Top Charlotte Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
Theresa McClung is nine years older than she was the day her life changed forever. But with each passing day, her search for answers has gained strength.
"It's just something that doesn't go away," said McClung, speaking about the murder of her father, Charles Hanley.
Hanley, 75-years-old, was found stabbed to death inside his home near Mineral Springs in 2003. He was a World War II veteran and a longtime volunteer firefighter.
"He was very, very giving and caring," said McClung. She recounted to Eyewitness News the horror of finding her father's body the day he was murdered.
Police arrested Thomas Kennedy, a co-worker of Hanley's at a nearby paving company. He was convicted and received an 18-year prison sentence as part of a plea deal.
Kennedy's sentence was frustrating to McClung. But even tougher to swallow is the reality that Jose Miranda, the man who allegedly helped Kennedy kill her father, has never been caught.
"You can't put this in your past when you know he's out living his life and your father has lost his life," McClung said. "You just want justice to be served."
McClung has fought for that justice in the nine years since her father's death. She has put up nearly half of the $11,000 being offered as reward money in the case. This past weekend, her father's case was profiled by the TV show, "America's Most Wanted," after years of McClung writing to the show.
McClung told us that she's hoping someone knows the whereabouts of Jose Miranda and reports it to authorities.
"I really wish they’d come forward. Any information leading to an arrest, I'd be grateful for," said McClung.
If you have any information on this case, call police or Crime Stoppers.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:00:40 -0500
An increase in oil prices in Europe has driven gas prices up 12-cents in the last two weeks.
A new Lundberg survey found the average price of regular gasoline rose to $3.51 a gallon.
In Charlotte, however, we found stations selling gas from $3.58 to $3.64 a gallon on the same block of West Sugar Creek road.
Lundberg blames reduced production of crude oil in the North Sea and tensions in Iran.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:20:45 -0500
The U.S. government is currently considering the use of social media to aid them in predicting crime.
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are looking for new software that will scan posts on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.
They hope the data will help them anticipate everything from terrorist attacks to foreign uprisings.
The idea of the government scanning social media pages is already raising concerns about privacy.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:06:03 -0500
Tyler Lowe was arrested Sunday after police say he caused a deadly wreck in Ballantyne on Friday.
Lowe faces involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving charges.
A witness said Lowe floored it when the light turned red, swerved around two stopped cars and ran the light at Johnston road and Providence road west.
Investigators say Lowe t-boned the victim’s car driven by Alan Shuart.
Shuart died at the scene.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:32:32 -0500
A plane leaving Charlotte and heading to Atlanta had to turn around and make an emergency landing at Charlotte-Douglas International airport.
The crew heard a loud and unsettling noise. As a precaution, they decided to turn the plane around and return to the airport.
U.S. Airways confirmed that there were 44 passengers and three crew members on board.
The plane departed at 2:28 p.m. and landed back in Charlotte at 3:32 p.m. Passengers on the plane were placed on different flights.
There were no injuries reported.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:49:31 -0500
Lindora Richardson, the bus driver who saved six children from a burning bus, will be honored Monday morning by the Chief of Charlotte's fire department.
The students who escaped the fire will also be recognized at the ceremony.
Richardson was able to evacuate the bus and lead the children to safety.
"I feel like the kids were heroes," Richardson said. "They stayed safe and calm under the whole situation, so I would call them the heroes."
Richardson said she first smelled trouble when she caught a whiff of a burning smell coming from the bus near Bearmore Drive.
That burning smell led to smoke rising from under the steering column.
"I basically stopped the bus ... as I saw the smoke, I knew it was time to get the kids and myself off of the bus," said Richardson. She proceeded to help the kids off the back of the bus, holding their hands and catching them as they jumped out.
Richardson credited her training and experience as a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver for the past five years.
She was driving a bus Wednesday that has been in the CMS fleet since 1999, making it one of the district's oldest buses.
Fire investigators said an electrical wiring malfunction led to the fire.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:26:07 -0500
As the world mourns the loss of legendary pop-singer Whitney Houston, so are her family members in the Charlotte area.
Some of Houston's family members live in Cleveland County and even run a boutique selling some of the late singer's memorabilia.
"To me she was like a sister, more than just an in-law, she was a sister, a friend," said Billy Watson.
