Press Releases
The suspect sought in the murder investigation of Trooper S. N. Bullard is in custody after an extensive search by state and local authorities. On Wednesday, May 23 at approximately 3:30 a.m., investigators arrested Dakota Kape Whitt, 22, of Elkin without incident.
Whitt was transported to the Wilkes County Detention Center in Wilkesboro.
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In anticipation of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, increased traffic congestion is expected across the state, as motorists travel to their intended destinations. North Carolina provides several vacation opportunities from the mountains to the coast which also invites an increased number of visitors from surrounding states.
The State Highway Patrol is seeking assistance from the public in locating the driver involved in Monday night's pursuit in Surry County. At approximately 10:53 p.m., troopers attempted to stop a black BMW passenger vehicle that traveled through a checkpoint. During the pursuit of the BMW, Trooper S. N. Bullard was involved in a collision, causing Bullard to succumb to his injuries at the scene.
The fragile, sea-level terrain of the Outer Banks makes its infrastructure especially vulnerable when storms threaten. Local and state officials say a new assessment effort will help the Outer Banks and coastal communities become more resilient during future disasters.
North Carolina Emergency Management is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to assess items of critical infrastructure that serve North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Ten experienced emergency managers and fire service officials from North Carolina departed Saturday for Hawaii, to serve on an incident management team requested by Hawaii’s state emergency management agency as response continues to the erupting Kilauea volcano.
The North Carolina team will work from an emergency operations center in Hilo, on the big island of Hawaii, supporting the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency. The team consists of one state emergency manager and nine county and local emergency managers and fire officials.
On May 11 at approximately 8:10 a.m. at Nash Correctional Institution, a correctional officer was assaulted by inmate Treamine Ross (#1163272). Ross struck the officer before being subdued by other correctional officers. DPS will seek charges against Ross and is also investigating the incident.
The injured officer required outside medical treatment.
Governor Roy Cooper’s request for a federal disaster declaration to help tornado victims in Guilford and Rockingham counties was approved today by President Donald Trump. The declaration means people recovering from the April 15 storm will be able to apply for low-interest federal loans or grants to help them repair their homes and businesses.
At approximately 11:57 p.m. on May 6 at Sampson Correctional Institution, an inmate assaulted a correctional officer. Staff quickly responded, and another correctional officer was assaulted as the inmate was subdued.
The offending inmate was placed into restrictive housing. Both correctional officers were sent for outside medical treatment and released with non-life-threatening injuries.
State correctional and local law enforcement officers are seeking Gaston Correctional Center minimum custody inmate Montavious Miller (#0696992), who was reported missing from the facility Wednesday night. Miller was last seen at the facility at 7:30 p.m. and reported missing at 9 p.m.
Governor Roy Cooper today issued a state public assistance disaster declaration for the town of Tryon in Polk County and the Village of Cedar Rock in Caldwell County to help these local governments recover costs spent cleaning up from fall storms. Both communities were hit by tornadoes that formed from the remnants of Tropical Storm Nate in October 2017.