Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Dec. 22, 1994, edition 1 / Page 2
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I Cummings Gets Death Penally I STAFF FHOTO BY EMC CAKLSON PROSECUTOR Lee Bollinger (left) questions a witness during the first-degree murder trial of Daniel Cummings (far right). Seated between them are Brunswick County Sheriff's Detective Tom Hunter and defense attorney William Fairley. (Continued From Page 1-A) morning, I stole a van. I knocked a window out and took it." Then Bollinger reminded jurors of the first words Cummings made in his statement about killing Babson two days later: "On Wednesday morning I stole a white van. ..On Friday 1 went driving in an area about 20 to 30 miles from Wilmington. I drove around and scoped (checked out) several stores to rob. This was in the Ash, N.C., area." Bollinger said he feels the introduction of evidence about the earlier murder will not cause the death penal ty verdict to be overturned. He said appeals courts have ruled that juries may consider such evidence dur ing sentencing when it demonstrates that the defendant committed both killings during a "single course of conduct." Although no evidence was presented on Cummings' behalf during the trial, several witnesses testified for the defense during the sentencing hearing. The defendant's 8-year-old son Daniel Richards Cummings described playing baseball with his father and told how the two of them traveled together to the mountains and to Florida. Psychologist John Warren testified that Cummings has a below average IQ and said he was suffering from acute cocaine intoxication during his alleged murder spree. Warren said Cummings was not a violent person when he wasn't under the influence of crack cocaine. Michael Ramos, who defended Cummings along with William Fairley, pleaded with the jury to impose the lesser sentence of life imprisonment. But he said afterwards that the death penalty decision did not come as a surprise. "The prosecution had a good case with those state ments. That's why we argued so strenuously to keep them out," Ramos said. "Plus there was the evidence of another killing. And both the victims were elderly. That's a tough combination to beat." Cummings also received a 4<)-ycar prison sentence for the armed robbery conviction. He was sentenced to 10 years on the assault charge. Commissioners Name Health Board Doctor, Schools' Liaison Committee BY ERIC CARLSON After operating for nine months without a one, the Brunswick County Board of Health will again have a physician in its membership after Dr. Samuel Kiitley of Shallotte was appointed to the post during the first regu lar meeting of the newly elected board of commissioners Monday night. At the suggestion of Commissioner Leslie Collier, the board also formed a new committee charged with im proving relations between the county board and the Brunswick County Board of Education. The new "Board of Commissioners/Board of Education Liaison Committee" was created "for the pur pose of establishing and maintaining a year-round open line of communication, to help establish common coun ty-wide educational goals and exploring and identifying the means of meeting those goals in a cooperative man ner, " Collier said in her motion to form the group. Collier will represent the county on the new board along with Commissioner Bill Sue and County Manager Wyman Yelton. The school board was directed to select three of its members to sit on the panel. The new health board member, Dr. Kirtley, is a prac ticing partner at the Express Care family physicians' of fice on U.S. 17 near Grissettown. He will fill the unex pired term of Dr. Harry Johnson, who resigned from the board of health in March. Sue also was named to the health board as the county commissioners' representative on the 11 -member panel, which sets policy and oversees operations at the Brunswick. County Health Department. Shallotte phar- . macist Joey Galloway, who has served on the board sincc 1991, was reappointed to his seat. The three health board appointments were among a number of nominations to local boards and committees approved by the commissioners Monday. All choices re ceived unanimous votes. At the suggestion of Commissioner Douglas Sim mons, Alcoholic Beverages Control Board Chairman John Ramsey was named to a second term. Shirley Babson, chairman of the Brunswick County Republican Party, was appointed to The Brunswick Hospital board after being nominated by Republican Commissioner Chairman Jerry Jones. The board