Tag Archive for: #vancecountysheriffsoffice

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.”

One Arrest Made In Connection With Stolen Vehicle

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-information courtesy of the Vance County Sheriff’s Office

Vance County Sheriff’s officers took one person into custody Tuesday following a traffic stop on Morgan Road involving a report of a stolen vehicle.

Det. J.S. Anderson with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office stated that the vehicle, a 2022 Toyota valued at $35,000, had been stolen. Arrested and charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle was Donte’ Scott Henderson, 28, of 495 Morgan Rd.

Henderson also was charged with possession of heroin, following a search of the vehicle in question.

Henderson was placed under a $30,000 secured bond and has an initial court date of Oct. 12.

Sheriff Brame Attends NC Sheriffs’ Association’s Business Conference

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 Last week, the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association hosted sheriffs, sheriffs’ personnel and their families from across the state for their Annual Business Conference. Vance County Sheriff Curtis R. Brame was in attendance. Commenting on their experience at the Annual Business Conference, Sheriff Curtis R. Brame said, “I always look forward to the opportunity to meet with fellow sheriffs at Association events. It is important for us to collaborate and always work to enhance the Office of Sheriff in North Carolina. The Annual Business Conference is just one of the many ways the Association allows us to do that.”

 The Annual Business Conference is an opportunity for sheriffs and sheriffs’ personnel to gather for networking, panel discussions, and training programs which cover a variety of topics related to law enforcement. Topics covered during this year’s Annual Business Conference included the sheriff’s role in school safety and active shooter response procedures, among others. Attendees also heard presentations from guest speakers and attended a number of meetings throughout the conference.

The Association also elects new Executive Committee officers each year at the conference. This year’s elections resulted in five sheriffs being elected to new offices:

∙ President – Sheriff Darren Campbell, Iredell County

 ∙ First Vice President – Sheriff Mike Roberson, Chatham County

 ∙ Second Vice President – Sheriff Ricky Buchanan, McDowell County

 ∙ Third Vice President – Sheriff Clee Atkinson, Edgecombe County

 ∙ Treasurer – Sheriff Van Shaw, Cabarrus County

 

 Outgoing President Charles Blackwood, Orange County, will transition into the role of Chairman of the Association’s Executive Committee and Sheriff Alan Jones, Caldwell County, was reelected to serve as Secretary.

 

 Newly-elected Association President Darren Campbell remarked, “The Annual Business Conference is always an excellent opportunity for sheriffs to get together to discuss important issues we are facing, network, and conduct Association business. I am excited for the opportunity to serve as the President of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association and hope to help enhance public safety in our communities while representing the sheriffs of North Carolina.”

Teen Charged With Possession Of Stolen Gun

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A Guilford County teenager was arrested during a traffic stop earlier this month in Vance County and ultimately charged with possession of a stolen firearm.

Sekius Rainey, 18, was charged in connection with the Feb. 10 traffic stop, which occurred on Newton Dairy Road, according to a press statement from Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

The firearm had been reported stolen from Granville County.

Officers turned Rainey over to Granville County officers for questioning and processing. He was given a $20,000 secured bond by a magistrate.

CLICK PLAY!

 

Henderson Man Jailed On Drug, Federal Detention Order

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A Henderson man is in jail on a couple of charges, one of which is possession of cocaine, according to Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame.

Members of the sheriff’s office narcotics unit assisted U.S. marshals locate Terrance Hargrove on Friday, Feb. 17, Brame stated in a press release Monday.

Hargrove, 45, was found in the area of North Henderson and placed into custody on a federal detention order.

He also was charged with possession of 8.6 grams of cocaine, for which he received a $60,000 secure bond.

Hargrove is being held without privilege of bond on the federal detention, awaiting a court date of Mar. 17, 2023.

CLICK PLAY!

 

 

$25,000 Reward Offered For Information About 2018 Homicide

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A $25,000 reward is being offered by the state of North Carolina for information about an almost five-year-old unsolved murder in Vance County.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s office made the announcement Thursday in connection with the death of 22-year-old De’Cedric Tyquon Alston.

