lenoir
Jounty candidates for these
■
"Numbered Seats” that are to be
voted on this spring.
Incumbent Guy Elliott of Kins
ton filed for Seat No. 1 and
Lenoir County Commissioners
Dan Lilley last week filed for
seat No. 2.
Under this ..subterfuge that
was sneaked through in the clos
ing days of the last session of
the general assembly the
“Gentlemen’s Agreement” was
that Lenoir County would have
Seat No. 1 and the other seat
(would be alternated between
Jones and Greene Counties . .
Under this clearly unconstitu
tional law Elliott wil not be run
ning against Lilley, and visa ver
sa.
Horton says he had visited in
Jones County and “they” had
told him that there was nobody
down there who wanted to run
for the house; so he decided to
make the sacrifice and serve a
fourth term, but now he is de
bating whether it is worth the
effort to make the race against
either of the “Big County” candi
dates who have filed so far.
Horton is more philsophical
about the situation than some of
his bitter buddies, who have
threatened an economic boy
iott against Lenoir County be
cause it is their view that Len
>ir County is trying to “hog
Sverthing.”
More of these amorphous
‘theys” point out that Greene
bounty had agreed to support
he choices of the Lenoir County
md Wayne County lawyer asso
aations for the four juicy judi
li
Drunken Dare Results in Drowning in
Trent River Friday at Quaker Bridae
1
A mid-winter swimming frolic
ended in tragedy at Quaker
Bridge in the icy water of Trent
River four miles west of Pol
locksville last Friday, when a 27
year-old Negro man drowned
while trying to retrieve his hat
from the water after having
saved the life of his younger
brother.
According to an eyewitness,
Alonza Ward, the three men
were riding along in the vicinify
of the old Oak Grove Air Base
whdn'Ernest Odell Moore told
Ms brother Willie Moore of
Route 1 Pollocksville that he
would jump into Trent River if
Willie would stop the car. Ward
admitted the three had been
drinking.
Willie stopped the car and
Ernest jumped in and began
floundering in the near-freez
ing deep water. Willie then
jumped in also and managed to
pull Ernest out of the river but
lost his hat in the process.
When he entered the water
the second time, the elder Moore
went under and did not come
back up, Ward said. A stopped
watch on the dead man’s wrist
indicated the time of death as
ipproximately 3:20 p.m. Ward
said that both brothers were
known swimmers.
Efforts to recover the body
ivere led by Gene Benton, James
Albert Hewitt and R. E. Hewitt
if Ocean Isle Development Com
pany operating out of Shallotte
lyho were in the area in connec
tion with the Trent River Snag
png and Clearing project. Jones
Sheriff W. B. Yates, Highway Pa
trolmen C. W. Oakley and R. R.
Mason as well as the Craven
County Rescue Squad were in at
tendance.
The body was pulled up about
10 yards downstream from
where Ward said Moore went
under after an hour of drag
ging the bottom with grapples
from a large motorboat.
Jones County Coroner Dr. G.
W. Davenport ruled “accidental
drowning” and said that the two
submersions in the chilly wa
ters probably were enough to
send Moore’s car dio-vascular
system into a state of shock.
Moore was also heavily clothed,
wearing two pairs of pants and
combat boots.
Cigaret Thieves Get $3370 Worth in
Weekend Raid on Kinston Wholesaler
ThtPVPQ whn tnro thrmiffh on l*r 1
adjoining wall hauled off $3370.
80 worth of cigarets from Kin
ston Wholesale Company at the
corner of Grainger and Miner
va Saturday night.
This is the first time Kin
ston has been hit by organized
cigaret thieves who are thought
to be operating out of New York
City, where city and state cigaret
taxes have attracted the eye of
the big time syndicate which
has now moved into this activity,
Wilbur Metts of Route 2 Tren
ton was charged with assault
with a deadly weapon, but the
charge was withdrawn and costs
paid by the prosecuting witness.
This thievery took place Sat
urday night and on Sunday night
Policeman Durwood Smith
caught Jacob Newsome of 808
Chestnut Street climbing
through a skylight of C. W. How
ard’s Wholesale house on Gor
don Street.
Newsome was alone and was
charged ' "With breaking and en
tering and possession of burg
lary tools.
Police do not feel there is any
connection between the two
wholesale grocery break-ins;
feeling that the successful job
was a professional out-of-state
operation and Newsome's effort
was both amateurish a.'d local.
cial political plums, but “they”
didn’t take into fair consider
ation that they had a home
town boy in the person of James
Taylor, who decided that he’d
like to have one of those $15,000
plums. As it stands now there
are six candidates for these four
judgeships: Two lawyers from
tVayne County, two lawyers
:rom Lenoir County, one-law-1
rer from Lenoir County and one I
ion-lawyer from Greene County.
This week Horton is caught
n a crossfire, to which he was
i party, since he was one of
hose small-county legislators
vho supported the “Numbered
leat” subterfuge.
Horton says he can run a
ainst either Elliott or Lilley for
house seat, against Charlie
,arkins Jr. for the senate vacat
d by Tom White, or simply re
ire from the general assembly
nd do a little lawyering and
irming.
Of course, it hardly makes
jnse for Horton, or his associat
s to allege and aver that they
innot possibly beat Lilley be
luse he is from hoggish, big
enoir County, but he can beat
arkins who was born and :
Jared in big Lenoir, while i
illey is a Lenoir Countain by ’
mice, having started out over i
Little Martin County. ]
Every politician enjoys being :
lopposed. If there is a politi- i
il heaven; that is it, but is an 1
iysian Field very few ever 1
iach. ' !
Among the political facts of <
:e that Horton, and his bitter
i buddies are overlooking is that
Lilley is not automatically elect
ed merely because he paid his
filing fee and lives in Lenoir
County.
Lilley has been a most out
spoken county commissioner. He
has rubbed a lot of Lenoir Coun
tians the wrong way, but he is
not the kind of fellow who is
trying to dodge a fight. His
political reasoning was simple,
in this instance: He preferred
to run against any candidate
who might file over Incumbent
Elliott who had already filed for
Seat No. 1.
This is recognition of the es
teem in which Elliott is held;
an elder statesman, who served
longer than anyother man as
Mayor of Kinston, and has held
numerous other political posts
in his long career.
And it ought not to be over
looked; that Greene County has
two candidates for the house
— presuming that Horton de
cides to run. Arnold “Red” Tin
men is a candidate for the Re
publican nomination for Set No.
1.
Under normal circumstances
i Republican candidate for any
hing in these three counties
vould have about the same
ihance as that proverbial snow
>all in hell, but normal circum
itances do not prevail this year,
ind it is most likely that with
he continued bloodletting in
Vietnam and another riotous
ummer predicted in our own
»untry anything that walks,
(Continued on page 8)