ERO
1******CAR-RT LOT**C 001 A0027
i.i|iii|.i|.i 1 ..i|ii|'||lhlll'lil l,l ll"Ti l, ii'i li ii
PERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110W ACADEMY ST
HERTFORD NC 27944-1306
The go-to source
for all events in
the place we all
call home.
Have a community
event you would
like to post?
Visit dailyadvance.com/events
"News from Next Door" WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018 75 cents
Bail set at $10 million for shooting suspect
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
The Perquimans County Sher
iffs Office arrested a 26-year-old
Hertford man Thursday afternoon
for a shooting in Snug Harbor on
Jan. 26
Kevon Hunter of Brace Street
was arrested in the Wynne Fork
Housing Development and taken
to Albemarle District Jail on a
bond of $10 million.
HUNTER
Sheriff Shelby
White said in his
18 years of law
enforcement,
he’s never seen
a bond set that
high.
“I’ve seen
some who were
given no bond,
but those are
usually in murder cases.”
Hunter is charged with the at
tempted first-degree murder of
TYavonte Madison, 23, of Chestnut
Street.
White said Madison was airlift
ed to a hospital, but would not say
which one. He believes that rob-
bery may have been a motive.
There were two children in
the Madison home when the
shooting happened and Hunter
is charged with two counts of
kidnapping in the second de
gree and one count of assault on
a child under 12. The children
weren’t actually taken from the
home, White said.
“Anytime you keep somebody
from leaving, that can be consid
ered kidnapping. He didn’t tie her
up or anything.”
Hunter was also charged with
possession of a firearm by a felon
and robbery with a dangerous
weapon.
White said he’d arrested Hunter
a few days after Hunter had turned
16 on cocaine charges.
Some of the previous convic
tions include assault on a govern
ment official, felony possession of
Schedule II controlled substance,
resisting a public officer, assault
with serious bodily injury and as
sault with a deadly weapon.
His court days stretch from
2008 through 2014.
Hunter was scheduled to make
his first appearance in court to
day.
Prison
officials :
suspended
Library Move Underway
BY JON HAWLEY
The Daily Advance
The two top administra
tors at Pasquotank Correc
tional Institution have been
suspended following release
of a report showing security
failures at the prison in the
days after last year’s deadly
escape attempt by four in
mates.
N.C. Department of Pub
lic Safety spokesman Jerry
Higgins confirmed Wednes
day that Director of Prisons
Kenneth Lassiter placed PCI
Administrator Felix Taylor
and PCI Assistant Admin
istrator Colbert Respass on
investigatory leave with pay.
DPS continues a non-crimi-
nal investigation into PCI,
Higgins noted.
Dennis Daniels, of Maury
Correctional Institution in
Hookerton, is serving as in
terim administrator while
Taylor and Respass are on
leave, Higgins said. Daniels
has worked in the correc
tional system since 1980,
and worked at PCI for sev
eral years before starting at
MCI in Januaiy 2011, Hig
gins said. No one has been
appointed to replace Res
pass, Higgins added.
Higgins declined to say
why Taylor and Respass
were put on leave, but noted
Lassiter’s decision followed
the release of a National In
stitute of Corrections report
on safety and security con
ditions at PCI.
In that report, prison ex
perts detailed numerous
deficiencies at PCI roughly
a month after four inmates’
EXCEL
RAL
STAFF PHOTO
BY PETER WILLIAMS
A worker restacks
books on a shelf
in their new home
at the Perquimans
County Library on
Church Street last
week. Officials
hope it will be
open to the public
before the end
of the month.
Right, a worker
uses shrink wrap
to secure books
on a rolling shelf
so they can be
moved to the new
library last week.
See PRISON, 2
Town
Council
member
arrested
BY PETER WILLIAMS
AND BILL WEST
Staff Writers
Hertford Town Councilman
Quentin Jackson was arrested by
a town policeman on Thursday.
A heavily re
dacted police
report shows
that Detec
tive A.J. Awad
charged Jack
son with ficti
tious tags as
well as resist ¬
ing, delaying JACKSON
or obstructing
an officer. The arrest happened
near the intersection of Edenton
Road Street and King Street.
The entire narrative part of the
arrest report was blacked out in
the report the town released.
That would have included the
officer’s information on how the
arrest happened and what went
on.
Jackson spoke of the arrest
in an interview with The Daily
Advance on Saturday. However
Hertford Town Manager Bran
don Shoaf said there are no plans
at this time to release the entire
report.
“We will not release anything
further at this time,” Shoaf said.
“I have opened an internal inves
tigation to look into Mr. Jackson’s
concerns.”
Jackson, 32, was elected to
See JACKSON, 2
SUBMITTED PHOTO
An aerial photo shows the Amtrak train that hit a freight train
in South Carolina on Sunday.
Superintendent survives train wreck
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Perquimans County Schools Su
perintendent Matthew Cheeseman
and his family were aboard the Am
trak train that crashed Sunday in
South Carolina, killing two people
and injuring more than 100.
On Monday Cheeseman said he
was sore and bruised, but grateful.
“Our injuries don’t compare to
what other people suffered,” Chee
seman said.
He and his wife and young daugh
ter were traveling to see family in
Florida. Last weekend’s trip was
only his second
aboard an Amtrak
train. The first one
was in November.
“Our family
doesn’t like to fly
and when you take
an overnight train
you can sleep and
CHEESEMAN when you wake up
you’re at your des
tination,” he said.
They boarded the passenger train
in Rocky Mount Saturday night.
“At 2:30 am., the whole world
changed,” he said. “We were thrown
across the room and were awak
ened to loud sounds and metal mov
ing.”
He was next to his 9-year-old
daughter who was asleep. When he
felt the jolt, he grabbed her and held
her tight.
“I held her as close to me as pos
sible,” he said. “I think I squeezed
the air out of her.”
When the train stopped they ex
ited their side of the train into the
darkness.
“It was pitch dark. There was a lit
tle overhead fight from street lights
and of course we saw helicopters
See WRECK, 2
Schools assist special needs kids
BY PETER WILLIAMS
News Editor
Some Perquimans Coun
ty teachers and staff spent
time last week learning
more about Braille and how
they can help students who
6 89076 47144 2
have visual issues.
Perquimans Central
School has two students
who are blind. The school
system is reaching out to
families of students with
special needs to let them
know the schools can help,
said Exceptional Children’s
Director Kanika Griffin.
“Some parents may be re
luctant to bring a child with
special needs to school, but
we want them to know we
have the resources,” Griffin
said. “We are trying to edu
cate our teachers to every
aspect of a disability. You
don’t want to focus on what
you can’t do, but the abili
ties they do have.”
Susan Jordan, a 20-year
veteran teacher, said the
session last week was good.
“I enjoyed it,” she said.
“I’ve been doing some online
See SCHOOLS, 2
STAFF PHOTO BY
PETER WILLIAMS
Megan
Griffin (left)
watches
while Carole
Sykes uses
a Braille
Writer last
week during
training
at the
Perquimans
County
Schools
Central
Office.