MARBLE
Man enters guilty pleas
A Cherokee County man will spend more than a decade in prison after admitting to five criminal charges, including breaking and entering, trafficking and possessing illegal drugs.
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said Marble resident Travis Timpson, 41, pleaded guilty last month in Cherokee County Superior Court to second-degree burglary, breaking and entering, possess schedule II controlled substance, conspiracy to sell and deliver and Level E trafficking.
Conviction for drug trafficking in North Carolina ensures some of the harshest penalties of any crime in the state. A mandatory-minimum sentence is determined based on drug type and drug weight.
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Bill Coward handed down the requisite sentence of 90 months and ordered Timpson pay a $100,000 fine. He credited Timpson with 470 days pre-trial confinement.
The trafficking and burglary charges were consolidated for sentencing, as were the charges of possession, conspiracy to sell and deliver and breaking and entering. The latter carried an active sentence to be served consecutively to the first sentence.
CHEROKEE COUNTY
New scam via phone
A local resident called the Cherokee Scout on Thursday to report that he was the intended victim of a telephone scam targeting Social Security account numbers.
The resident wanted to remind local residents to never give out your bank account, credit card and Social Security information to anyone over the phone claiming there is a problem with your account. Social Security may call you in some situations, according to the administration’s website, but real government employees will never:
- threaten you;
- suspend your Social Security number;
- demand immediate payment from you;
- require payment by cash, gift card, pre-paid debit card, internet currency or wire transfer;
- ask for gift card numbers over the phone or to wire or mail cash.
RALEIGH
Police reform bills are law
Gov. Roy Cooper signed a series of law enforcement reform legislation into law Sept. 2. Senate Bill 300 makes resisting arrest while causing serious injury to an officer a felony and increases police oversight, while two other pieces of legislation Cooper signed also call for police reforms.
Cooper and legislative leaders vowed to make changes to the justice system after summer protests in 2020. National civil unrest erupted on Memorial Day Weekend last year and continued through the summer in response to the police killing of black Americans. As a result, Cooper and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) launched task forces to develop law enforcement and criminal justice reforms. Lawmakers put forward the pieces of legislation.
House Bill 436 and SB 300 require new mental health and wellness training and psychological screenings for law enforcement officers. With the signing of HB 436, officers will be educated on maintaining good mental health and mental health resources. The state also will launch a study on the benefits of physical fitness testing of officers.
SB 300 goes further by requiring FBI criminal background checks for officers. It also creates an "early warning" system to track and document use-of-force incidents. Officials would be required to create a public database of officers facing suspensions and revocations.
Starting on Jan. 1, immediate family members will be able to see video footage within three business days after a serious police incident that results in death or serious injury after a request to the courts. Lawmakers pushed for the change after the case of Andrew Brown Jr., a black man killed in April by Pasquotank County deputies. Officials stalled the release of the body-camera footage, amplifying outrage over the incident.
House Bill 536 requires law enforcement officers to intervene and report excessive use of force by other officers. It also requires every officer applying for certification or a transfer to be screened through the National Decertification Index.
From staff and The Center Square reports.