High-speed chase nets several charges

CORNELIUS – A 43-year-old Fort Mill, S.C., man led police on a chase Tuesday, May 3, that began in Cornelius and ended in Charlotte, according to reports.

A Cornelius police officer patrolling U.S. 21 around 2:30 a.m. first noticed the license plate on a car didn’t match the vehicle. The officer began following the car, and when the officer turned on lights and sirens, the driver, later identified as Darryl Bruce Cordell, turned onto Interstate 77 and sped south toward Charlotte, reaching 90 miles per hour. Cornelius police stopped their involvement in the pursuit out of safety but radioed ahead to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police about the car. Moments later, Cordell ran into a utility pole along Beatties Ford Road, police said. A passenger in the car was injured and taken to the hospital, police said.

Cordell faces charges of driving while impaired, fleeing to elude police, possession of stolen tags and use of fictitious tags, theft and injury to personal property, according to the Mecklenburg County Jail website. Police also found a number of outstanding warrants against him: two counts of theft after breaking and entering, having an open container  of alcohol in the car, possession of marijuana, two counts of felony breaking and entering, misdemeanor breaking and entering, failing to appear in court on a felony charge, breaking and entering of a motor vehicle, theft of more than $1,000 and financial transaction card theft.

He was being held on a $94,000 bond, according to the website.

Owner, customer shocked with stun gun in robbery

HUNTERSVILLE – A storeowner and customer were shocked with a stun gun during a Friday, April 29, robbery of the Tienda Mexicana La Pasadita on North Old Statesville Road, police said.

Two Hispanic men – one with a handgun – entered the store around 3:30 p.m. and demanded money. After the owner gave them cash, the man with the gun pulled out a stun gun and shocked the owner. As they ran from the store, the suspects shocked a female customer, police said.

The men jumped into a waiting black Honda Civic or Accord with two other people and sped away.

The first suspect was described as a Hispanic man, 5 feet 11 inches tall and 170 pounds who was wearing black pants and a black T-shirt. Witnesses described the second suspect as 5 feet 6 inches tall and 185 pounds, with shoulder-length hair. He also was dressed in black.

Witnesses said the driver of the car was an African-American man with dreadlocks. The passenger was a white woman, 35 to 40 years old with blonde or brown hair.

Huntersville police ask anyone with information about the robbery call the agency at 704-875-6542.

Violent, property crime down in Cornelius, drugs arrests up

CORNELIUS – The Cornelius Police Department released its annual report last week, showing a major drop in violent crime in the town but an uptick in incidents involving drugs and burglaries.

In 2010, all incidents of violent crime fell by 28 percent from 2009, including murders, rapes and robberies and assaults, the report said. Property crime, except for burglaries, fell 5 percent over the same period.

Drugs incidents more than doubled to 77 incidents in 2010, up from 32 in 2009, and all break-ins – commercial and residential – climbed from 109 in 2009 to 149 reported incidents last year.

The report said drug incidents spiked because the department stepped up enforcement and arrests.

Residential break-ins reached a three-year high last year, with 93 reported. Auto thefts, however, fell to the lowest number in three years.

Police also stepped up their arrests, cuffing more than 760 suspects last year. With the advent of a new traffic-enforcement unit, the department also doubled the number of citations issued, to 5,330 in 2010.

Read the entire report online at www.cornelius.org/police.

Overturned car shuts down road

DAVIDSON – A car flipped after slamming into a utility pole along Potts Street last week, causing power outages. Police were forced to shut down the street for several hours as crews worked to repair the power lines and clean up the scene.

The driver of the PT Cruiser hit the pole around 3:30 p.m. April 28. Police did not reopen Potts Street until 9:30 p.m.

The driver and passenger ran away, police said.

