Press Releases

The potential for a sex offender to contact a child through gaming and social media sites like Xbox, Wii, Kik or Snapchat is as real in rural Halifax County as anywhere in the country.  To seek out and prosecute child predators, the Governor’s Crime Commission awarded nine local law enforcement agencies, including the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, a total of $362,000 in grants for equipment and overtime funds. 

The State Highway Patrol responded to a one-vehicle fatal collision on I-40 west near the Jones Sausage Exit.  

Over the past two years, North Carolina has improved 18-spots in Wallet Hub's rankings of the quality of education in all 50 states, breaking through to the top-20 best schools in the country. In 2014, Wallet Hub ranked North Carolina schools 37 out of 50 states plus the District of Columbia. But in newly released rankings for 2016, North Carolina improved to No.

Gov. Pat McCrory announced today that financial assistance is available for survivors of the severe storms and floods that struck the Triangle area ten days ago. On July 16, a summer squall swept across the central part of the state dumping two to nine inches of rain within several hours. Durham and Smithfield reported two inches of rain, while Clayton, Louisburg and Tarboro all received about four inches. The heaviest amounts of rainfall were reported in Cary (5.5 to 7.5 inches) and Rocky Mount (nine inches).

Corrections and law enforcement officers are seeking inmate Jason Strickland, who escaped this morning by leaving a Department of Transportation highway crew working on Old Salisbury Rd. in Wilkes County. He is believed to have been picked up by a female driving a dark colored GMC Jimmy SUV, who then headed south on NC Highway 115.

WHAT:        The North Carolina Boundary Commission was established to coordinate with partners in South Carolina to minimize jurisdictional conflicts caused by the uncertain location of the joint state boundary.  The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the proposed legislation to reduce impacts on those residents and property owners affected by the clarification of the NC-SC state boundary. 

The Granville County Sheriff’s Department and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety are seeking inmate Stephen Hicks #0690465, who escaped from custody today.  After a court appearance in Oxford, Hicks escaped while in transit between the courthouse and the Granville County Detention Center. Hicks, 35, is serving state prison sentences for larceny of motor vehicles and assault and has a future federal prison term of 15 years for a bank robbery committed in Burlington in 2015. 

Escaped inmate Stephen Singleton was captured this evening by New Hanover County sheriff's deputies. Singleton was driving a stolen vehicle and was injured when it crashed.   He escaped early Wednesday morning from New Hanover Correctional Center and had been on the run for six days.

One law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the United States every 61 hours, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. More than 20,000 U.S. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice since 1791. Last year, 123 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty.  

Corrections and law enforcement officers are seeking inmate Stephen Singleton who escaped from New Hanover Correctional Center this morning.  Singleton was discovered missing after a 5 a.m. count and is believed to have scaled a fence to leave the prison. Singleton, 34, was serving sentences for habitual misdemeanor assault and larceny and was due for release in January 2018.  He is from the Wilmington area.