BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- A Bladen County man is recovering after being shot twice as his home was robbed, investigators say.

The Bladen County Sheriff's Office got a call around 9 p.m. Friday that someone had been shot at a home in the 700 block of Mitchell Ford Rd. in Clarkton. Chief Deputy Rodney Hester says when deputies arrived, they found a man shot twice in the right leg. The victim told investigators he heard a knock at the door, and when he opened it, a man was standing there holding a handgun. The victim said he was shot as he struggled with the other man.

According to Hester, the victim was then tied up and the house ransacked. He says a second man entered the home and tied up a second victim, who was in the kitchen when the shots were fired.

The victims were able to get free and call 911. Deputies say prescription medication and approximately $20 were taken during the burglary.

EMS took the shooting victim to a hospital for treatment of his non-life threatening injuries, Hester said.

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- Bladen County deputies say a shooting in an Elizabethtown neighborhood over the weekend ended with one man dead and another man behind bars.

Around 1 a.m. Saturday deputies say they found Antoine Eddington, 44, lying in the front yard of a home at 1017 Jack Richardson Road after dispatchers got a call about a man who was shot and unconscious. They say despite CPR attempts before they got to the scene, Eddington, who lived next door, had no pulse and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies say the shooting started with a neighborhood dispute, when Eddington left his home and returned with a shotgun. They say Eddington began banging on the door before he allegedly hit the person who opened it with the shotgun.

Deputies say that's when Troy Cromartie, 25, of Garland, confronted Eddington on the front porch and shots were fired. They say they believe Eddington was shot with a round from a revolver before Cromartie ran into the woods behind the home.

Bladen County and Sampson County deputies stopped a vehicle leaving the area and found Cromartie inside. They say he already had warrants out for his arrest for probation violations and failure to pay child support, so he was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and the outstanding warrants were also served.

Deputies say District Attorney Jon David was notified of the incident and asked to look over the evidence prior to any additional charges.

Several agencies helped in the investigation, including the SBI.

Cromartie is in the Bladen County Jail under a $21,500 secured bond.

RALEIGH, NC (NEWS RELEASE) -– During the past month, the Department of Public Safety's Alcohol Law Enforcement section has arrested and charged eight people with drug trafficking, larceny, forgery and other crimes following a year-long, multi-county criminal investigation. More charges are pending.

ALE agents and the Bladen County Sheriff's Department acted on a tip provided by a concerned citizen, which led to ALE's prescription pain killer fraud operation. Members of the drug ring are alleged to have fraudulently obtained oxycodone pills in Rockingham, Guilford, Robeson, Cumberland, Bladen, Columbus, Sampson and New Hanover counties.

The State Bureau of Investigation's Diversion Crimes Unit and the Clinton and Greensboro police departments assisted in the apprehension of the drug traffickers.

The following people were charged:

Terry Moore, Council
-Operating a criminal enterprise
-Conspiracy to traffic in opiates
-Conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense
-Intimidating a witness
-Larceny
-2 counts of identity theft
-2 counts of trafficking in opiates
-2 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by false pretense
-2 counts of uttering forged papers
-3 counts of possession of stolen property

David "Tommy" Jones, Elizabethtown
-Conspiracy to traffic in opiates
-Conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense
-Attempt to traffic in opiates
-Attempt to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense
-3 counts of trafficking in opiates
-3 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by false pretense
-4 counts of identity theft
-4 counts of uttering forged papers
-4 counts of possession of stolen property

Christopher Moore, Elizabethtown
-Conspiracy to traffic in opiates
-Conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense
-Trafficking in opiates
-Obtaining a controlled substance by fraud
-Identity theft
-Possession of stolen property
-Uttering forged papers

Beverly Oxendine, formerly of Elizabethtown
-Conspiracy to traffic in opiates
-Conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense
-Trafficking in opiates
-Obtain a controlled substance by false pretense
-Common law forgery

Candy Moore, Elizabethtown
-Conspiracy to traffic in opiates
-Conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense

Monica Wilkens, Liberty
-Conspiracy to traffic in opiates
-Conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense
-Common law forgery

Randy Jones, Liberty
-Conspiracy to traffic in opiates
-Conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense

Tammy Jones, Greensboro
-Conspiracy to traffic in opiates
-Conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by false pretense

ALE agents have the authority to arrest and take investigatory action for any criminal offense. Their primary responsibility is the enforcement of the Alcoholic Beverage and Control laws and the Controlled Substances Act.

