Deputies arrest 23 in Christmas campaign

Dec. 18--One address led to an empty lot in a Wilson County mobile home park, a gap of bare gravel between settled singlewides. Another tip brought sheriff's deputies to a duplex across from Margaret Hearne Elementary School.

Neither site was suited for the registered sex offenders presumed to be living there. In another case, deputies found a man with 25 child molestation convictions living 162 feet from Daniels Learning Center.

Deputies arrested eight Wilson County sex offenders Tuesday on charges of failing to register their new addresses with the sheriff's office. The roundup was part of a daylong enforcement campaign dubbed Operation Thin Ice.

"They know what the law is," Sheriff Calvin Woodard Jr. said of the county's sex offenders. "They are supposed to register. We didn't place them in this predicament. They just need to abide by the law."

Nearly two-dozen people were arrested in the 12-hour operation -- eight sex offenders, eight drug suspects, six wanted on child support warrants and one woman wanted on an outstanding kidnapping warrant.

Deputies crisscrossed Wilson County serving warrants and holding driver license checkpoints at 16 major intersections. Woodard said Operation Thin Ice was meant to warn lawbreakers and reassure citizens that deputies will remain vigilant during the holidays.

"This Christmas season, we'll be out in full force because we want to make sure people feel safe in their communities and in this county," Woodard said.

Deputies began the campaign with a 7 a.m. briefing and finished around 7 p.m. after making a combined 23 arrests and issuing 42 traffic citations.

The sheriff's animal enforcement division also took part in the operation, visiting 123 homes to check on pets' welfare. Animal enforcement officers issued three violations and wrote two written warnings for required rabies vaccinations.

DRUG ARRESTS

A 50-year-old Wilson woman is accused of selling prescription painkillers from her home on the 4200 block of Coghill Drive North. Deputies arrested Betty Delores Forsythe on Tuesday morning, charging her with trafficking opium or heroin, simple possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance and dispensing medication without a license.

Chief of Staff Wanda Samuel said Forsythe sold 15 hydrocodone pills. The opiate is prescribed to treat moderate to severe pain and is among the most abused prescription drugs in the United States.

"The purpose of Operation Thin Ice is to assure the citizens of Wilson County that their sheriff's office will not be idle throughout the holiday season," Woodard said. "Also, we want anyone who desires to be involved in criminal activities to understand that this office will remain proactive to ensure that families will feel secure in their homes, on their property and on the highways."

Patricia Ann Barnes, 50, is also accused of selling prescription pills. Deputies charged Barnes with one count of selling or delivering a Schedule II controlled substance.

Willie Gorden Wooten, 51, was charged with selling cocaine, possession of cocaine, possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine and maintaining a dwelling for a controlled substance.

Deputies arrested 28-year-old Brandon Ray Williams on charges of possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Antonio Montrel Jenkins, 26, was charged with possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana. Deputies charged 42-year-old Dennis Wayne Mosley with felony manufacturing marijuana.

Also arrested were 43-year-old Linda Lucille Norvell, who faces charges of selling a Schedule IV controlled substance and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for a controlled substance, and 41-year-old Cynthia Keen Wester, who is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

SEX OFFENDERS

Those convicted of sexual crimes in North Carolina are required to register as sex offenders, and their names, booking photos, addresses and conviction history are available on a public online registry.

Offenders who move to new homes and don't notify the sheriff's office can be found guilty of a felony offense. Deputies say one such convict arrested earlier this week was found living near a school -- a violation of state law requiring sex offenders to stay at least 1,000 feet away.

Willie Graham, 56, was living 162 feet from Daniels Learning Center, sheriff's Detective J.L. Jackson said. In January 2005, Graham was convicted of 25 counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor in Wilson County.

"That's a large part of what we're looking for today," Jackson explained. "Every violation with a sex offender is a felony. Some of them truly have been taught lessons, and when they move, they pick up the phone and they call us. The ones who try to abscond are the ones we're looking for today."

Deputies arrested seven other sex offenders on charges of failing to register. They are Linwood Pittman, Kenyon Gainey, Brandon Scott Lyles, Matthew Hargrove, Brandon Montague, Michael Williams and Jimmie Jackson.

CHILD SUPPORT

Deputies arrested six people on failure to pay child support warrants during Operation Thin Ice. Hargrove, who also was charged with failure to register as a sex offender, received a $5,000 cash bond.

Other arrestees are Donnie Earl Anderson, $750 cash bond; Travis Matthew Barnes, $500 cash bond; Stephen Wingate, $3,000 cash bond; Clyisha Poole, $2,000 cash bond; and Jermerro Antonio King, $1,500 cash bond.

In yet another phase of the campaign, deputies saturated county intersections and held traffic checkpoints for about an hour at each of 16 locations. Driver license checks were conducted along U.S. 264 Alternate, N.C. 42, N.C. 58, N.C. 222 and major rural roads including Webb Lake, Lucama, Wiggins Mill and Weaver roads.

Drivers slowed to a stop on U.S. 264 Alternate East at Shannon Road outside Stantonsburg. Deputies in yellow reflective traffic vests approached cars and trucks and scanned the driver licenses held out for inspection. While one deputy checked the license, another was examining the car's license plate.

The checkpoints netted 22 citations for having no operator's license, 14 for driving while license revoked, four for displaying expired tags, one for having no insurance and one for displaying a fictitious tag, Samuel said.

[email protected] -- 265-7821

___

(c)2013 The Wilson Daily Times (Wilson, N.C.)

Visit The Wilson Daily Times (Wilson, N.C.) at www.wilsontimes.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services