A Connelly Springs man is reportedly charged with arson in connection with a residential fire Friday that displaced three people.

Published reports say 31-year-old Donald William Eden of 6612 Cara Drive has been charged with second-degree arson and burning of personal property.

The blaze destroyed the mobile home also located on Cara Drive.

Fire investigators report witnesses observed Eden in the area whenever the fire was reported, and that he had been beating a car with a baseball bat.

Reports say the car was also burned separate from the structure fire.

The Red Cross is assisting those individuals displaced by the fire.

Multiple county fire departments were called to the incident, along with Burke EMS and the Burke Fire Marshal’s Office.

Reports indicate Eden’s bond was set at 35-thousand dollars secured.

A shooting in McDowell County Thursday afternoon leaves a Nebo man dead, and the assailant still at large.

McDowell authorities are asking for the public’s help in piecing together the events of the fatal shooting.

Reports say deputies were called to 12187 Montford Cove Road around 1:30 Thursday afternoon, where they found 39-year-old James Robert Eller dead inside a vehicle with a gunshot wound to his torso.

No arrests have yet been made, but an investigation continues.

Anyone who may have picked up a person on Montford Cove Road between 1 and 3 pm Thursday or anyone having information regarding the incident should call the McDowell Sheriff’s Office at 652-2237.

A former Caldwell County teacher pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sex charges on Friday according to published reports.

Justin Biggs was formerly a teacher and softball coach at William Lenoir Middle School before being arrested.

Reports say Biggs is accused of inappropriately touching five middle school female students while on campus.

Following last week’s guilty plea, felony charges of taking indecent liberties with a child were dismissed.

Biggs reportedly resigned just days after his arrest in 2017.

A Marion man gets hit with drug charges as he was approaching a traffic checkpoint in McDowell County.

Reports say 50-year-old Charles Edward Davis, Junior of Carson Elliott Drive was observed coming toward the traffic stop on Tate Street by officers who recognized him.

The deputy observed an open bottle of liquor inside Davis’ vehicle, as well as drug paraphernalia.

A further investigation turned up 4-point-5 grams of meth.

Davis was then charged with possession of meth and drug paraphernalia, possession of an open container of alcohol, and driving while license revoked.

To help address the current emergency blood shortage, all donors who give blood or platelets with the American Red Cross through August 29^th will receive a 5-dollar Amazon gift card in the mail.

Currently, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of most blood types available, and less than a two-day supply of Type O blood.

The need for blood is constant.

In the US every two seconds blood is needed to help accident and burn victims, heart surgery and organ transplant patients, and those receiving treatment for cancer.

A blood donation takes about an hour from start to finish, but the actual donation itself only takes about 8 to 10 minutes; yet only 3 out of 100 people in the nation donate.

Upcoming donation opportunities to be held –

Friday August 2^nd in Marion at the Marion Moose Lodge on Bill Cook Drive from 3:30 till 8 pm and

Monday August 12^th in Nebo at the Nebo United Methodist Church on Nebo School Road from Noon till 5 PM.

Or you can schedule an appointment to give by activating Amazon’s Alexa Red Cross Blood Skill by saying ‘Alexa find a blood drive’, or by calling 1-800-red-cross.

A Hickory woman reported missing last Friday was found deceased inside a vehicle at the Conover Wal-Mart Monday evening.

Police reports say the death of 20-year-old Emily Morgan Childers was confirmed on Wednesday by the Conover Police Chief.

Investigators report Childers cause of death is pending; while awaiting autopsy results.

According to reports, Childers’ family reported her missing after not hearing from her for more than 24 hours.

She was reportedly an employee at the Wal-Mart in Conover.

Law enforcement officials are warning local citizens to be cautious of scams prompting them to send money or purchase gift cards.

McDowell County authorities report numerous citizens have recently reported they have been contacted by phone or through social media.

When contacted, the scammers advise the person to provide money, bank account numbers and/or numbers from gift cards they’re instructed to purchase.

Some of the scammers are telling people they will be provided with 50-thousand dollars or more for retirement, if they carry out their instructions.

The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office urge citizens not to send money, or give out personal information.

Anyone having questions or concerns if receiving such a call, can contact the McDowell Sheriff’s office at 652-2235.

An unoccupied home in Hickory sustained heavy damage in a fire early Wednesday morning.

Hickory Firefighters were called to the reported structure fire at 345 3^rd Street Southeast just before 1 o’clock to find the home engulfed in fire; with flames coming from the roof.

A news release states no one was living in the house because it was being remodeled.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

No injuries were reported.

Police in Shelby say two brothers are allegedly responsible for shooting into a car wounding a teenager Sunday afternoon

22-year-old Shunquize Brown and his brother 18-year-old Kayden Byers were arrested Monday and charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count of misdemeanor child abuse.

According to police reports, the brothers had a 4-year-old child in the car with them at the time of the shooting.

