Wilmington, NC News

The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department says they identified the weapon and believe they have DNA from a suspect in the Corey Vann murder investigation.

It has been more than a month since 20-year-old Corey Vann was shot on River Road after leaving work at Brunswick Cove Nursing Home. Relatives were worried the case had gone cold, but the sheriff’s department says their investigation continues.

Chief Deputy Ed McMahon says investigators have several suspects and search warrants in the case. “You know we always feel confident when we have evidence that we’re waiting to process, when we have more leads coming in and we’re able to do search warrants.”

McMahon says being able to identify the weapon was a big step in the investigation. Vann has a criminal record, including drug possession, stolen goods possession, and carrying a concealed weapon, but friends and family say he had turned his life around.

McMahon added that many of their leads have come from the public. The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Department is encouraging anyone with information to call 910-798-4260.

A four day roundup yielded quite a crop of fugitives in the Wilmington area this week. 220 people were arrested, from violent criminals to probation absconders.

Robert Chavis has been wanted for assault and larceny since 1986. He was arrested in this week’s roundup.

The US Marshals and Wilmington Police took the lead in trying to trim a growing stack of arrest warrants. US Marshals Clyde Cook said, “You set the wrong tone if you don’t do something about that. And we aim to do something about it. We’re dusting off warrants from here, there and yonder.”

Dust them off they did, in a coordinated four day fugitive sweep that took months of planning by Wilmington detectives. “So that when those teams went out they weren’t running around the city willy nilly,” said Deputy Chief David Conklin. “They had a focused area they worked on and they were able to zero in on particular people in those areas.”

People like probation absconder Rachel Godwin, whose original offense was possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Also John Allinen, who was wanted for 39 counts of worthless checks dating back to 2004.

“It’s a pretty phenomenal number to get in one four day period,” said Conklin.

Cook added, “We’ve got some more unserved warrants. We’re coming.”

Both Conklin and Cook praised the inter-agency cooperation as a key to the operation’s success.

JACKSONVILLE — A judge has ruled that a North Carolina man who stabbed his mother to death with a butcher knife is incompetent to stand trial.

The Daily News of Jacksonville reported Friday that Onslow County Superior Court Judge Charles Henry ruled that Julius Thomas will be sent to a facility for mental health treatment. Doctors for the 21-year-old said he suffers from schizophrenia.

Thomas was indicted in September for first-degree murder in the January 2008 death of his mother, Theresa Thomas. He is also charged with trying to kill his father.

Thomas was accused of stabbing his parents and barricading himself inside their Jacksonville home. His parents escaped and his mother later died at a hospital.

Defense attorney Wally Paramore said Thomas will be evaluated every three to six months.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The health care industry is continuing to hire.

New Hanover Regional Medical center is looking for new nursing aides. The hospital is hosting an open house Saturday.

Qualified nurse aide candidates will have the opportunity to talk with a hiring manager on the spot.

If you are interested, the open house is being held at the Betty H. Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital, which is the main hospital on 17th Street. The open house will be from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.