The man has a significant history of sex crimes, according to criminal records in North Carolina, West Virginia and New York. A former marine, the man was previously stationed at North Carolina base Camp Lejeune as a staff sergeant.
]]> Based on court records, the man held a birthday party for his teenage son in 2008 where he filmed sex acts and engaged in sexual intercourse with a minor. That incident led to a guilty plea of indecent liberties with a minor and six minor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was ordered to join the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry.After serving time for those offenses, the man violated his probation and left North Carolina. The probation was later canceled so he could move permanently to West Virginia. The recent charges stem from an incident where the man started numerous social media profiles in violation of his probation and contacted underage girls. He sent a 17-year-old New York girl sex toys, graphic images and child pornography. Federal authorities charged the man with disseminating child porn across state lines.
Other claims against the man from 2002 to 2008 include no-contact orders, domestic violence suits, non-consensual touching and rape allegations.
Source: JD News, "Sex Offender Gets 10 Years in Federal Prison," Lindell Kay, 2/11/2012
]]>The Florida man used to live in North Carolina but moved to St. Augustine, Florida, recently. The former NC man received $1.9 million from other man for his role in Queen Shoals Consultants. He entered the guilty plea for the white collar crime charges in Charlotte last week. The man faces up to 10 years in prison. His sentencing has not yet been scheduled. The other man was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the Ponzi scheme.
]]> The allegations against the man claim he started the Queen Shoals Consultants in 2007 with a business partner. Federal investigators say that the business partner ran the Ponzi scheme, while the other man sought investors for the fake consulting group. While the Miami Herald reported that North Carolina man and the other man never spoke about the operation being a Ponzi scheme, the lies told to induce clients to invest $28.5 million with the firm demonstrated enough evidence of fraud and money laundering.Source: Miami Herald, "Man pleads guilty to role in NC Ponzi scheme," 2/11/2012
]]>These white collar crimes are tied to allegations that the developer pocketed health insurance premiums rather than paying for coverage. According to last year's indictment, the developer allegedly kept $10,412 from employees' paychecks but did not transfer that money to a health insurance company.
]]> Another $7,315 was received from an employee who left the company but wished to retain health insurance and the developer also allegedly pocketed that money as well. Total, the charges brought against the man show that he may have illegally kept up to $17,727 of employees' money between October 2009 and March 2010.The Department of Insurance heavily investigated the developer who was working on the Seven Falls development. These criminal charges against the developer could cause significant harm to his business and the development of Seven Falls. It's unclear from the news report whether the developer is continuing his work on the project.
Source: Asheville Citizen-Times "More charges brought against Asheville developer," Mark Barrett, 2/5/2012
]]>The app will be launched this week. Currently, the app is only available for iPhone users, but they are working on an Android version of the app. This particular sex offender search app is in addition to the availability of the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry online. The Registry is not a live view of where the offender is at any given point. Rather it lists the address of the offender.
]]> There are concerns about the app and the infringement of the offender's rights. Many advocates argue that the app exceeds the bounds of tracking, particularly when anyone is able to find the current location of the offender. In the past, this information was only available if the court ordered mandatory tracking or ankle bracelet home arrest.On the other hand, parents said that the app is helpful to understand the proximity of potentially dangerous offenders.
Source: WSOC TV "Free app from NC government can locate sex offenders," 2/3/2012
]]>In particular, they wanted to make sure that the sex offender was actually residing at the listed address, which is a requirement following a sex offense conviction in North Carolina. If a sex offender moves or vacates an apartment, he or she has the responsibility to notify the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry of the change of address so the local community can be notified.
]]> The unannounced visits prompted the possibility of more than 12 offenders facing charges for failure to notify the sheriff's department or law enforcement officers of their change of address. At one house, officers found no one living there. At another house, the residents said that the offender was no longer living at the house. A homeless shelter that was listed as an offender's address also notified deputies that the offender had not been seen for weeks.This type of operation is conducted at least twice each year. There is no formal requirement for sheriff's deputies to conduct this type of check-in, however, deputies feel that it helps them locate those who are violating their sentence and possibly looking for trouble.
