Former athlete is shot, killed

RALEIGH — Attorney General Roy Cooper has filed a lawsuit against a Robeson County man accused of pocketing money people gave him to buy manufactured homes that he never provided, according to a statement from Cooper’s office.

According to the statement, George Henry Smith “pressured consumers” to buy manufactured homes he wasn’t authorized to sell and then kept their deposits.

The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Division filed the lawsuit against Smith on Aug. 25, asking the court to cancel all contracts buyers signed with Smith and to order Smith to pay refunds to consumers and $5,000 in civil penalties.

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‘Tarnished Notes’ set to premiere

A movie filmed in Sampson County in 2015 will return, fully edited, to the place it first started Sunday, Sept. 25, when “Tarnished Notes” producers premiere the film for the residents who, they said, made it all possible.

Tickets went on sale Monday for the film based loosely on a soon-to-be-published novel by Sampson Independent Publisher/Editor Sherry Matthews, who also co-produced the movie along with Gloria Edwards and Monty Hobbs. The black-tie-optional premiere will be held at the Agri-Exposition Center, with doors opening to the public at 5 p.m.

Tickets for the event — which cost $50 each and include giveaways, refreshments, red carpet event and the movie, etc. — can be purchased by calling at 910-590-5860.

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Abducted boy found 3 years later

FAYETTEVILLE — The three-year search for a toddler, now 5 years old, came to an end on Saturday when the U.S. Marshal Service’s Violent Fugitive Task Force arrested the boy’s father in Fayetteville without incident.

The youngster, who was abducted from his mother in Missouri in 2013, was found safe.

Authorities are holding Corey Hotsenpillar, 24, as a fugitive without bail at the Cumberland County Detention Center.

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Santa going to prison for pornography

WILMINGTON (AP) — Prosecutors say a man who played Santa Claus and did magic for children has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for making pornography with children he is related to.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release that the images were found in May 2015 when 65-year-old Leander Jones brought his computer to a repair shop in Raleigh.

Prosecutors say about 4,000 child porn images were found.

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UNCP inks deal with Chinese universities

PEMBROKE — The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has joined forces with two Chinese universities that will expand its international programs.

The agreements are with China University of Geo-sciences and the North China Institute of Science & Technology and brings UNCP’s list of agreements with Chinese universities to 26.

The partnership will allow students from each university to transfer for studies abroad.

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