He is Houston's brother-in-law. His sister, Patricia Houston, grew up in Cleveland County and married the pop singer's brother, Gary Houston.
Watson said his sister and much of the family was in California for the Grammy Awards, when they learned of Houston's sudden death in a Beverly Hills hotel Saturday.
"It's a shocker to me," he said.
Houston had many friends and family in Cleveland County and even contributed to a program called "Teen Summit." The organization, founded by Patricia Houston, helps troubled teens and young adults.
Houston donated clothing and personal items to a celebrity consignment shop in downtown Shelby to help the organization. In October, the singer performed in a benefit concert in Shelby to aid "Teen
"Having known her and them having a chance to meet here obviously it's a devastating impact," said Pastor James Smith, who also works with the program.
Family members said the best was yet to come for the singer, who died well before her time at 48. "Everybody loved her, she was family. Sweet as she could be," said Watson.
Flowers and what appeared to be the beginning of a memorial outside of the Celebrity Consignment Boutique in Shelby had started Sunday.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:17:51 -0500
Cornelius firefighters said strong winds increased the intensity of a house fire that left a family of three out of a home Sunday night.
Neighbors said police officers evacuated several houses on Brinkley Street on Sunday morning because of the windy conditions.
Eyewitness News saw thick smoking pouring out of the house as firefighters battled to control the fire.
"The heat was intense, the heat was intense," said next door neighbor John Hoffmann.
Hoffmann said the house belongs to Denise Powers and her two daughters. His 7-year-old granddaughter is the same age as one of Powers' kids, and the two are close friends.
"She spent the night there, the night before this fire. That could have been my granddaughter in there," said Hoffmann, choking back tears.
When Hoffmann woke up early Sunday morning and saw the flames, he said he ran over and kicked in the back door, looking for Powers' children.
"The flames were just pouring out, that's why I had to go through the back," he said.
Hoffman later learned the kids were spending the weekend with their father.
He said he tried to comfort Powers, who was standing in the front yard shivering and crying.
"She was just weeping and crying saying, ‘I’m going to lose everything, I’m going to lose everything,'" he said.
Firefighters said at least one large candle fell over and ignited a blanket as Powers slept on a sofa.
Investigators said smoke detectors alerted Powers to the fire before she was injured.
The Red Cross put up Powers and her two daughters in a motel through Tuesday night.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:46:54 -0500
A sex offender is back in jail Sunday after being accused of raping a child.
Officers in Morganton arrested Anthony Robinson Friday night at his home on Center Street.
Robinson is charged with statutory rape.
According to the sex offender registry, he was convicted in 2002 of taking indecent liberties with a minor.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:30:52 -0500
Snow ended in the mountains overnight, but drivers are still dealing with slick roads and very low wind chills. Meteorologist Katie Virtue said winds will continue to gust over 30 mph in Ashe, Watauga and Avery counties.
Temperatures will slowly rise through the teens under sunny skies, but the wind will make it feel like the single digits. Snow and ice will stick around on untreated roads, sidewalks and parking lots through the rest of the day.
A gusty breeze will also continue in Charlotte and the surrounding area this afternoon. Temperatures will rise to near 40 degrees with wind chills near 30 degrees.
Published: Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:28:46 -0500
There is a winter storm is blasting North Carolina Saturday night, bringing snow and ice to the mountains and blustery winds to Charlotte. Also, there are sub-zero wind chills in Ashe and Watuga counties, placing them under a winter weather advisory.
“It’s a little bit numbing if you’re not used to it,” said Lorry Mulhern, manager at the Green Park Inn in Blowing Rock.
Snow combined with 30 mph winds are creating brutal conditions in the mountains and in some neighborhoods, making it difficult to walk around.
Eyewitness News saw people at hotels and restaurants in Blowing Rock struggling against the wind to get to their cars.
“When you get those gusts and you’re enveloped in snow and your body starts to rock, it’s kind of a different sensation,” Mulhern said.
The Green Park Inn works with nearby ski lodges to offer package deals but said this ski season business has been down about 50 percent.
“The ski season hasn’t been so great up here and we’ve all been wondering where winter has been and here it is all at once, all in one weekend," Mulhern said.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:21:00 -0500
A tree fell and trapped a woman in her car in northeast Charlotte Saturday night on the 1300 block of W. Rocky River Road.