approved Collier's nomination of Cath erine Gates for a second three-year term on the Aging Advisory Board. Six current members of the Utilities Advisory Board were returned to their posts, including Commissioner Tom Rabon. Also renamed were Chairman A1 Morrison, nominated by Simmons; William Browning, suggested by Sue; Wallace Slack, named by Commissioner Tom Rabon; and Rudolph Simmons, nominated by Jones. Hill Making Way In GOP-Dominated House (Continued From Page 1-A) "The governor's veto will hap pen," he predicted confidently, "and the intangibles tax will go away. We've got the money to cover (the loss of revenues to local govern ments) it this first time. For the fu ture we'll have to sil down and work out something with the municipali ties. Las: time we could never get it out of committee." No more of that. One of the rules Hill says the House will adopt and the Senate most likely will adopt, is a means for making sure bills are addressed, rather than buried in committee. Last summer Hill became frus trated when his proposed amend ment to a dangerous dog bill adopt ed three years ago passed the House, but languished in a Senate commit tee. That committee's chairman. Sen. Frank Ballance Jr., never brought the issue before the panel, said Hill. "The rules in the House this time will provide that if you can't get a bill addressed with a vote of a ma jority plus one, you can pull it out and take it to the floor directly. I be lieve a committee has a responsibili ty to pass or kill a bill." As part of an effort to increase productivity and efficiency. House members will be fitting two commit tee meetings and one session into their workdays. This is expected to shorten the length of the session while getting more work done. "We're going to try to get more work done in the early part of the week than the middle or the end," said Hill. "We're going to have a "In November voters told us they're tired of things as usual We have to go up there and go to work and that's what I intend to do. " ? Rep. Dewey Hill working agenda so we won't waste time up there." Last session 20 percent of all bills, including a majority of the ma jor bills, were passed in the closing days of an extended session. Hill said he didn't like that legislators ? in the haste to adjourn ? didn't have a chance to study them first. That is a practice he doesn't expect to see repeated. Republicans will sit on one side of the aisle and Democrats on the other, instead of majority party members at the front and minority at the rear, he said. While Republicans will chair all House committees, Hill expects some Democrats to serve as vice chairmen. "The Republicans aren't going to try to fight, but to get some work done," he said, with the focus on re sults, not partisanship. "In Nov ember voters told us they're tired of things as usual. We have to go up there and go to work and that's what I intend to do." The House majority leader has asked Hill to think about what com mittee assignments he wants; ap pointments will be made in January just before the session begins, Hill said. "Hopefully I will be assigned the committees I request." Hill expects to again focus his ef forts on economic development and education, and also looking hard at state government. "I'm a Democrat but I'm also working on downsizing government," he said. "New taxes are going to be a thing of the past." Hill supports all 10 points of the Republican House members' "con tract" with North Carolina, but doubts they can all be accomplished in the upcoming session, especially tax rebates. "There's only $224 million avail able for the budget and that is not going to go very far," he said. "We've got our work cut out for us." AT HQLDEN BEACH BRING HOME THEAKACON On Sal* At ALAN H OLDEN REALTY BARN RESTAURANT BEACH MART CAMP GROUND BY THE SEA CAPTAIN PETE'S GENERAL STORE GINNVS CHICKEN HOUSE HOLDEN BEACH PIER INDEPENDENT SEAFOOD JEFF'S GROCERY THE BOOKWORM ROBINSON'S HARDWARE SKY MART EXXON SPAN MART Police: 'No Concrete Leads' In Shallotte Armed Robbery BY DOUG RUTTER Shallotte Police "don't have any concrete leads" in their investigation of the Dec. 13 armed robbery of the Subway sandwich shop. Chief Rodney Gause said Tuesday. A restaurant employee told police that a ma" currying a guii ap proached him behind the building, forced him inside and stole an undis closed amount of money last Tuesday around 11:15 p.m. It was the second robbery at Ttoin Creek Plaza in two months, and po lice believe the person who robbed Subway may be the same one who