Durham/Orange County Crime Report (Aug. 11 – 17): Man On Most-Wanted List Arrested, Drug Raid, More
Durham Police Department, Durham County Sheriff’s Office, Chapel Hill Police Department, and Orange County Sheriff‘s Office release crime and major incidents reports as they happen. This week and each week moving forward, Spectacular Magazine will compile those releases to provide you with comprehensive reports of the most atrocious crimes, and most importantly, arrests made.
DURHAM COUNTY
2 Nabbed In Durham County Hotel Drug Raid; Community Tips Led To Arrests
Durham County deputies arrested two drug suspects in a hotel Thursday (Aug. 17) night, officials said. The busts came after tips from the community, according to a news release from the Durham County Sheriff’s Office.
During the arrests, deputies seized two guns, cash, cocaine, and crack cocaine, the news release said. Nakia Rokeshawn Nickerson, 49, of Durham, an absconder from parole, was found with a gun and crack cocaine. Michael Wayne Mangum Jr., 30, of Durham was also arrested in the drug raid and was charged with possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine, felony possession of a Schedule I controlled substance, possession of firearm by felon carrying a concealed gun, maintaining vehicle/dwelling/place for controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is currently in the Durham County Detention Center under a $250,000 bond.
Durham Police Charge Man in July Shootings
Durham Police investigators have charged Luis Alexander Espinosa-Cortez, 24, of Durham in connection to the following two shootings that occurred in late July. Both shootings stemmed from a domestic dispute and now involve additional parties known to each other. Luis Alexander Espinosa-Cortez was taken into custody Tuesday night (Aug. 15). He is currently being held in the Durham County Jail with no bond.
July 20, 2023
At approximately 8:41 p.m., officers responded to a report of a gunshot wound in the 2000 block of House Avenue. Upon arrival, they found a 15-year-old female who had been shot. She was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
July 25, 2023
At approximately 1:45 p.m., officers responded to a shooting in the 1700 block of Cheek Road. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male and an adult female who had been shot. Both victims were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Espinosa-Cortez has been charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflicting serious injury, two counts of discharging a barreled weapon into an occupied dwelling, injury to personal property, injury to real property, possession of a firearm by a felon, and going armed to the terror of the public.
Investigators have also charged Espinosa-Cortez in connection to a hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian that occurred near the intersection of Garrett Road and Old Chapel Hill Road on July 25, 2023. Espinosa-Cortez has been charged with felony hit and run inflicting injury and felony larceny of a motor vehicle.
Durham Police Respond to Kidnapping That Led to Vehicle Pursuit
Durham Police officers responded to a kidnapping that led to a vehicle pursuit on Monday afternoon in north Durham. At approximately 12 p.m. on August 14, 2023, officers responded to a report of a kidnapping in the 4400 block of North Roxboro Street. When they arrived, officers spoke to an adult male who stated he had left his black Honda CRV running with his 1-year-old child inside of the car. He came out and found the vehicle had been stolen with the child still inside the car.
The Durham Emergency Communications Center (DECC) was able to ping a phone that was left in the vehicle in the 900 block of Liberty Street. Officers located the stolen vehicle and chased the suspects until they stopped in the 200 block of William Penn Plaza. Six suspects, which included four juveniles and two adults, jumped out of the car and fled the scene. Officers chased the suspects and all six were taken into custody. Charges are currently pending.
At approximately 12:15 p.m., officers received a call that a child had been found at Excelsior Classical Academy in the 4100 block of North Roxboro Street. When officers responded, they found the missing 1-year-old child who had been left in the running Honda SUV. The child was released back to his parents unharmed.
Voyager Academy was placed on lockdown for a brief period of time during the vehicle pursuit. The lockdown was lifted once the suspects were taken into custody.
This is an ongoing investigation and no further details can be released at this time. Anyone with any information is asked to call Investigator M. Strickland at (919) 560-4440 ext., 29536 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.
Durham Police Investigate Fatal Crash
On August 15, at approximately 4:20 pm, Durham Police responded to a motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Anderson St. and Morehead Ave. 78-year-old Donna Warsaw of Hillsborough was traveling north on Anderson St. in a 2023 BMW X3. When she entered the intersection at Morehead Ave, a large tree fell and struck her vehicle. Warsaw was pronounced deceased at the scene. Anderson St. and Morehead Ave. remained closed for several more hours while crews work to clear the road.
(Omitted from last week’s report)
Anonymous Tip Leads To Durham Ghost Gun, Drug Arrest: Sheriff
The Durham County Sheriff’s Office arrested a suspect for having a ghost gun, cash, and drugs on Wednesday (Aug. 9). The sheriff’s office said they acted on an anonymous tip of someone having drugs. Investigators from the Sheriff’s Anti-Crime and Narcotics Unit saw Travis Mashaun Carrington, 42, behaving in a manner consistent with drug activity.
Investigators made a traffic stop in the area of Red Maple Park. When they approached the vehicle, investigators said they saw drugs. A K-9 was called to conduct a thorough search of the vehicle and found additional narcotics. The sheriff’s office said Carrington is a convicted felon and had a ghost gun with him.
He was charged with:
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- Manufacture/sell/deliver controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a park
- Maintain vehicle/dwelling/place for controlled substance
- Possession of drug paraphernalia
Carrington was booked into the Durham County Detention Center. He posted a $150,000 secured bond and was released.
ORANGE COUNTY
A 19-year-old woman was charged Monday (Aug. 14) with killing her mother and kidnapping her sibling. According to the Hillsborough Police Department, officers around 7:45 p.m. responded to an apartment in the Bellevue Mill Apartments on South Nash Street, where the family lived.
They found Delila Nicole Westmoreland, 41, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators also determined Westmoreland’s 2-year-old child was missing. Police arrested Jaydah Westmoreland, 19, who is Delila Westmoreland’s daughter, at a Durham home and charged her with first-degree murder and kidnapping. The toddler was found safe and is with other family members. Read more.
Couple Charged With Felony Insurance Fraud For Updating Policy After Orange County Crash
An Orange County couple is charged with felony insurance fraud for pretending an uninsured vehicle was covered after a crash, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey announced Monday (Aug. 14).
On June 21, special agents with the N.C. Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division said Ryan Neal Frye and his partner Kaci Leigh Ferrell, both of Hillsborough, were involved in a crash. Officials said the vehicle, which belonged to Frye, did not have insurance coverage.
Minutes after the crash, agents said Ferrell, a licensed insurance agent, added Frye’s vehicle to her insurance policy. That policy was then shown to Frye and to law enforcement as if it were in effect at the time of the crash.
Agents said Frye and Ferrell were arrested on Aug. 7 on a criminal summons. Their first court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 28 in Orange County District Court.