A large limb came through the front windshield and knocked out her driver's side door.
Firefighters had to cur the roof off to get her out of her vehicle.
Medic paramedics determined her injuries as potentially life threatening. She was transported to CMC Main Saturday night.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:02:00 -0500
The director of music at a Charlotte Catholic Church is out of a job because he married a man.
Steav Bates-Congdon showed Eyewitness News a copy of the letter given to him by Saint Gabriel Church in South Charlotte. The letter said that Congdon's recent decision to marry his partner is a contradiction of Catholic Church teachings.
Bates-Congdon had worked for the church since 2004.
"I took the job because it was a program that wanted
to grow," he said.
He said he made it clear when he took the job that he was openly gay and in a 15-year relationship with his partner Bill.
Bates-Congdon said he told them "so they couldn't be blind-sided the way I was blind-sided a week ago."
He said a week ago the pastor of Saint Gabriel handed him a letter of termination. It said that
his October marriage in New York was in "direct opposition to the teachings of the catholic church."
Eyewitness News tried reaching out to the church via e-mail and by phone Saturday. However, we did not hear back from them in time for this report.
Bates-Congdon told us he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease recently, and the church will continue to pay his health insurance and salary through the end of June.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:58:17 -0500
Hickory police were able to identify and capture two accused bank robbers within only 30 minutes of the alleged crime.
Police said Jason Setzer and Rebecca Therrien robbed a Wells Fargo bank and tried to escape in a yellow cab.
The bank teller saw the couple climb into the cab and alerted the police.
Authorities said they found the car and the couple at Wal-Mart.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:53:55 -0500
The UNC college system's Board of Governors approved a tuition increase of approximately $470 at 16 campuses on Friday.
The system plans to raise tuition and fees by approximately $470 next year.
Last Friday, students organized a march to protest against the planned increase.
The recommended plan will now go to state lawmakers for a final approval. Students are now protesting in Chapel Hill over the board's decision.
Published: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:28:23 -0500
A former teacher accused of having sex with an East Gaston High School student is out of jail.
Bradford Mulkey, 32, posted a $100,000 bond Friday afternoon.
Gaston County Police arrested him earlier in the day and charged him with one count of indecent liberties with a student. Police told Eyewitness News the incident happened at the school.
Police interviewed several students at East Gaston High School before the criminal charges were filed against Mulkey. They told Eyewitness News they didn't expect to file any more charges against him, unless other students came forward.
"I think it's sickening and I think he should not be allowed back at the school," said parent Sherry Charles.
Charles, along with other parents and students, was outraged by the news of Mulkey's arrest.
"I can't really believe it, because all the students liked Mr. Mulkey, you know," said student Haley Cloyd.
Many students at the school told Eyewitness News Mulkey was a good teacher and many of them knew about the alleged incident for weeks.
Mulkey was suspended without pay in December, after the school's principal found out about the alleged incident from another student. She filed an incident report with Gaston County police.
Eyewitness News knocked on Mulkey's door in Gastonia Friday, but no one answered the door.
Some neighbors said the news was especially disturbing because Mulkey lives right across the street from a day care center.
"It's shocking and upsetting. We have a lot of children in the neighborhood," said Ken Jenkins.
During the investigation, Mulkey, who worked with Gaston County Schools since 2007, resigned from his job. He is scheduled to appear in Gaston County Court for a first appearance Monday at 1:30 p.m.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:25:04 -0500
Iredell County Sheriff deputies stopped a speeding van on I-77 early Friday morning and found more than $66,000 worth of drugs.
Sheriff Phil Redmond said the Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team stopped Lespeth McDonald Foster, 45, of Hollywood, Fla., for speeding and failing to stay in his lane while he traveled north on Interstate 77.
After the stop, deputies searched his van and found about 440 grams of cocaine, a street value of $66,000, and 184 grams of marijuana, a $920 street value.
Foster was arrested for trafficking and possessing drugs. He is being held in the Iredell County Detention Center.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:41:35 -0500
William Adams Sr. and Veronica Short waited three-and-a-half years for their son's killer to be brought to justice.
A sentence was handed down Friday afternoon, but it was not enough for Adams.
"My son did not deserve what happened to him. He did not," Adams said.