robbed the Pic 'N Pay shoe store Oct. 18. "We did pick up a suspect this weekend, but it's not going to be him," Gause said Tuesday. "There wasn't much evidence. Right now we're just talking to people and ask ing if anyone saw anything." Gause said the only employee working at Subway at the time of the robbery was unharmed. "The employee was taking the trash out," Gause said. "He was go ing to the dumpster (behind the building) with a bag in his hand. The guy came up behind him and put a gun to his head." The robber forced the employee back inside the store. They went to the cash register, but it was empty. The employee told the robber there was money was in the freezer. The two went to the freezer, the rab bet gui the money and left ihc em ployee inside the freezer, Gause said. The robber fled the store on foot out the back door. Gause said the robber took "a small amount of money." Gause said the employee waited a minute or two before coming out of the freezer, which could be opened from the inside. The robber had bro ken the cords on both telephones in side the restaurant, so the employee used a nearby pay phone to call 911. The robber was described as a black man, approximately 5-f>x>t-7 and 140 pounds, and between 25 and 30 years old. He was wearing blue jeans, a white sweatshirt and dark-colored hat. Based on the employee's descrip tion, Gause said police believe the man was carrying an automatic hand gun. Gause said last week's robbery at Subway has changed his impression of the Pic 'N Pay robbery. "The first time I thought it might have been just someone passing by who decided to rob Pic 'N Pay," Gause said. "Now I'm thinking it's going to be somebody close by." Gause saki iic illiiilu iiiC Same person may have committed both crimes, although descriptions of the robber in each case do not match. The Pic 'N Pay robber was de scribed as a black man in his mid 405, about 6 feet tall, 160 to 17S pounds with medium-length hair. "The only difference was the height, and one of them (witnesses^ could have been wrong on the height." Gause said. "I'm thinking it's the same person that robbed Pic 'N Pay." In both cases, Gause said the method of operation was similar and the robber wore a bandanna over his face. Pic 'N Pay was robbed Oct 18 around 7:15 p.m. A clerk told police the robbersaid he had a weapon in his right pocket, but he did not show a weapon. The thief also fled on foot. Request For Deputies Deferred (Continued From Page 1-A) According to the N.C Institute of Government, the Columbus County Sheriff's Department employed 53 people in 1994, while 72 employees appeared on the BCSD payroll. Brunswick County has a land area of 861 square miles and a population estimated to be 57,249. Columbus County covers 938 square miles and has an estimated population of 49,402. Bladen County, with a land area of 879 square miles and a population of 28,225. has 39 sheriff's depart ment employees. Robeson County covers 949 square miles, has a popu lation of 107,661 and employs 115 in its sheriff's department. "I've talked with a lot of people about the crime problem in Bruns wick County ? professional people who say we don't have enough deputies." said Commissioner Bill Sue. "I'm going to make a motion that wc approve his request and put itony'alL" , . The board voted 4-to-l against hiring the deputies Monday night. They asked Hcwett to provide them with more information before their next meeting, when the request will be considered again In other business the board: ? Tabled review of a new cable television franchise agreement at the request of county planning Director Wade Home, who recommended "an in-depth study" of new regula tions affecting cable service. He said Atlantic Telephone and Cable Vision, the companies serving most of Brunswick County, have not paid any franchise fees to the county in the past IS yeatv The two franchise ordinances are scheduled for renew al April 21. ? Heard a report from Financc Officer Uthia Hahn. who assured the board that Brunswick County has no investments similar to those which plummeted in value recently and causcd Orange County. Cali fornia. to dcclarc bankruptcy. Hiring Practices Not Biased, Sheriff Replies To Charaes (Continued From Page 1-A) claims. Detective Lt. Donnell Mar low, who is black, remains a detec tive with the department and was promoted to a supervisory position when Hewett took office. The press release says "there arc currently no Afro-American certi fied deputies and thus no deputies on patrol." Of the department's 73 