One of the brothers reportedly went up to a car parked on Concord Street in Shelby and discharged multiple shots into the vehicle occupied by three teens.

19-year-old Ahric Lipscomb was struck several times and transported to a Charlotte hospital.

Brown and Byers are being held without bond.

Reports say Byers is also connected with another Shelby shooting in which a teenager was killed.

Officials are working to determine if the incidents are related.

A report of a suspicious couple leads authorities to arrest a Morganton pair on drug charges.

Drexel Police officers were called to O’Reilly Auto Parts at Highway 70 and Drexel Road on July 8^th where reports say a man and a woman had been loitering.

Officers located the suspects inside a pickup at the store – 29-year-old Anthony Joseph Saunders of 4000 Hawkins Drive and 29-year-old Jodi Elizabeth Sturgill of 1770 Propst Road.

Upon further investigation officers discovered suspected drugs and called narcotics detectives with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office to assist.

Saunders and Sturgill were both arrested and each charged with felony possession of meth.

Both were held at the Burke Catawba District Confinement facility under a three thousand dollar secured bond each.

Saunders and Sturgill will appear in court July 31^st.

More than 11-thousand-500-dollars worth of valuables was stolen from a Marion couple.

Marvin and Robin Pace reported to lawmen that a safe and jewelry had been removed from their residence.

An investigation led officers to arrest a 17-year-old male who is related to the couple he reportedly stole from.

He was charged with larceny, safecracking, and possession of stolen goods.

A McDowell County elementary school teacher’s assistant has been found guilty of assaulting an individual with disabilities.

Printed reports say the guilty ruling was handed down Monday.

Reports state Anjanette Rebekah Myers of Marion was charged last February after school officials learned of the incident and notified the sheriff’s office.

Myers reportedly struck a 9-year-old child on the side of the head.

Myers was then, reports show, suspended from her duties at West Marion Elementary and later terminated upon completion of the investigation.

She was convicted of assault on an individual with disabilities – sentenced to 60 days; however, the sentence was reportedly suspended and Myers was placed on supervised probation.

She is also set to receive a comprehensive clinical assessment and comply with any treatment recommendations.

Myers is further to have no contact with the victim and pay court costs.

She has reportedly given notice of appeal.

A pedestrian walking along a Caldwell County highway was struck and killed Tuesday morning.

The Highway Patrol reports the crash occurred around 7:30 on US 321 near Echo Drive in Lenoir.

Reports indicate a woman driving a pickup ran off the road and hit the man who was walking in the grass along the southbound lanes.

Troopers continue to investigate the incident, and will turn over their findings to the DA’s office for a decision on charges.

Corning Optical Communications is set to move its headquarters from Hickory to Charlotte next month, but company officials say Corning remains committed to its manufacturing operations in Catawba County.

Corning manufactures fiber optic cable, among other products and announced four years ago its plan to relocate the headquarters.

An article published in the Hickory Daily Record says the move is set to begin in early August and should take a few weeks.

An estimated 500 jobs from the Hickory headquarters will be going to Charlotte though many employees will continue to live in Hickory and commute to the new location.

The article says jobs have been added in its manufacturing plants in Catawba County to offset the job loss from the headquarters move.

A Taylorsville teen is in custody after reports say he stabbed a man Monday night in Alexander County.

19-year-old Jonathan Andrew Johnson is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury according to a news release.

Lawmen with the sheriff’s office, Taylorsville Police, and the Highway Patrol found 20-year-old Darion Campbell next to a roadway suffering from numerous stab wounds to his neck and back.

Campbell told officers Johnson had stabbed him during an argument at Johnson’s home.

Campbell was airlifted to Atrium Health in Charlotte.

Reports say Johnson was arrested and held under a 250-thousand dollar secured bond.

A Hickory man now faces a second-degree murder charge in connection to a fatal crash over the weekend involving a Gaston County Sheriff’s deputy.

41-year-old Joshua Todd Soule was initially charged with driving while impaired and fleeing to elude arrest.

Reports say a Gaston officer attempted to stop Soule Sunday evening as he was drifting in and out of his lane.

In attempts to escape law enforcement, Soule reportedly ran a stop light and proceeded through an intersection at a high rate of speed causing his vehicle to go airborne.

Officials say the vehicle struck two pedestrians – killing one, and seriously injuring the other.

Soule tried to flee on foot but was apprehended by deputies.

The murder charge was added in court today as the Highway Patrol confirmed that Soule’s vehicle struck the two.

Soule was booked into the Gaston County jail early Monday morning where he remains under a 2-million dollar secured bond.

A pair from Marion is charged with assault after an ambush on Sunday sent a man to the hospital.

21-year-old Brian Austin Hollifield and 28-year-old Marion Gwen McCullers both of Arbutus Road are charged with assault inflicting serious bodily injury.

A news release states the victim, 23-year-old Kyle Rhodes of Marion reported that McCullers picked him up and took him to the suspects’ house.