Source: Shelby Star, "200 Sex Offenders Get House Calls," 1/25/2012
]]>The man was indicted by a federal grand jury last February on 40 federal charges. The main allegations against the man were that he "conspired to profit from illegal trade of large quantities of 'export only' cigarettes," the RR Daily Herald reported.
]]> The export only cigarettes contain higher levels of nicotine and are not subject to excise tax since they are meant to be shipped overseas or exported out of the country. Instead, the man was accused of selling them out of ABC licensed outlets and other Raleigh and North Carolina retail stores. The value of the cigarettes sold exceeded $21,000. The man was also charged with selling the cigarettes without a valid federal permit.Agents investigating the illegal cigarette ring were able to recover $1.9 million in cash and $10 million in bank accounts, in addition to the luxury cars seized. The man is likely to face prison time at his upcoming sentencing scheduled for Feb. 15.
Source: Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald, "RR man pleads guilty in federal cigarette case," Roger Bell, 1/30/2012
]]>The facts leading to the case involved a New Mexico mayor who issued an order to the city's sex offenders prohibiting them from using the public library. The administrative injunction was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the sex offender who was affected by the injunction.
]]> The holding behind the court ruling is that the First Amendment protects Americans' right to information. The library is a prime spot for free information. "By prohibiting registered sex offenders from accessing...public libraries, the city's ban precludes the individuals from exercising this right in a particular government forum," the court ruled.This New Mexico decision will likely impact registered sex offenders throughout the country who may be limited in the bans imposed against them.
Source: Thomson Reuters News & Insight, "Appeals court says sex offenders have right to library," 1/23/2012
]]>According to the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agents, they believe that a 21-year-old man supplied the alcohol to the underage students at the a house party. He is charged with providing the drinks to the driver and the student killed in the crash along with two other counts of providing alcohol to two other girls who were not in the car at the time of collision.
]]> Drinking and driving and underage drinking can lead to a number of North Carolina criminal charges such as:All of these charges come with stiff criminal penalties including fines and possible jail time.
Source: The Raleigh Telegram, "Police charge man with giving alcohol to a minor in deadly crash"
]]>The coach was charged in New York because of a traveling trip from North Carolina to New York where law enforcement authorities said the coach raped the girl. He was sentenced to short prison sentences for the charges and he was released. According to records with the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry, the man currently lives in Wilmington.
]]> The victim is now requesting significant money damages for pain and suffering, permanent traumatic, mental psychological and emotional injuries. The victim seeks more than $5 million in damages against the coach, the basketball group and the Grace Harbor Church who initiated the basketball team.In addition to criminal charges or criminal convictions, an accused sex offender may also face a civil lawsuit filed by the victim or his or her family. In most cases, the victim will allege negligence and emotional harm caused by the assault and he or she will seek monetary compensation for the damage.
Source: Star News Online, "Sex abuse victim files lawsuit against former coach," F.T. Norton, 1/12/2012
]]>The North Carolina mother is accused of violating a domestic violence order of protection filed by a former roommate. The 20-year-old allegedly made harassing phone calls and threats to her old roommate. She was released on $1000 bond shortly following her arrest in Brunswick County, North Carolina.
]]> Evans was also arrested last week for similar criminal charges of making harassing phone calls and communicating threats. Last March, the woman was charged with assault and received 12 months probation for the criminal offense. In August 2011, Evans was charged with violating parole after a scheduled drug test revealed marijuana and opiates in her system.Evans' lawyer said that everyone would soon see that she is innocent of the most recent allegations. A status update posted by Evans on Facebook said that the allegations of harassment by her former roommate are in retaliation to accusations against the former roommate's current roommate was cyber stalking her. Evans wrote, "Yes u set me up and yes u will go down. CAN'T WAIT FOR COURT."
