Man in custody after driving stolen vehicle
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ala. - A man was arrested Friday in Cherokee County, Alabama, in connection to a report of a stolen vehicle, according to a news release.
Joie L. Gowens, 57, was charged with first-degree receiving stolen property, attempting to elude, resisting arrest, violation of prohibition and several other traffic-related offenses, the news release states.
Gowens also had outstanding warrants for a probation violation and failure to appear in connection to a theft of property charge.
He was arrested around 2 a.m. Friday after being spotted driving a stolen 1998 Ford Ranger from Tallapoosa, Georgia, according to the news release.
Gowens was booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center.
Inmate dies after arrest
CHEROKEE COUNTY, N.C. - A Cherokee County, North Carolina, inmate died hours after his arrest Wednesday, according to a news release.
Joshua Shane Long, 30, was arrested after Cherokee County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a call reporting "an individual that was acting irrational," the news release stated.
Deputies arrested Long and charged him with resisting a public officer, simple possession of schedule VI controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Long was taken to the Cherokee County Detention Center where a North Carolina Magistrate set a $1,000 secure bond. He was processed and placed in a cell.
Shortly after 11 p.m. the same day, Long was found unresponsive in his cell, and jail staff began lifesaving measures and called emergency personnel. Long was then flown to a Tennessee hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the deceased," Sheriff Derrick Palmer said in a statement. "We are cooperating fully with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and will continue to do so until we know how this happened."
Athens man charged in fatal shooting
MCMINN COUNTY, Tenn. - An Athens, Tennessee, man faces charges after a verbal dispute resulted in the fatal shooting of a woman who was renting his property.
Charles Ward, 77, was charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed Kathleen McKee, 60, who was a tenant of his, according to a news release.
The incident began around 7 p.m. Thursday evening when McMinn County sheriff's deputies responded to a call of an argument at a residence on County Road 652 near Athens, the news release stated.
McKee reported an argument between herself and Ward, her landlord, who lived next door.
"Deputies arrived soon afterward and made contact with Charles Ward at his residence," Sheriff Joe Guy said in a statement. "Deputies went to the other residence to check on the female, and it was there that deputies located her deceased body with an evident gunshot wound."
Ward's bond was set at $200,000.
Lincoln County man sought, reward offered
LINCOLN COUNTY, Tenn. - A Lincoln County man was placed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Top 10 Most Wanted list stemming from an incident that happened there Saturday.
William Barnard Hawk, 50, of Fayetteville, Tennessee, is wanted by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department and TBI on a charge of attempted criminal homicide in connection with an incident that occurred in the Park City area Saturday. Hawk should be considered armed and dangerous, authorities said.
Hawk is an African-American man, who stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 145 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes, and could be driving a 2014, electric-blue Nissan Sentra with temporary tags, authorities said.
Anyone with information on Hawk's whereabouts should call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. There is a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his arrest.