Tag Archive for: #vancecountysheriff

Outstanding Warrants Served; Additional Charges Obtained

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Press Release:

On Wednesday, January 31, 2024 members of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office narcotics unit served several outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants for probation violation on Dylan Levi Vaughn, age 28 of Lemay Lane. During the investigation, additional charges for possession of heroin and cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resist, obstruct and delay were subsequently obtained. Vaughn is currently in the Vance County Jail with no bond.

Sheriff Curtis Brame Selected To Statewide Community Violence Advisory Board

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame is one of 25 people from across the state to serve on the state’s first Community Violence Advisory Board. The board’s first meeting was held virtually, with plans to gather in person in January.

Among the agenda items for Wednesday’s initial meeting were completion of a survey on core issues and barriers, as well as setting expectation for collaboration and engagement. The next meeting is scheduled for January.

NCDPS Secretary Eddie M. Buffaloe, Jr. made the selections, which includes representatives from law enforcement., public health, social services and other disciplines. The board will serve as a centralized strategic resource connecting the growing number of programs working across law enforcement, public health, social services and other disciplines to reduce violence and firearm misuse in N.C. communities.

Brame told WIZS News that the purpose is to “get more resources in rural areas” to reduce crime and violence, as well as firearm misuse in communities all across the state.

As part of the executive order establishing the N.C. Office of Violence Prevention, the Community Violence Advisory Board is a specialized body formed to provide expert guidance and strategic advice. It plays a pivotal role in enhancing the effectiveness of violence prevention programs across the state.

“Across our state, organizations are digging in and doing the work to reduce violence in their local communities,” said NCDPS Deputy Secretary Caroline Valand, who leads partnership engagement for the agency. “This board will bring these leaders together in a discussion that will help to elevate all of our individual efforts.”

“Violence prevention requires a connection between organizations that may not traditionally work together,” said Gerard Tate, executive director of the Office of Violence Prevention. “My team is pleased to be hosting this first conversation, and we are looking forward to building a centralized repository of resources that support all stakeholders working on violence prevention.”

TownTalk: Halloween Safety Tips

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From tech to costumes, learn about keeping everyone safe during Halloween.

CLICK PLAY!

 

Vance Sheriff Accepts $691,536 From N.C. Rep. Sossamon For Body-Worn Cameras

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame wants his employees to be safe when they are performing their duties, and he’s crunched the numbers, so he knows the price tag for state-of-the-art equipment.

When he learned that local legislators could make a request for body-worn cameras and supporting equipment from something called non-recurring funds, he got in touch with N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon, (R. Dist. 32) who represents Vance County and most of Granville County.

“I gave him the numbers and the platform (information and) it was granted, thank God,” Brame told WIZS News in advance of a meeting Thursday, where Sossamon presented a check to Brame and county officials for $691,536.

“This will be a big help for us,” Brame said. The funds will be used to outfit sheriff’s staff and detention staff with body-worn cameras and the supporting equipment needed to upload and store video footage. In addition to providing an extra layer of protection for the officer, Brame said the cameras will be useful if a situation were to arise and false claims are lodged against his officers.

In an interview earlier this week, Sossamon said he’s “elated” for Brame, his staff, and the residents of Vance County.

“We have some appropriation chairs that are very, very pro law enforcement,” Sossamon said in an interview this week. “Any time they can support law enforcement, they’re going to do it.”

The equipment, Sossamon predicted, will be a selling point for recruiting, not to mention “a morale booster for the sheriff and for his officers.”

New Law Eliminates Need For Sheriff’s Offices To Issue Pistol Purchase Permits

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame issued a press release Thursday to reiterate the news coming out of the N.C. General Assembly about pistol purchase permit applications.

“Effective immediately, pistol purchase permits will no longer be issued by any sheriff in North Carolina,” Brame stated. “The Vance County Sheriff’s Office has stopped processing pistol purchase permit applications, including pending applications,” he continued.

All state laws regarding the issuance of pistol purchase permits by sheriffs in North Carolina were repealed on Wednesday morning following a vote by the General Assembly to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 41, Guarantee 2nd Amendment Freedom and Protections.

