Mom Mails Knife to Kids for Murder Plot, Cops Allege

Mar 062013
 

WCTI/ABC News(GREENVILLE, N.C.) — A Florida woman is being held on $5 million bond for allegedly mailing a knife to her two young children and telling them to kill their grandparents, police said.

Leticia Silva, 31, of Lakeland, Fla., is charged with four counts of solicitation to commit murder. Her children, daughters age 7 and 9, have been living with their grandparents in Greenville, N.C., for seven years.  The grandparents have permanent custody of the girls, police said.

Silva “contacted her children and asked them to kill their grandparents,” according to a statement by the Pitt County Sheriff’s office.  Greenville is located in Pitt County.

“The children revealed that Silva had mailed a knife to be used as the weapon to commit this crime,” the sheriff’s statement said.

 

The knife and the message were sent to the girls in December 2012, police said. The grandparents found the knife under the pillow of one of the girls in February, according to the statement. The police said they began their investigation on Feb. 4.

Officials said the grandparents spoke to the children about finding the knife and were told that they “love their grandparents very much” and couldn’t carry out the murder.

Silva turned herself in to Pitt County authorities on Monday and was held on $5 million bond. She recently requested a reduction in bail, telling the judge, “Your honor,  I need… my family is here from Florida. I turned myself in. I need to see if I can get a bond reduction.”

The judge refused to lower Silva’s bail.

Silva’s boyfriend reportedly has said that he believes the charges are a result of a “misunderstanding” and that the children’s grandparents are “making this all up.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Cop’s Good Deed Goes Viral

Mar 042013
 

Thinkstock/Getty Images(WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.) — It was cold, wet and gray in Winston-Salem, N.C., when Police Officer Charlie Ziegler noticed a woman pushing a stroller in the rain.

“I went up to her and said, ‘Get in the car, there’s no reason for you or your baby to be out here,’” Ziegler told ABC News.

Ziegler’s act of chivalry last Tuesday was photographed by a passer-by and posted on Facebook and the officer has been surprised by how popular the photo has become on the Internet since, to him,  it was a normal act of kindness.

“You see someone and you just help them,” he said.

The woman and her child had only three blocks left before reaching her destination, a daycare center where she works, but Ziegler wanted to get them out of the icy rain.

Ziegler joined the police department four years ago.

“It was one of those, either do it or stop talking about it kind of moments. Right around when the economy went completely down. So I applied and here I am,” said Ziegler.

But the officer doesn’t attribute his good deed to being a policeman. As a husband and father of two young children, Ziegler says even if he was off-duty, he still would have helped the woman.

When off-duty, Ziegler works at First Baptist Church. He said that while providing security there, he often sees the woman who he helped walk by.

Ziegler’s mother-in-law, Donna Johnson, told ABC News that the act was representative of his caring personality.

“He’s just that type of person. Very helpful and outgoing, and he doesn’t want to see anyone in trouble or in need,” said Johnson.

Ziegler’s wife Rachel echoed her mom’s statement. “It’s not a surprising story,” she told ABC News. “It’s very Charlie-esque.”

Rachel Ziegler said she’s surprised by how viral the image has become.

“Last Tuesday I was actually having lunch with him and he told me that someone from the local news had contacted him and it surprised me,” she said. “You would just expect anyone to do that…to save someone from the freezing rain.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Three Wounded in Accidental Gun Show Shooting

Jan 202013
 

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(RALEIGH, N.C.) — Three people were wounded at a gun show in North Carolina on Saturday, when a 12-gauge shotgun accidentally fired as a man was trying to open the case during a security check, local officials said.

A retired sheriff’s deputy and two bystanders were hit by shotgun pellets today at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show, which is held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

“When he attempted to open the case to be inspected, the shotgun accidentally discharged,” fairgrounds spokesman Brian Long said.

The three suffered minor gunshot wounds.

Because of the shooting, Long said private gun sales will be banned at the show Sunday.

“We are not going to allow any what you would call private person-to-person gun sales,” he said. “They will not be allowed to bring a gun with them. They will only be able to come in and buy from the vendors that are selling at the show.”