Source: ABC News, "Janelle Evans arrested for second time in less than a week," 1/17/2012
]]>The man allegedly attempted to smuggle 63 pistols into the United Kingdom last year by transporting them in his luggage. Law enforcement authorities say that the North Carolina man disassembled the weapons to make them look like engineering samples, rather than lethal weapons. The illegal weapons were discovered in his stow away luggage
]]> The man is a former Marine. His sentencing is scheduled for today in federal court in Greenville, N.C. He could receive a sentence up to 30 years in prison.The case is particularly troubling for UK and US law enforcement authorities. Residents and even law enforcement officers in the UK are not regularly armed. The influx of lethal weapons from the US could pose a serious threat to the safety of people and officers in the country.
Source: Washington Post, "North Carolina man to face sentencing in federal court on charges of smuggling guns to the UK," 1/10/2012
]]>Advocates for victims of sexual abuse and rape say that the numbers reported by the Uniform Crime Report have previously underreported the number of rapes in this country by not including men as victims. The change reverses an 85-year-old definition of sex crime.
]]> According to the USA Today, the current definition of rape is the "carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will." The new definition is any penetration of another person without the victim's consent. The change will also include rapes where their isn't bodily penetration, but instead object penetration.The change is "long overdue," according to Attorney General Eric Holder. It will provide greater insight into the number of victims who are abused by same-sex attackers as was the allegedly case with Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky allegedly engaged in assaults and sex crimes with 10 men and boys in his tenure as assistant football coach.
Source: USA Today, "FBI changes definition of rape to include men as victims," Kevin Johnson, 1/6/2012
]]>Teenage drivers will now be required to note all of their hours spent behind the wheel and provide the log to license officials prior to receiving their license. Teens with a learners permit must demonstrate proof of 60 hours logged before they can receive their novice license. A novice licensed driver must demonstrate an additional 12 hours to qualify for a full North Carolina license.
]]> These changes must also be certified by a parent or guardian. The changes in the graduated driving law only apply to drivers under the age of 18 who are seeking a license.Other updates to North Carolina laws include a modification that allows individuals convicted of misdemeanors to be housed in county jails, not state prisons. The goal of this change is to reduce the financial burden on state prisons. Another notable change reduces the power of the state tax collector to fight corporations who may be dodging state tax requirements.
Source: WFMY News, "New Laws Come With the New Year In North Carolina," Devetta Blount, 12/30/2012
]]>The man was caught after tying to sell the Olympic torch for $200 to a pawn shop despite an estimated value of more than $15,000. The suspicious activity caught the attention of police who arrested the man. He has since been released in exchange of a promise to appear for his court hearing set for today in Asheville.
]]> News reports of the man's arrest don't make clear how the 43-year-old suspect stole the 1996 Olympic torch. It's possible that the torch was stolen from another owner or from the actual Olympic Games.Following North Carolina theft or larceny charges, it's important to work with a criminal defense lawyer who can protect your rights. A theft crimes attorney may be able to help you avoid jail time and serious consequences after criminal charges.
Source: Fox Sports "Stolen Olympic torch sold; man charged," 1/2/2012
]]>Some of the participating agencies included Lincolnton Police Department, North Carolina Probation and Parole, Gaston County Police Department and Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. All of the participating agencies worked together to arrest the "suspects wanted for various drug related offenses as a result of an undercover operation conducted by the Lincolnton Police Department's Criminal Investigation/Narcotics Division," WBTV reported.
]]> The 99 individuals that were named as wanted in the operation faced more than 400 charges. The remaining drug offenders are still sought by local law enforcement officers.Based on reports by those participating in "16 Days of Christmas," more than 1000 man hours were used in the 16 hour period. The special operation ran for 16 days, rather than only one day, to avoid overcrowding local jails.
Source: WBTV, "Operation '16 Days of Christmas' nabs 57 arrests on drug charges," Alison Hill, 12/22/2011
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