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY) -- For months we've tried speaking with Bladen County Sheriff Prentis Benston several times since first looking into problems at the county jail.

In November, he referred us to County Attorney Leslie Johnson. So we sent Johnson a long list of questions and concerns about the jail in November, December, January and now February. Today we got some answers. Sort of.

In a letter to WWAY NewsChannel 3, Johnson says that the 50-year-old jail needs to be modernized. Johnson says county leaders were already taking measures to find a solution long before problems arose. He says county commissioners approved money for a feasibility study for construction of a new jail or improving the old one and hiring architects.

We tried once again Wednesday to speak with Sheriff Benston, but once again he did not want to talk. Instead he said everything we need to know is in Johnson's letter. But by not talking to us, Benston again refuses to answer our questions about complaints from current and former inmates that include mold, human waste being thrown, a lack of medical care and other concerns about the safety and upkeep behind the walls of the Bladen County Jail.

We asked the sheriff if we could go inside the jail and see the conditions for ourselves, but he declined for security reasons saying inmates could throw things at our reporter.

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- A trip to jail is not a visit to a luxury hotel, but there is a basic expectation of safety and health conditions.

For months, though, we've heard complaints about problems inside the Bladen County Jail, and they're not just from inmates. They're also coming from state regulators.

The latest state inspection of the Bladen County Jail happened back in August. The Department of Health and Human Services Jails and Detention Unit found problems with overcrowding, jailers missing supervision rounds, unclean cells with mold and paint chipping, moldy showers in poor condition, AC units broken and leaking and no hot water among other issues.

The inspection confirms reports we've gotten from former and current inmates; complaints they say have fallen on deaf ears inside the jail.

"Every time we write a grievance for them, they take it and throw it away," an inmate yelled to a reporter during a visit to the jail.

We've tried for month to talk with Sheriff Prentis Benston about these issues, but he refuses to talk and won't let us see inside.

"It's so nasty. That's why they won't let you come in," another inmate told us from inside the jail. "There is mold all over the place. The heat don't work. The AC don't work in here."

So in an effort to find out more, we contacted DHHS Legal Communications Coordinator Kevin Howell. He says if inspectors find a problem, the jail must respond with a plan of correction indicating how and when the issue will be fixed.

Records show Bladen County submitted a plan in September saying it had already fixed or was actively working on fixing the problems. But this is not the first time a plan of correction has been submitted. Problems were found in all four inspections over the past two years, and the problems seem to persist even after plans are submitted and inspections continued.

Howell says inspections are unannounced, but the next one is coming up soon.

County leaders have declined our requests for interviews. They responded only in a statement this month from the county attorney, who says they know there are problems with the jail, which the county hopes to fix or replace.

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY) -- Police received a call around 2:30 am Saturday after a black male drove to the emergency room at Bladen County Hospital asking for assistance.

Police say Kelvin Donta McKeithan, 33, brought 40 year old Mary Ellen Council to the hospital. Once hospital officials retrieved her from the vehicle he drove away and did not return. Hospital personnel say she was dead upon arrival.

The investigation revealed that Council and McKeithan had been in a relationship for the past several years. Investigators say the homicide could possibly be domestic violence related, but the official cause of death will not be released until after an autopsy can be performed early next week.

McKeithan was found hiding underneath bed linens at his residence and taken into custody.

He has been charged with murder and is currently in the Bladen County Jail with no bond.

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY) -- Deputies are investigating after they say someone shot into a car with several people inside, hitting the driver in the knee.

Bladen County investigators say it happened around 1 a.m. Sunday when a car was leaving a party in the 100 block of Sand Pit Road in Elizabethtown.

Deputies say shots were fired into a car with five people inside, including Brandin Leach, 20, who was hit by a bullet in the right knee. They say Leach then drove himself to the hospital, and was later released.

Investigators are still working on suspect information, and say the investigation is ongoing.

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- A Bladen County dad is upset after he says his autistic son was taken out of class and put into a sheriff deputy's car.