Reports say McCullers is Rhodes former girlfriend.

Rhodes told officers when he stepped inside the home, multiple people jumped and assaulted him.

He was transported to Mission Hospital in Asheville with non-life threatening injuries.

Additional charges and arrests are pending.

A fugitive from Tennessee was apprehended Friday in Alexander County after officers received a report of a suspicious moped driver.

Reports say deputies stopped the moped on NC 127 and checked the driver’s ID.

Records showed the moped operator John Ray Davidson was a wanted fugitive from Sullivan County Tennessee.

Davidson was wanted there for failing to appear in court in 2011 on a felony aggravated assault charge.

He was transported to the Alexander County detention center to await an extradition hearing.

His bond was set at 25-thousand dollars.

An overnight fire Thursday in Alexander County results in more than 300-thousand dollars worth of damage.

The blaze destroyed a 450-foot long chicken house and killed about 11-thousand chickens.

Firefighters were able though to contain the fire, preventing it from spreading to a similar building just feet away.

Reports say that building suffered only minor heat damage and all the chickens in that house survived.

Fire investigators say the fire was accidental, suspecting an electrical problem.

The investigation continues.

A driver has been charged Friday after colliding with a Marion Police officer Thursday afternoon.

Emergency units were called to North Main Street in Marion to a reported multi-car accident with entrapment.

Highway Patrol reports say Officer Matt Huggins was driving a marked Marion Police patrol vehicle when an SUV driven by Trechele Vail turned in front of the police car causing the collision.

An investigation indicated speed was not a factor in the mishap.

Vail and Huggins were both transported to an area hospital.

Huggins is expected to return to work on today according to reports.

Vail was issued a citation.

With temperatures on the rise, Catawba County households experiencing a cooling-related crisis may apply for financial assistance from NC’s department of health and human services crisis intervention program.

Households may qualify for assistance if they have received a disconnect notice for their primary cooling source, do not have timely and appropriate assistance from another source, and don not have the resources to meet the expense.

Qualifying guidelines also consider medical risk, age of residents, and certain situations associated with excessively high temperatures in the home.

Applicants must provide the disconnect notice for their cooling, a picture ID, a Social Security card or number for everyone in the household, and income and resource information for all who reside in the home.

Call the Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry at 465-1702 for more information.

A Valdese woman is charged with speeding through a work zone while eluding authorities.

41-year-old Tracy Nicole Brooks of Goins Drive was spotted driving through a construction zone on I-40 near mile marker 111 reaching a speed of approximately 100 miles per hour.

Burke County deputies attempted a traffic stop; however, Brooks failed to stop for emergency lights and siren reaching speeds of 110 miles per hour.

A news release states the chase continued for around 7 miles and ended whenever Brooks pulled into the Sheriff’s office parking lot on Enola Road.

Brooks advised officers she was turning herself in on an outstanding warrant, although a records check did not reveal any outstanding warrants.

Brooks was placed in custody and charged with a felony count of fleeing to elude arrest.

She was then placed in the Burke Catawba District Confinement Facility under a 10-thousand dollar secured bond.

Brooks’ vehicle was seized by the sheriff’s office pursuant to NC’s run and you’re done law.

An Old Fort man is hospitalized following a residential fire on Sugar Hill Road Wednesday evening.

Fire officials say the man was suffering non life-threatening injuries, and no one else sustained injury.

Multiple fire departments from McDowell County responded to the blaze – Old Fort, Crooked Creek, Pleasant Gardens, and Sugar Hill.

State and local officials continue to investigate the cause of the fire; with members from the SBI, the McDowell County Fire Marshal, and McDowell County Sheriff’s Office.

McDowell EMS and Rescue Squad assisted at the fire scene.

Officers in McDowell County serving an outstanding warrant find drugs on the suspect.

47-year-old Albert Jeffery Johnson of Clover View Drive in Marion was served the warrant at his residence, while the officer located a half-gram of cocaine and items of drug paraphernalia.

Deputies arrested Johnson on charges of possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

A Shelby man has been jailed for allegedly trafficking twin sisters from South Carolina back to Cleveland County.

26-year-old Derrell Davion Russell of Peach Street was charged Tuesday evening as Cleveland County authorities conducted a social media sting operation.

Reports say the 14-year-old twins met Russell using Facebook’s messenger app and arranged to meet this past March.

The twins believed Russell was closer to their age.

He reportedly went to the girls’ home in Blacksburg, in March and brought them back to Cleveland County.

Court documents reveal one of the girls was sexually assaulted that day.

The girls’ family reported the incident to Cleveland County authorities who then set up a surprise meeting with Russell.

A sex crimes investigator was waiting for Russell who thought he was again meeting the twins.

Russell has been charged with kidnapping, statutory rape of a child by an adult, contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, solicitation by computer, and human trafficking a child victim.

His bond was set at 1-million dollars.

Officials are still investigating to see if there may be additional victims in the case.