District Attorney Dewey Hudson wants tougher charges against two local men involved in what he referred to as very serious crimes involving local residents. And he’s taken steps to ensure those charges are leveled.

Hudson has gotten involved with two recent cases, one the stabbing of a local preacher, the other a standoff between a Roseboro man and law enforcement officers, opting to level more serious charges than those previously handed up.

“Robbie Thigpen, my assistant DA, and I, met Monday with Sheriff Jimmy Thornton and chief deputy John Connerly to discuss these two cases,” said Hudson from his Clinton office Wednesday afternoon. “The first case we discussed was the one involving the preacher. I met with the magistrate that was on duty and I met with the pastor Monday as well. I also conferred with our chief District Judge Leonard Thagard about this particular case. As a result of what we reviewed, and a result of talking with the sheriff and his people, and reviewing the law, I thought that it was appropriate to take out new charges on him.”

According to reports, Willie James Jr., pastor of St. James Disciples of Christ Church, located at 2385 Delway Highway, Harrells, was cooking food for a Family and Friends Day celebration at his church on Saturday, Sept. 19, when he was reportedly slashed in the left side of his chest by Henry Carr, Jr., 25, of 2438 Trinity Church Road, Rose Hill.

Carr was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, given a $2,500 bond and bailed out of jail before James came home from the hospital.

“One of the things that slowed down this investigation was that Mr. James wasn’t transported to Sampson Regional Hospital; he was transported to New Hanover Regional,” said Hudson. “There was some initial confusion about the extent of his injuries.”

In fact, the detective on the case, C. Godwin, filed a charge of assault with a deadly weapon only because when he called New Hanover Regional Medical Center, he was told by medical personnel that James had suffered “only superficial lacerations.”

“They did not indicate that there were any life-threatening injuries to him — there was nothing to indicate that,” Godwin said.

An assault with a deadly weapon with intent to inflict serious injury is a Class E Felony — the bond would have been significantly higher.

“When I saw the picture of the injury in your paper, I contacted the sheriff, and we talked about it,” said Hudson. “I realized that once I saw the picture in the paper, that if that was accurate, it was, in fact, a serious injury. There was a lot of confusion of what a serious injury is. A serious injury is life-threatening, but legally, a serious injury is defined as one that caused great pain and suffering. When I talked with Mr. James, I was convinced that this (his injuries) did meet the legal requirement of what a serious injury was. At that point, the sheriff and I concluded that we should go out and take out a new warrant on Mr. Carr.”

That warrant is for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Carr was supposed to surrender Tuesday night. He never showed up.

James, who said he was frustrated with the low bond and the way he was treated when he went to the magistrate’s office hours after the incident, filed a complaint last week against the magistrate, J.B. Dixon, that set the bond.

“I talked with Judge Thagard and other court officials about this particular magistrate and they have all assured me that he is one of the better, if not the best, magistrates that we have in Sampson County and Judge Thagard assured me that he had never had a complaint on this particular magistrate before,” said Hudson. “I talked with the preacher and assured him that the magistrate didn’t mean any disrespect to him and was very upset about the incident. I also agreed with him that what the charge was and what the initial bond was were not correct. It is not the Sheriff’s Department’s fault or the magistrate’s fault because they were working with the information from the hospital. So we decided that the charge should be assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, that is the appropriate charge.”

Hudson said James was satisfied with the explanations he was given and did not want to pursue the complaint against Dixon.

When Carr, a convicted felon with host of convictions against him dating back to 2003, is found, he will face the new charges, the law enforcement officers said.

“Since he didn’t turn himself in,” said Thornton, “he is entered as wanted. If anybody sees him, we encourage them to call us. But he will be found.”

Standoff

Hudson said that the other case up for discussion Monday was a standoff that took place on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 409 Butler Island Road in Roseboro at 4:45 p.m., when officials received a call in reference to a man threatening to kill himself.

The armed man would eventually shoot at officers and then barricade himself inside a metal building until negotiators managed to lure him out at 8:40 p.m.

According to officials at the Sampson County Sheriff’s Department, the man was transported to a mental health facility where he underwent a complete mental evaluation. After completing the evaluation, the man was released five days later with no charges filed against him.

“After hearing all of the facts, and all of the reports, I decided that he should be charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a government official,” Hudson said.

A warrant was issued for Jason Robert Foster, 24, of 409 Butler Island Road, Roseboro. On Tuesday afternoon, he was arrested at his place of work, a body shop in Fayetteville, and placed under a $4,999.99 bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

Officials said that Foster was bailed out of jail by his mother hours after the arrest.

“Just because a person has a mental illness, it is not a defense to commit a crime,” said Hudson. “The only way a person can be excused from a crime is they didn’t know right from wrong. When I looked at the facts from this case and applied it to the law, I felt that we had to charge him. It is a rather complicated case, but looking at it, I felt we needed to charge him. I just can’t allow people to go around pointing guns at law enforcement officers. We will charge him and let the court decide whether he knew right from wrong or not.”

Hudson said he was certainly concerned when he found out that Foster walked into the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, asked for his .22-caliber rifle back and got it, but that it wasn’t the deciding factor in the charge now leveled against the suspect.

“If someone wanted to kill someone, they wouldn’t have to do it with a gun,” Hudson said. “The main thing is that he pointed a gun at a law enforcement officer and a court has not determined if he was insane ... When I looked at all the factors in this case, he had to be charged. I felt that there was sufficient evidence in this case. Where we are right now is probable cause ... I do have to say though, although I have decided to charge these two individuals, they are innocent until proven guilty.”

Thornton agrees.

“In looking at other factors and other variables, you try to make the best decision possible with the information that you have at the time. I can’t say that I disagree with these charges. It could happen again. We don’t need anyone out there thinking that they can do something like this and get away with it ...”

“In honesty, they could have killed him that night,” said Hudson of Foster. “He really should be thanking them for not doing so.”