Patrick Beatty says he was in the hospital recovering from a fall Wednesday when he got a surprising call from his son.

"He said his brother Dylan had been brought home with the sheriff's car," Beatty said.

Dylan Beatty, 17, who is autistic, has trouble communicating and speaks mostly through signs. Dylan could not tell his father if he was handcuffed, and his older son did not see if he was when the deputy dropped him off, but Beatty says Dylan showed him the best way he knew how.

"Dylan had been grasping his wrists, rubbing his wrists, and I could see some places on his wrists where it looked like something had been on his wrists, and I took it to be handcuffs," Beatty said.

Beatty says teachers told him Dylan was trying to grab a girl in a wheelchair to play with her a little too aggressively. Instead of separating the two, he says the teachers took Dylan to the office to be sent home.

School district spokeswoman Valerie Newton says this is normal procedure when a student starts to behave aggressively.

"For the safety of the other students and the teachers and staff in the classroom, that student was escorted out of the classroom," Newton said.

When Beatty did not immediately answer his phone to come pick up his son, the school resource officer took Dylan home. But Beatty says that is not a good reason.

"That doesn't give you an excuse to handcuff my son and bring him home. He is autistic. He doesn't know what's going on," Beatty said.

Beatty says East Bladen High's principal apologized to him and says it will not happen again. We spoke with the principal today, but he did not want to do an interview.

We also contacted the Bladen County Sheriff's Office for more information, but we never heard back.

BLADENBORO, NC (WWAY) -- Investigators say a building raided by five agencies this weekend is a "makeshift nightclub," but the owner says the building is just a place for friends and family to gather.

Bladenboro Police say Morris Bellamy Jr. and his father were hosting huge parties in their backyard charging cover fees and selling alcohol to minors. Police say they were keeping track of the parties for a few months after seeing posters like this online.

Bellamy's mother Freida says she lets friends and family host parties in the building, but she never allows underage drinking.

"There were no minors here," Freida Bellamy said. "Everyone in there was grown."

She says this weekend's birthday girl had a cover charge to pay for party expenses.

"She was just charging for her beer and alcohol, and she charged to get in," Freida said. "She's got to pay her DJ, and she wants some of her money back. It was her birthday."

She says officers even tased a handcuffed man three times because he was mouthing off, but ALE Special Agent David Hales says while a man was tased, he was not handcuffed. He says the man was resisting, so officers tased him twice.

At first investigator James Daniels of the Bladenboro Police Department said more than 30 guns, including an assault rifle were taken during the raid of the building off Butler Mill Road in Bladenboro, but we later found out through ALE that the numbers were wrong. Hales says only a few guns, including an AK-47 were seized. When we asked the exact number of guns, he referred us to the Bladen County Sheriff's Office and Bladenboro Police. The Sheriff's Office said they could not release any information because it is ALE's case.

ALE arrested four people on charges of drug possession, selling alcohol without permits and other charges.

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- A Bladen County man is in jail charged with shooting another man in the back.

The Bladen County Sheriff's Office says it happened around midnight at 229 Bladenboro Airport Rd. When deputies arrived, they found that a man who had been shot in the back with birdshot from a shotgun. Bladenboro EMS took the victim to Bladen County Hospital, where he was treated and released.

Investigators found the victim was at the home trying to talk to his ex-girlfriend when the shooting happened.

Reginald Dewayne Hines, 55, who lives at the house, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury. He is jail under a $100,000 secured bond.

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- A Bladenboro man is in jail charged with stealing a trailer full of hogs.

Bladen County Sheriff's deputies arrested Alfonza Lewis, 38, around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. He is charged with breaking and entering, larceny of swine, possession of stolen property, resisting a public officer and failure to stop for blue lights and siren.

Investigators say a Bladen County deputy on routine patrol saw a white Ford truck pulling a livestock trailer on Burney Ford Road near Clarkton with some type of livestock inside of the trailer. The truck was traveling at a very low speed and there was no registration on the livestock trailer.

According to investigators, When the deputy tried to stop the truck, the truck made a right turn onto US 701 Business and would not stop. When the truck and trailer approached US 701 Bypass, the two people in the truck jumped out and ran as the truck continued into the ditch near the intersection.