Long said thousands of people turned out to attend the annual show.

“The advance ticket sales for the show were higher than usual, so we do believe that we have an adequate number of officers and security personnel on sight,” he said.

There were two other incidents at other gun shows around the country Saturday.

A man shot himself in the hand when he was unloading his .45-caliber semi-automatic at the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife Show in Indianapolis. And gun dealer checking a semi-automatic handgun he’d bought accidentally pulled the trigger, and the bullet ricocheted off the floor and hit a friend in the arm and leg. The gun’s magazine had been removed, but one round was still in the chamber, police said.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Deaf Man Stabbed After Sign Language Mistaken for Gang Signs

Jan 142013
 

Burlington Police Department(BURLINGTON, N.C.) — A deaf man in North Carolina, communicating to a friend via sign language, was stabbed multiple times after he was mistaken for flashing gang signs, police said.

Terrance Ervin Daniels, 45, was brutally attacked “in the upper body” with a kitchen knife on Jan. 9 in Burlington, N.C., while he and another deaf friend were signing to each other while walking down the street.

Suspect Robert Jarell Neal, 22, saw the men and “mistook the sign language for gang signs,” Sgt. Mark Yancey of the Burlington Police Department told ABC News.

“An altercation ensued and the victim was stabbed several times,” Yancey said.

Strangely, Yancey said, there is no evidence to indicate that Neal was a member of a gang, and it remains unknown why he attacked Daniels. Police would not say if the suspect is believed to have used drugs or alcohol.

Daniels was taken by helicopter to the trauma center at the University of North Carolina, where he remains in stable condition.

Neal fled and was later arrested by police nearby in Elon, N.C., Yancey said. He appeared in court on Friday and was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, but did not enter a plea. Bond was set at $500,000.

Neal will likely be represented by a public defender, but an attorney has not yet been appointed.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Soldier’s Surprise Homecoming at Christmas Parade Shocks Family

Dec 182012
 

Shelby Police(SHELBY, N.C.) — An unexpected event stole the show during the annual Christmas parade in Shelby, N.C.

Specialist Walter Smith, 26, returned home early from Afghanistan to surprise his family along the parade route by popping out of the backseat of an antique Shelby police patrol car that was part of the celebration.

“I was the lucky one that got to carry him,” Shelby Police Chief Jeff Ledford told ABC News.  “It was well worth it. That was a highlight of the parade. They had no idea.”

One of Smith’s cousins, Gloria Philbeck, works as a telecommunicator for the police department and asked Ledford if the department could help organize the surprise. He obliged, and was excited to take part in the family’s special moment.

“She came to me about a week ago and said he was coming home. They wanted to make it special and make sure that nobody would know. So we just started arranging,” Ledford said. “How do we pull this off and make it really cool? So we lay him in the backseat and cover him up with a raincoat.”

Once the patrol car reached the point where Smith’s family was located on the sidewalk, Ledford stopped the car, walked over to Smith’s grandmother and told her Santa had an early Christmas present for her.

“We had our Honor Guard keyed in so they knew. They spun around to salute him,” Ledford explained. “It was one of the coolest moments, other than the grandmother’s face when I told her Santa was bringing them a present a little early. The look on her face was priceless.”

“He goes halfway to the family and he heard the Honor Guard salute him. And he turned around and saluted them back. That’s when the crowd erupted. They heard his grandmother screaming, and that’s when they knew they were witnessing something amazing. You almost didn’t want to go back and finish the parade. You just wanted to stay there and celebrate.”

Smith, who had been deployed to Afghanistan for seven and a half months, originally wasn’t scheduled to return home until April 2013. But the second he learned of his early homecoming, he started planning the surprise.

“I was planning it as soon as I knew I was coming home,” Smith said. “I knew the Christmas parade was the week after I came home, and I knew they’d all be there. They all went crazy when I showed my face. I think my grandma and my mom were the most excited.”

But they weren’t the only women he rushed home to surprise. His baby daughter, Serena, was born two and a half months ago.

“I got to see her for the first time. It meant the world to me,” said Smith.

Smith is home for good now and is keeping busy Christmas shopping and playing with his little girl.

 

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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