In the late evening hours of Feb. 22, 2018, Alston was shot multiple times while driving his vehicle near the 1100 block of Warrenton Road in Henderson. He was transported to the hospital and later died from his injuries.

Anyone having information concerning this case should contact the Vance County Sheriff’s Office at 252.738.2200, Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers at 252.492.1925 or the State Bureau of Investigation at 919.662.4500.

TownTalk: Sheriff Curtis Brame Sworn In; Begins Second Term

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame officially began his second term of office today, after a swearing-in ceremony that took place at the Vance County Courthouse at 11 a.m. Monday.

The oath of office was administered in the presence of retired judge Randolph Baskerville.

Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow was one of the speakers during today’s swearing-in ceremony. He said he is proud of their close working relationship when it comes to protecting Vance County and Henderson and keeping residents safe.

In his remarks, Barrow said he picked up on a theme that Baskerville had mentioned in his remarks at the beginning of the ceremony: Character, the judge said, is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

“I wanted to build off of what the judge had said,” Barrow told WIZS News by telephone Monday. So he added, “Character is doing the right thing when everybody is looking.”

He said that is what Brame does – he makes decisions that the public may not understand, but it’s “still…the right choice, even though it might not be the popular choice.”

“Sometimes we can’t tell the public why we make the decisions we make,” Barrow said.

In previous interviews with WIZS News, Brame has said his office needs more funding to try to fill job openings, and he has been vocal about the need for a new jail. He also has strongly stated to the community that parents need to play a role in the lives of youth in the area, and helping to keep them out of trouble and off the radar of law enforcement.

 

 

Election Coverage: Brame Targets Drug Activity, Addressing Staff Shortage If Elected To Second Term As Sheriff

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-The following is part of WIZS’s continuing coverage of the Nov. 8 election.

Curtis Brame said he looks forward to a second term as sheriff and working collectively with the community to keep Vance County residents safe. During his first term, Brame has had to contend with issues like staffing shortages and increased service calls, deficiencies in the county jail and the burgeoning drug activity. Toss in a two years’ long COVID-19 pandemic, and Brame said it’s been challenging.

But, with his more than 38 years of law enforcement experience, Brame said he knows the “ins and outs, the do’s and don’ts” of the sheriff’s office. “Experience makes the difference.”

Illegal Drug Activity

He said his office gets calls daily about the drug problem, and he said that his personnel cannot do it alone. “We have to educate and train people to say ‘no,’” Brame said in an interview with WIZS’s John C. Rose recorded and aired unedited on Monday.

The traffickers and sellers need to be in jail, he said, but parents have to get more involved in educating their children. “It all comes back to education and training,” he said.

When his office receives a citizen complaint about drug activity, Brame said it’s not as simple as kicking in a door and making an arrest.

“It’s a process,” he explained. Once officers follow up on the complaint and investigate, it’s time to take information to the district attorney and other agencies like the DEA.

Following proper procedure in building a case against a suspected dealer means a better chance of getting a conviction.

Administration

 “The sheriff’s office has a multitude of jobs and responsibilities,” Brame said, from transporting mental patients to processing concealed carry applications and gun permits to making arrests and serving civil summonses. “People don’t realize those responsibilities,” he noted, adding that being a sheriff’s deputy is more than “knocking in doors and serving warrants.”

The caseload is overwhelming for a fully staffed sheriff’s office, but can be almost crippling to an agency that has more than 30 opening between the sheriff’s office and the detention facility.

But Brame said Vance County is not alone – law enforcement agencies across the state and beyond face staffing shortages.

Brame said he appreciates the support from county commissioners and from the county manager to offer incentives for new hires – and for moving forward with a feasibility study to examine just what needs to happen at the jail – repair or replace the 30-year-old facility.

Brame said he stands by his decision to place on paid suspension the three men from his office who face indictments. As stated in previous interviews, Brame said a gag order imposed on him prevents his comment on the case, but said “they want their day in court, I want their day in court.”

Full Audio Interview

Election Coverage: Bailey Targets Drug Sales, More Training As First Steps If Elected Sheriff

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-The following is part of WIZS’s continuing coverage of the Nov. 8 election.

Patrick Bailey says his experience in the private sector, coupled with his training and background in law enforcement make him the candidate to vote for in the upcoming race for Vance County Sheriff.