This means any person who wants to purchase or transfer a handgun in North Carolina no longer has to apply to the sheriff for a pistol purchase permit. However, any person who wants to purchase a handgun through a firearms dealer will still undergo the background check required under current law and either be sold the handgun or denied sale if the background check indicates the person is disqualified from possessing a firearm.

Brame stressed that it is important to understand that North Carolina concealed handgun laws have NOT changed.

Any person residing in Vance County who wishes to carry a concealed handgun in North Carolina must still apply for and be issued a concealed handgun permit by the sheriff.

Criminal penalties still apply for anyone that knowingly transfers a handgun to a person who may not lawfully possess the firearm (such as a convicted felon). Therefore, it is important for citizens to remember that anyone wishing to obtain or transfer any firearm, including a handgun, must still comply with federal and state laws governing who may lawfully possess a firearm.

 

 

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Jail Health Care Provider Bails, County Looking For Options

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Vance County commissioners approved a recommendation Monday to pay almost $100,000 to a Charlotte-based urgent care company to provide two weeks’ worth of health care services at the county detention center after the company that had the contract to provide care terminated its agreement with the jail.

Sheriff Curtis Brame told WIZS News on Tuesday that he was not present at the meeting, originally scheduled to discuss in closed session an economic development project.

Brame did not elaborate on the reason that Southern Health Partners terminated the contract and stopped providing services to detainees at the jail on Friday, Oct. 14.

“We just didn’t see eye-to-eye on certain things and they made the decision to leave,” he said in a telephone interview.

Southern Health Partners gave a two-week notice, which set in motion a search for a new provider, according to information that County Manager Jordan McMillen gave in his report to the board on Monday.

Three of the four companies that were contacted declined the offer, but a fourth, StarMed, agreed to step in on a short-term basis. The bill for the first week was $52,000 and the bill for the second week is $40,000.

The jail health care item was added to the agenda late Friday, Oct. 21, according to McMillen, when the county got the bill for the second week of service.

“The health department was instrumental in identifying StarMed…and health department nurses were critical in filling the gap over the first weekend until the transition was made,” McMillen wrote in his report.

StarMed has expressed interest in continuing its contract for an additional 60 days, but McMillen said cost is an issue.

“We are continuing to look for a long-term solution which will require the need for a local physician to oversee the program as well as nurses to work in the jail,” he stated.

The county is responsible for funding, but it is the sheriff who oversees the jail and requirements related to secure, provide and maintain health care at the jail, McMillen said.

The money to pay StarMed would come from the county’s fund balance, the report stated.

Commissioners also approved authorizing the county manager to approve additional contracts up to the next 60 days.

Sheriff Brame: Illegal Phone Scam Circulating

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Vance Sheriff Curtis Brame has reported that the main phone number for the sheriff’s office has been cloned and is being used in an illegal scheme after hearing from numerous citizens that they have been called and told they will be arrested if they don’t comply with instructions.

According to Brame, citizens are getting calls that because they failed to appear in court to serve as jurors, they must pay a certain amount of money or face arrest.

“They are being advised to take cash and deposit same into a kiosk machine at a local convenience store to avoid being arrested,” Brame said in communication to WIZS News Friday.

“At no time will my office or the clerk’s office direct a citizen to take funds to a third-party location,” Brame said.

Anyone who receives a call like this is asked to obtain as much information as possible from the caller and contact local law enforcement agencies.

 

One Drug Arrest Made In Julia Avenue Investigation On April 29

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A local woman was arrested late last week on drug charges, according to Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

The Vance County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance provided by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant at the residence of Ruby Cooper, 2006 Julia Ave., Henderson. The warrant was served shortly before 6:00 pm.

The warrant, served just before 6 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 29, was issued as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal drug sales in and around the Julia Avenue area, Brame said in a press statement that WIZS News received today (Tuesday).

Cooper, 56, was arrested and faces charges of possession with intent to sell and deliver heroin and cocaine, felony possession of heroin and cocaine and one felony count of  maintaining a dwelling which was resorted to by persons both using and selling controlled substances, according to the press statement.

Members of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office “located and seized approximately 110 dosage units of heroin, a Schedule 1 controlled substance, approximately 35 dosage units of cocaine base, a Schedule 2 controlled substance and an additional 6.5 grams of cocaine base,” the statement read.  Various other items, including money, also were located and seized.