Fifteen-year-old William Adams Jr. was shot and killed at Five-Points Park off Beatties Ford Road in August 2008.
For three days, then 22-year-old Reginald Johnson terrorized communities in west Charlotte.
Police said Johnson went on a violent crime spree from Aug. 19 to Aug. 21.
He stole cars, then randomly pulled up to people on the street, got out of the car, and robbed them at gunpoint. He car-jacked at least two people, and seriously injured two others, shooting a 16-year-old in the back as he tried to run, and another man in the stomach.
Then, within 24 hours the crime spree turned to murder.
Adams was shot and killed when Johnson asked him for money on the afternoon of Aug 21.
Within five hours, Johnson came upon 42-year-old Angela Davis and her husband on Keswick Avenue.
She refused to give him her purse and told him he would have to shoot her. He did, hitting Davis in the chest and killing her.
A massive manhunt quickly followed and Johnson was later found after police got a tip about the make and model of the stolen car he was driving.
He was caught after a high-speed chase.
In April 2011, Johnson appeared in court to plead guilty to all the charges against him, nearly two dozen. In court, he changed his mind and said he did not kill anyone.
The victim's family members were outraged, and had to be escorted out of the courtroom.
On Friday, Adams said he was disappointed at the court system, and how his family was treated.
"You have to keep coming to court, and coming to court because you have a defendant that's playing games with the system. I hate to say it, but he ran this show," Adams said.
After losing his teenage son more than three years ago, Adams said he does have some peace now that it's over.
However, he saw no sympathy in the eyes of Johnson.
"The man has no remorse, that man doesn't have a heart. He doesn't care about any of it," he said.
As part of the plea deal, Johnson was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole. Adams said he deserved the death penalty, but it was taken off the table as part of the plea deal.
"That man still gets to eat, sleep, breathe. He gets to do all of that. My son is dead," he said.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:44:20 -0500
Thousands of drivers were stopped on I-77 Friday night during rush hour as emergency crews cleared a crash near Lake Norman.
All lanes of I-77 South were shut down for hours, and traffic on I-77 North stretched from Lake Norman to Huntersville.
Not only was traffic backed up for miles on the interstate, but all side streets were clogged up for hours as well.
Chopper Nine Skyzoom showed that several cars were badly damaged in the wreck. The rear end of one silver car was gone, and the back of a black car was smashed in.
Stacey Hess said she moved less than five miles in the hour between 6 and 7 p-m. Her in-laws are visiting from Michigan, and she was supposed to cook dinner.
"It's not looking real good. First impressions are (going to) be real well, with me running late and not there," Hess said. "My husband is not real happy."
At least four vehicles were involved in the crash. Eyewitness News saw a wrecker towing away a Budget rental truck with front-end damage.
The Highway Patrol hasn't told Eyewitness News how the crashes started. But the wrecker driver told Eyewitness News the Budget truck caused the crashes.
Mark Lancaster is a Lake Norman Marine commissioner, and he was stuck for hours Friday night as he tried to return to work and help his crew unload barges.
"It's kind of frustrating. I've got men on the clock, and I'm trying to get back down there and get back to work," Lancaster said.
Medic said one person is in the hospital tonight with potentially life-threatening injuries.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:15:39 -0500
A Wilkes County man says a mistake in the court system made him a victim of mistaken identity once. He said Friday he was not about to let it happen again.
Carl Otto Boggs Jr. received a criminal summons for not sending his 15-year-old mentally disable daughter to school.
But when he looked at that summons, he saw it had the name Carl Dean Boggs along with Carl Dean Boggs' date of birth and Social Security number.
And Carl Otto Boggs had seen it all before.
In 2009, he was facing the same charges, and the other Carl Boggs' name showed up on the paperwork. He is convinced that brought him a stiffer sentence because Carl Dean Boggs had a criminal record.
"I'm trying to show them that I'm not this man because it's getting ready to start all over again," Boggs said.
On Friday, a judge ordered prosecutors to correct the name on the summons and reschedule Boggs' court date for March.
As for how the mistake happened, a magistrate said it is possible that the magistrate who signed the summons had pulled up the wrong Carl Boggs from the court’s computer system.
Eyewitness News was not able to reach Carl Dean Boggs, whose last address was in the town of Boomer.
Published: Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:47:40 -0500
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