A man linked to at least a dozen local business break-ins in Morganton has been taken into custody.

Mark Hodsden was arrested Thursday for one count of breaking and entering.

Last week, reports say Friday Friends restaurant was broken into and the suspect was caught on surveillance and later identified as Hodsden.

A press release states Hodsden has been linked to at least 12 local business break ins from June to September of this year.

Over the past two months, Morganton Public Safety investigators have been looking into numerous reports of business break ins – several of those had the front door smashed and cash registers taken.

Officials are investigating 16 similar break-ins to see if there is a connection to Hodsden.

He is currently in the Burke Catawba Detention Facility under a 5-thousand-dollar secured bond.

A Hickory man wanted in connection with a shooting last week is now in custody.

30-year-old Adrian Jamar Wells is charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury after turning himself in Friday at Hickory Police headquarters.

Wells’ charges stem from the shooting of 28-year-old Donnie Arnell Morgan when officers discovered him on Eighth Avenue Drive Southeast with a gunshot wound to the back.

Morgan was transferred from Frye Regional to Baptist Hospital for treatment.

Wells is being held in the Catawba County confinement facility under a 100-thousand dollar bond.

A Stanley man still facing charges in Catawba County was found guilty in Lincoln County on two felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.

67-year-old Gilbert Donald List Junior pleaded guilty to the sexual assault charges in connection with incidents that occurred between January and December 2016.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office reports the female victim was nine years old at the time of the assault and is related to the suspect.

List was sentenced to a prison term of 15 to 27 months.

Upon release, List must also register on the state’s sex offender registry as a sex offender for 30 years.

The charges in Catawba are related to the incidents in Lincoln County.

Following last year’s flu season – called the deadliest in modern day NC history; federal and local infectious disease officials are predicting a milder climate for 2018-2019.

Flu season typically begins October 1^st and lasts through March 31^st, although in seasons past the flu and flu-related deaths have lingered for several additional weeks.

Officials at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center say they have no indications that this flu season will be more severe than normal; further stating that everyone over the age of six months should get the vaccine before the end of October if possible.

Flu vaccines are typically available in doctor’s offices, health care clinics, county health departments, and pharmacies as well as by many employers.

Shots are typically free for those with private insurance and Medicare/Medicaid recipients.

NC had 386 flu-related deaths during the 2017-18 season.

Besides the elderly, vulnerable groups include children younger than 5, pregnant women, and those with pre-existing conditions.

Added this year is the category of nursing home and long term facility residents.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that if vaccinated individuals did become ill with the flu last year, they were much less likely to be hospitalized or face serious complications compared to those who had not been vaccinated.