Police reports

HUNTERSVILLE – Excluding routine citations, the Huntersville Police Department reported the following charges, including the places and dates of arrests or citations, from April 26 to May 2:

• Marcus Maurice Luckey, 25, possession of drug equipment/paraphernalia, at 12201 Comanche Road. April 26.
• Robert Arlan Auger, 51, DWI, at 12621 Angel Oak Drive. April 26.
• Dalton Wayne Walker, 18, possession of drugs, at 9239 Huntington Drive. April 26.
• Caleb Evan Hopper, 16, disorderly conduct, at 11909 Lakehaven Drive. April 26.
• John Lavonte Neal, 27, felony breaking and entering, at 104 Dellwood Ave. April 26.
• Stephen Richard Stiles, 31, aiding and abetting DWI, at 500 Old Statesville Road. April 27.
• Sean Michael Konrad, 36, DWI, at 500 Old Statesville Road. April 27.
• Demario Telinska Jenkins, 32, felony breaking and entering, at 17702 W. Catawba Ave. April 27.
• Warren Al-daray Jenkins, 25, felony breaking and entering, at 17702 W. Catawba Ave. April 27.
• Thomas Lorenzo Hemingway, 26, felony breaking and entering, at 17702 W. Catawba Ave. April 27.
• Ruben Muhammad Flowers, 31, possession of marijuana, at 13100 Alley Oop. April 28.
• Thomas Edward Talmage, 29, possession of marijuana, at 13100 Alley Oop. April 28.
• Herman Taylor, 47, DWI, at I-485. April 29.
• Salomon Encarnacion Santiago, 21, assault, at 9610 Sherrill Estates Road. April 29.
• Daniel Robert Hocken, 41, theft, BP station, 101 Statesville Road. April 29.
• Fernando Ramirez, 17, theft, at Kohl’s, 9743 Sam Furr Road. April 29.
• Carmen Tamara Espinoza, 18, at Kohl’s, 9743 Sam Furr Road. April 29.
• Sidney Blair Weymouth, 23, DWI, at 16799 Northcross Drive. April 30.
• Ryan Spencer Hayward, 24, DWI, at 10500 Huntersville Commons Drive. April 30.
• Peter Morton Beard, 21, felony breaking and entering, at 12203 Tuscaloosa Road. April 30.
• Thomas Jerome Earl, 37, theft, 10155 Gilead Road. April 20.
• Candace Laine Conn, 26, felony fugitive from justice, at 9701 Sam Furr Road. May 1.
• Alfred Ray Holcomb, 40, assault on a child under 12, at 12204 Mascot Lane. May 2.

CORNELIUS – Excluding routine citations, the Cornelius Police Department reported the following charges, including the places and dates of arrests or citations, from April 27 to May 3:

• Carol Cash Hempfling, 47, DWI, hit-and-run, careless and reckless driving and open container of alcohol in vehicle, at 19741 Meridian St. April 27.
• Timothy Aron Holland, 52, DWI and speeding, at 19704 Chance St./West Catawba Avenue. April 28.
• Jason Michael Robbins, 21, misdemeanor injury to real property, at 9061 McDowell Creek Court. April 29.
• Michael James Boney, 39, misdemeanor assault on a female, at 19028 Long Pond Lane. April 29.
• Kyle Richard Boji, 50, DWI and speeding, at 16644 N.C. 73. April 29.
• Lauren Jo Lebow, 27, DWI, at 18825 W. Catawba Ave. April 30.
• Shawn Richardson Kenyon, 39, DWI, speeding and open container of alcohol in vehicle, at 19900 W. Catawba Ave. April 30.
• Ria Louise Kennedy, 41, defrauding an innkeeper, at 111 S. Church St., Huntersville. April 30.
• John Gregory Lutz, 50, DWI and failure to stop at red light, at 433 S. Main St., Davidson. April 30.
• John Wesley Levalle, 37, DWI, driving with revoked license and failure to dim lights, at 18309 Statesville Road. May 1.
• Sarah Joan Vanwyhe, 30, aiding and abetting DWI, at 18309 Statesville Road. May 1.
• Marquise Patterson, 25, misdemeanor assault on a female, at 19301 Meridian St. May 1.
• Joshua Dwight Hedgcoe, 21, misdemeanor probation violation, at 19606 Center St. May 3.

DAVIDSON – Excluding routine citations, the Davidson Police Department reported the following charges, including the places and dates of arrests or citations, from April 25 to May 1:

• Pamela Suzanne Clark, 51, assault and battery, at 820 Lake Park Drive. April 27.
• David Tedman Caldwell, 41, assault and battery, at 104 Mallard Court, April 28.
• Aren Davitian, 16, assault and battery, communicating threats, and disturbing the peace, at 114 Kinderston Drive. April 28.