Homeless man

charged with murder

ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a homeless man on the charge of murder.

Thomas Owen White, 23, is accused of killing Julius Tyrone Leak Jr., 18, of Rockingham.

On Saturday, deputies and Rockingham Police Department officers were dispatched to the FirstHealth-Richmond emergency room in reference to a gunshot victim.

Responding law enforcement officers spoke to other individuals at the ER and determined that the incident occurred in a gravel parking lot on Church Street in East Rockingham.

Investigators obtained warrants for White, who was taken into custody Sunday without incident.

White was processed into Richmond County Jail without bond.

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Search continues

for missing teen

LUMBERTON — An FBI agent asked for information in locating a Fairmont woman who has been missing since 2015 in a podcast released Friday by the agency.

Sara Graham left her Fairmont home about 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2015 to drive to work at Walmart in Pembroke. But, the 18-year-old never made it there.

“The FBI and the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office have followed hundreds of leads and interviewed dozens of people,” according to the podcast released on YouTube.

Anyone with information should call the FBI at 704-672-6100 or the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-671-3100.

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Fairmont man

killed in crash

LUMBERTON — Speed appears to be a factor in the single-vehicle collision Sunday near Lumberton that left a 54-year-old Fairmont man dead.

Trooper J.R. Oxendine responded about 3:50 a.m. Sunday to the crash on N.C. 41 near Greensville Road just south of Lumberton.

Rufus Sandoval Jr. died after his 2002 Ford Ranger pickup truck traveling north on N.C. 41 ran off the road to the left and struck a ditch.

Sandoval was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash and was ejected.

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Goodwill store

coming to town

ROCKINGHAM — A Goodwill is slated to take over the former Lidl building on U.S. 74 in Rockingham, which has been vacant for over two years.

Boos Development Group, which is based out of Clearwater, Florida, finalized the purchase of the building on Jan. 19. It is expected to be open by early summer.

This new location, across from the Rockingham Walmart and Smithfield’s, will be larger than Goodwill’s typical buildings. Along with their traditional Goodwill store, there will be The GRID, a discount electronic store that sells anything related to computers, technology and gaming.

From Champion Media reports