The Sheriff's Office says Lewis was the driver, and he was caught near the Clarkton Cotton Company. The passenger kept running and got away.

Investigators say there were 26 hogs in the trailer stolen from a farm in the 4000 block of Elkton Rd. The value of the hogs was placed at $7,800. All of the hogs were in good health and released to Murphy-Brown, LLC.

Lewis is in the Bladen County Jail under an $80,000 secured bond.

ELIZABETHTOWN, NC (WWAY)-- A man is behind bars under a $158,000 secured bond after investigators say he stole a police car and led them on a chase through two counties.

According to Elizabethtown Police Chief Robert Kinlaw, an officer stopped a vehicle on Martin Luther King Drive around 11:00 Sunday morning for a seatbelt violation.

Investigators say the passenger, Bobby Lee Johnson, fled while the officer was checking his identification and ran across S. Poplar Street, behind CVS Pharmacy.

The Bladen County Sheriff’s Office helped the Elizabethtown Police find the 23-year-old in a wooded area.

Police say the officers eventually discovered Johnson gave the officer a false name during questioning before he took off, and learned he had an outstanding felony probation violation warrant.

When officers handcuffed and put Johnson in an Elizabethtown patrol car, he managed to lock the doors, get into the driver’s seat and drive away. Kinlaw said that's when the suspect led Elizabethtown Police and the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office on a chase.

Highway Patrol and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office joined in the pursuit in Columbus County. Kinlaw said Johnson was stopped and the patrol car was in a ditch near Chadbourn, where he was taken into custody.

Johnson now faces multiple charges which include Felony Larceny of Motor Vehicle, Felony Flee to Elude Arrest, and misdemeanor injury to personal property. He is in the Bladen County Jail.

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- Two people have been charged with a four-year-old murder in Bladen County.

Donyee Bowman Jessup, 29, of Fayetteville, and Garry Tyrell McCray Jr., 26, Salisbury, MD, have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Johnnie Terrel Jessup.

Investigators say Johnnie Jessup was 31 when he was shot and killed on Feb. 4, 2010. Just after 10 p.m., deputies were dispatched to a person shot at 164 Old Hickory Ln. in Elizabethtown. When they arrived, they found Jessup lying dead in the front yard.

Donyee Jessup was the victim's wife. The Bladen County Sheriff's Office says the investigation revealed she and McCray conspired to kill Johnnie Jessup.

Donyee Jessup was arrested without incident yesterday in the 3700 block of Ramsey Street in Fayetteville just after noon. She is in the Bladen County Jail without bond.

McCray was arrested yesterday in Eden, MD, without incident. He is being held without bond and is awaiting extradition back from Maryland.

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- Investigators in Bladen County say a man leaving court this morning led officers on a car chase.

The Bladen County Sheriff's Office says Dwione Terrell Baxley, 31, is charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest, resisting a public officer and driving without an operator's license after a chase just after 10 a.m.

According to a news release, an investigator was traveling west on NC 41 near the Robeson County line when a black Chevrolet Impala sped past him. When the investigator tried to stop the vehicle for speeding, the Impala continued into Robeson County on NC 41 refusing to stop.

Deputies say Baxley, who was alone, jumped from the car and ran on Longs Road, which is off Old Allenton Road in Robeson County. Highway Patrol and the Robeson County Sheriff's Office helped in the pursuit.

Officers caught and arrested Baxley in a soybean field. He told them he had just left court in Bladen County when this incident happened. Court records show Baxley was scheduled to appear today on two misdemeanor probation violations. The NC Department of Corrections website shows Baxley's criminal records include drug convictions and traffic violations. He was convicted earlier this month on felony drug charges in Cumberland County and sentenced to probation.

Baxley is in the Bladen County Jail under a $5,000 secured bond.

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) -- A Bladenboro man is in jail charged with child abuse after babysitting a 7-year-old boy.

Investigators say Kevin Russell Wilmot, 26, was babysitting overnight for the child's mother Saturday. They say the child came home with deep bruises to the butt and back. He also had a cigarette burn just above his right ankle. The child told investigators Wilmot had spanked him with a belt and burned him with a cigarette.

Wilmot is charged with felony child abuse with serious injuries. He is in the Bladen County Jail under a $100,000 secured bond.