 Brame said more arrests are anticipated related to this investigation.

No information was available on whether a bond was set or whether the suspect remains in custody.

TownTalk: Law Enforcement Staff Shortages And Pay Disparities In Vance Co.

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The Vance County Sheriff’s Office is hiring. There are openings for detention officers at the county detention center, and there are openings for sheriff’s deputies as well. A qualified candidate for a job as a detention officer could earn a starting salary between $33,000 and $35,000.

The City of Henderson also is hiring and a qualified candidate for a police officer job is guaranteed a salary of $42,503. That salary is adjusted upward for candidates with college credits.

These are basic facts easily available in a quick online search. If only it were as easy as a click of the mouse or a few keystrokes to find candidates to fill these jobs.

Vance Sheriff Curtis R. Brame told WIZS News that there are 17 positions available at the local detention center and eight positions available at the sheriff’s office.

Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow says his department loses personnel who get jobs in law enforcement agencies in nearby counties – as well as the N.C. Highway Patrol.

It all boils down to what counties and cities are willing – and able – to pay for qualified personnel.

“We lose people to the N.C. Highway Patrol, Franklin County and to the Wake Forest police department,” Barrow told WIZS News by text message Wednesday. He said one need only look at the pay scale for a state trooper to understand why it turns the heads of employees in other law enforcement agencies. The average salary of a state trooper in North Carolina is about $46,000.

The Town of Wake Forest, for example, has posted on its website that a salary for an officer with no prior sworn law enforcement experience is $50,243. There are salary additions, including an extra 2.5 percent for a candidate with an associate’s degree to 5 percent if a candidate is fluent in Spanish. A new officer also receives an automatic 5 percent increase after six months of employment with the town.

At the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, starting pay a non-BLET certified officer is $34,000, plus incentives. (BLET stands for Basic Law Enforcement Training. Vance-Granville Community College offers BLET classes for those interested in a career in law enforcement.)

That salary jumps to close to $40,000 for those with BLET certification. The Durham Sheriff’s Office has similar salary add-ons as the Wake Forest police department – a 2.5 percent bump each for an associate’s degree, fluent Spanish speaker and honorable discharge from military service and a 5 percent increase for candidates with a bachelor’s degree.

Smaller, more rural communities like Henderson and Vance County face challenges every day from neighboring areas that benefit from being closer to larger, more urban areas.

It’s competition, pure and simple. And a little bit of supply and demand. But without competitive pay packages, demand is probably always going to exceed supply.

 

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TownTalk: Politics And Its Impact On Local Law Enforcement

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Local politics in Vance County certainly lends credibility to the adage that there are two sides to every story.

The three sheriff’s deputies that remain on suspension with pay want their day in court, and District Attorney Mike Waters said he predicts that a trial could be late summer 2022 or later in the making.

But Sheriff Curtis Brame said he feels like it’s a ploy to wait until after the 2022 elections to decide the fate of the three deputies.

John C. Rose spoke by telephone to both Waters and Brame today (Monday), and both men sounded frustrated with the situation and progress – or lack thereof.

The deputies were indicted earlier this year and Brame said it was his decision, upon hearing from an independent investigation, to suspend the deputies with pay. During a recent county commissioners’ meeting, a member of the public asked the commissioners just how long the deputies would continue to draw their pay while on suspension.

Waters agreed that it was up to the sheriff about what to do with his employees. “He always has discretion about how he’s going to deal with his employees going forward,” Waters said.

“I know I can’t do this indefinitely,” Brame acknowledged. But he contends that politics is playing a role, adding that he feels the district attorney is dragging out the process, “and that puts the burden on me.”

Brame also said he predicts the cases will not be resolved before the 2022 elections. And he blames that on politics, too.

Waters said additional orders will be released soon that will “illuminate” details of the internal investigation of the sheriff’s office as well as release transcripts that presently are sealed.

Waters said the sheriff has made some statements that he “vehemently” disagrees with regarding the case, but he didn’t elaborate for publication. And, because it is an ongoing investigation and it will be litigated, he cannot discuss details on the record.

Brame said all he and his deputies want is to have their day in court.

On that statement, he and the district attorney agree.

“Yeah, there will be a day in court,” Waters said.

 

Click Play – about the 17 minute mark starts the politics and law enforcement part