WIZS aired Monday morning a recorded but unedited interview with the Republican candidate for sheriff, during which time he and John C. Rose discussed issues facing the community and how Bailey will address them if he’s elected.

Bailey prioritized combatting the drug issue, increased training for sheriff’s office staff and beefing up administration within the sheriff’s office.

“I see where the problems are, (and) I know what needs to be done,” he said. “I know where the issues are and I have a plan for achieving the goals I’m setting,” he added.

Illegal Drug Activity

“Drugs is my number one focus once I become sheriff,” Bailey reiterated. “It’s a very big problem, not just in this county, but in the state as well.”

He said he would organize a drug unit within the sheriff’s office to try to eliminate drug sales, especially in locations where such illegal activities are known – by the community and by law enforcement personnel – to take place.

“We need a certain aggressive effort to curb the sale of fentanyl and heroin in this county,’ he said, which would help to stop deadly overdoses and reduce the supply of illegal drugs that comes into the county.

Shutting down so-called “drug houses” and making arrests will be first steps toward creating safer communities for residents who have expressed their concerns to Bailey. Getting undercover officers to make drug buys is the first step in making arrests, swearing out search warrants and getting convictions.

But Bailey said he would advocate for a community clean-up program “to eliminate these houses altogether.”

He also would support collaboration with mental health professionals to help those with substance abuse problems get the help they need to get them off the drugs, “rather than just sending them to prison.”

Bailey said he would focus first on drug activity within the county before he branches out to include the interstates and highways with a drug interdiction team, but that is something he would implement as sheriff.

Administration

Bailey said the county needs a change in law enforcement structure, both to improve recruitment and retention of qualified personnel for the sheriff’s office and to deal with other ongoing challenges.

A certified law enforcement instructor, Bailey said training is key to having deputies perform their duties at the highest possible level.

He has a degree in criminal justice, and he said he would make sure that his staff got more than

The minimum mandatory in-service training requirements to keep them “up to speed” with what is happening within the county.

“I certainly feel like I am capable,” Bailey said of running the sheriff’s office. He said he would work to get recruitment and retention programs in place so the Vance County Sheriff’s Office would be an agency where employees want to come to work every day.
“I want morale to be very high,” he said.

He left the field of law enforcement for a career in private business, and he said he gained valuable experience in areas of management and finance that will serve him well as sheriff.

“I know how to balance a budget, and to see that it’s utilized in the best possible way it can be,” Bailey said.

Bailey was critical of the way that the current administration has dealt with a situation involving three members of the sheriff’s office who have been suspended with pay for almost two years following their indictment on felony charges.

“It’s costing our taxpayers roughly a little over $300,000,” he said.

They should have been put on unpaid suspension until the situation was resolved, he said.

“You have to have a plan with how you’re going to deal with any and all situations, and you follow that scenario regardless of what the charge is.”

Full Audio Interview

Sheriff Curtis Brame

Brame Asks Commissioners For Study To Build New Jail

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Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame continues to work to correct deficiencies at the local jail, but he said the fact of the matter is this: the county needs a new detention center.

Brame addressed the Vance County Commissioners at their Aug. 1 meeting, during which the most recent jail inspection report was presented for review. And he asked commissioners to provide funding for a study to build a new detention center.

“We are in a facility that has long outgrown its needs,” Brame told WIZS News  Friday. “Our detention center is antiquated and outdated,” he said, and noted safety issues – for staff and detainees alike – as a result of the condition of the physical plant.

The most recent inspection was conducted on June 14, and commissioners received the report in the August agenda packet.

The 9-page report included everything from non-functioning locks on food passage doors to dirty showers, but also detailed deficiencies in staff trainings and supervision.

Brame has responded to many of the items in a correction plan that was submitted to state jail inspectors and corrections will be verified during the next inspection.

But the overall physical condition of the jai, located at 516 Breckenridge St., looms larger for Brame. “Over 31 years ago the county decided to renovate the detention
center,” he said in a statement to WIZS. He said the renovations do not meet current standards and needs and he maintains that the jail “is unsafe for both staff and detainees.”