Beaufort, North Carolina — District Attorney Scott Thomas announced the following felony convictions obtained in Carteret County Superior Court this week. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Ben Alford presided over this term of court, and these cases were prosecuted in court by Assistant District Attorney David Spence.
1. Four of the five charged defendants in the September 15, 2015 armed robbery of the Midway Mart Convenience Store located at 600 Harker’s Island Road have now been convicted and sentenced. Deputies were called to the robbery just before 7:00 p.m., where the clerk reported three males robbed the store at gunpoint and fled with over $1300.00 in cash. Deputies quickly located the suspect’s vehicle on Harkers Island Road near Straits Rd where it failed to stop. The suspects led deputies on a fifteen-mile chase through Otway on Hwy 70 west into the Town of Beaufort where the Beaufort Police Department deployed stop sticks at Campen Road, successfully deflating two tires. The vehicle was able to continue through Beaufort down Hwy 101 where three suspects, D’vonta Gibbs, Trevonne Myrick and Adrian Johnson fled and two others, Kimberly McLaughlin and Brody George, were taken into custody near Hardesty Loop Road.
BRODY GEORGE, 17, of Havelock, pled guilty to Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon and Conspiracy and was given a sentence of 38-58 months in the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction (NCDAC). GEORGE had no prior criminal record.
KIMBERLY MCLAUGHLIN, 30, of Newport, pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, and Accessory After thwase Fact to Armed Robbery, and was sentenced to a term of 20-36 months in the NCDAC for her role. McLAUGHLIN gave information to her co-defendants regarding the store but was not present when the robbery took place. She was picked up by the suspects shortlyafter they had committed the robbery and
was arrested inside the car when it was finally stopped. Her initial story was that she was a victim but that quickly disproved. McLAUGHLIN had only one prior conviction, for Solicitation to Commit Prostitution in Onslow County in 2014.
TREVONNE MYRICK, 19, of Havelock, pled guilty to Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, Conspiracy, and Felonious Fleeing to Elude Arrest, and was sentenced to a total of 94-134 months in the NCDAC. MYRICK was the driver of the car used to flee the scene, leading officers on a 20-mile chase, often at high rates of speed. MYRICK had prior convictions for larcenies and Felonious Possession of Stolen Goods and was on probation at the time of this offense
D’VONTA EDWARD GIBBS, 23, of New Bern, previously pled guilty to Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon during the May 2, 2016, term of court for his role and was sentenced to an active term of 84-113 months in the NCDAC by the Honorable W. Allen Cobb. GIBBS also had prior felony convictions on his criminal history and was reputedly the defendant wielding the firearm.
DANIEL JOHNSON, 35, of Beaufort, pled guilty to Selling and Delivering Cocaine to an undercover informant working with a Carteret County Sheriff’s Office detective on September 2, 2014. JOHNSON was also convicted of being an Habitual Felon based upon convictions for drug convictions in 2003, 2005 and 2006. JOHNSON was sentenced to an active prison term of 50-72 months in the NCDAC.
STEVEN CHADWICK, 31, of Harkers Island, pled guilty to Trafficking Opiates by Possession and received an active prison term of 70-93 months in the NCDAC in addition to a $50,000 fine. CHADWICK was one of two defendants who broke into the Express Care Pharmacy in Otway on November 17, 2015, and attempted another break-in at Sea Level Pharmacy. Deputies responded to Sea Level pharmacy at 2:30 am after an alarm activation and discovered someone attempted to make entry into the business. Approximately one hour later, deputies responded to an alarm at Express Care Pharmacy in Otway and discovered the window broken out and numerous controlled substances stolen. Deputies collected evidence from both locations and were able to connect the suspects to the crime scenes. Both subjects sought medical attention at Carteret Health Care after being involved in a single vehicle accident after the incidents occurred. Detectives were able to recover almost all of the stolen controlled substances and medications which included almost two thousand pills. The pills were recovered from CHADWICK’s residence and also from the woods where they had been hidden for later retrieval.
JANIE JOLEANE KIGHT, 27, of Beaufort, pled guilty to multiple felonies including Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. KIGHT possessed a rifle
stolen from a residence on Tuttle’s Grove Road in Beaufort on November 11, 2015. KIGHT was sentenced to an active term totaling 56-105 months in the NCDAC for this crime and for violating her probation by being convicted of this crime.
5. ANTHONY REELS, 27 of Morehead City, pled guilty to Sale of Heroin and Possession with Intent to Sell or Deliver Heroin occurring on December 7, 2015, and was sentenced to
an active term of 25-48 months in the NCDAC. The sale was to an undercover informant working with a detective with the Morehead City Police Department.
ERICA VELLA, 25, of Newport, pled guilty to three counts of Sale and Delivery of Methamphetamine on three separate dates: January 15, 18, and 25, 2016. She was sentenced to an active term of 12-24 months in the NCDAC to run at the expiration of her current prison sentence being served for an earlier narcotics violation. The sales were to an undercover informant working with a Carteret County Sheriff’s Office detective.