Body Found in North Charlotte Is Missing Va. Woman
CMPD says a body found Friday behind a north Charlotte church was that of a missing woman from Virginia. Police say Ashanti Billie, 19, was reported missing Sept. 18 after she didn't arrive for work at a sandwich shop in Norfolk. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said that her cellphone was found in a trash bin and that her car was abandoned.
The body was discovered Friday morning by a man mowing grass at East Stonewall AME Zion Church on Griers Grove Road. Police haven't said how Billie died. In a statement reported by The Virginian-Pilot, the FBI in Norfolk said authorities "will be relentless in our efforts to find" Billie's killer.
Woman Charged in SE Charlotte Shooting Death
Police in Charlotte have a charged a suspect in a killing Saturday in Southeast Charlotte. Nakonia Nicholson, 36, is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of Annie Nicholson, 60. A CMPD press release did not say if the suspect and victim were related. Police say Annie Nicholson was found with what turned out to be a small gunshot wound on Saturday when officers responded to a call on Orange Street. She died at the hospital.
Concord Police Charge 2 in Fatal Hit-and-Run
Concord police have charged two people in connection with a hit-and-run collision that killed two teenagers. The names of the 14- and 15-year-old male victims have not been released. Police say the teens were struck while crossing Concord Parkway North shortly after 10 p.m. Concord police say they located the alleged hit-and-run driver, Francisco Marin-Gonzalez, 21, who is charged with felony hit and run and felony death by motor vehicle. A passenger, Mark Gutierrez-Santos, 19, is charged with not stopping to give aid at a crash scene.
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Could Expand Into SC
The proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline project could expand into South Carolina, the Associated Press reports. The natural gas pipeline, being developed by Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and Southern Company Gas, is currently projected to run through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. The AP reports that Dan Weekley, Dominion Energy's vice president and general manager of Southern pipeline operations, told attendees at a recent energy conference "everybody knows" the Atlantic Coast Pipeline won't end at Lumberton, N.C., as the current plan officially calls for. Weekley said the pipeline could go toward the coast or into the mid-state region of South Carolina, depending on power needs.