employees, 1 1 arc black. Hewett said several blacks are patrol deputies, including Sgt. Jerry Smith and the recently promoted Sgt. Brian Sanders. Both are shift supervisors. Hewett is accused of transferring black officers to "less desirable jail positions," an apparent reference to the reassignment of former Detective Larry Joyner to duty as a jail transport officer. Joyner retains his former salary in the post and now qualifies for over time pay, the sheriff said. Another black deputy, Lee Hewett, was pro moted by Hewett from jailer to pa This newspaper is printed on recycled THE BWJNSWKXfcKACON THE BRUNSWKKAKACON Established Nov. 1, 1962 Telephone 754-6890 Published Every Thursday At 4709 Main Street Shallotte, N.C. 28459 SUBSCRIPTION RATES IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY One Yen $10.36 Six Months $5.55 ELSEWHERE IN NORTH CAROLINA One Year $14.86 Six Months $7.90 ELSEWHERE IN U.SA. One Year $15.95 Six Months $8.35 Second class postage paid at Shallotte, N.C. 28459. USPS 777 780. Postmaster, send address changes to: P.O. Box 2558, Shallotte, N.C. 28459-2558 trol deputy. The release also accuses Sheriff He well of failing to provide positive black role models for young people. He noted that a black deputy is as signed to crime prevention duty at North Brunswick High School. Hewett said he has been unable to find a black female applicant who has completed basic law enforce ment training. To avoid lengthy on the-job training, Hewett said he has been hiring only applicants who have already passed the stale's po lice certification tests. "Race relations arc very impor tant to us," Hewett said. "Everyone will be treated fairly regardless of race, color or creed." The concerned citizens press con ference wass scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the office of Dr. Saunders on Beach Drive in Calabash. ? Agreed to appoint Home to be acting county manager whenever County Manager Wyman Yclton is absent. Yclton said he is scheduled to undergo surgery later this month and requested that someone be named to stand in for him while he is away. ? Authorized the county cafeteria to continue operating at least until the next fiscal year budget is pre pared Commissioners were told that the food service operation is no longer losing money and has begun to make a slight profit. The board re quested monthly reports on cafeteria finances. ? Recognized John Harvey, for mer planning director, with a com memorative plaque for his long ser vice to Brunswick County. Harvey retired last month. White Christmas? Not Very Likely fhe prospects of a white Christ mas in Brunswick County arc slim and none, and slim is vacationing this week in Florida. Shallottc Point weather watcher Jacksor. Csnsdy is predicting ae?f normal temperatures and above-av erage precipitation over the next week. But it's not likely any of the precipitation will be in the form of snow. "If you go by the meteorological data probably not. But there's al ways hope." Canady said Tuesday The forecast is for temperatures to range from the upper 30s at night to the upper 50s during the day. Canady said he expects at least three-quarters of an inch of rainfall over the next week. For the period Dec. 13-19, Can ady recorded 1.13 inches of rain and a daily average temperature of 51 degrees, which is about 3 degrees above average. Canady measured a daily average high of 57 degrees and an average nightly low of 45 degrees. The max imum high temperature was 61 de grees on Saturday and the minimum low reading was 35 degrees on Monday. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE BRUNSWICK&EACON POST OFFICE BOX 2558 SHALLOTTE, NORTH CAROUNA 28459 \NOTICE Reliable or consistent delivery cannot :>e \guaranteed since this newspaper must rely on the U S \Postal Service lor delivery iVe can only guarantee that your newspaper will be submitted to the post Office in Shallotte on Wednesday of the week of publication in time for dispatch to out-of-town addresses that day ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: Sr.CWfaen In Brunswick County 06.30 05.30 N.C. Sales Tax .38 .32 Postage Charge 3.68 3.68 TOTAL 10.36 9.30 Elsewhere in North Carolina 06.30 05.30 N.C. Sales Tax .38 .32 Postage Charge 8.18 8.18 TOTAL UM liLflfi Outside North Carolina Q6.30 05.30 Postage Charge fl.fifi Q fifi TOTAL 15.95 14.96 Complete Arid Return To Above Address Name Address City, State
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Dec. 22, 1994, edition 1
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