I was at home this past Tuesday when I heard two blasts at around 1:20 in the afternoon. Since it was a bright sunshiny day and some of the neighbors and myself occasionally set off some firecrackers or acetylene balloons, I didn’t think much about it as I finished up my lunch. Little did I know at that time what was really going on. But I quickly found out.
At that time of the day and week every business in Fallston on Highway 18, from the bank down to the jewelry store, was open for business. Except for Barry “Horty” McKee’s place. It just so happened that Horty had closed up for a bit to go check on his sister at the Hospital. Horty has his produce, etc. on the front porch of a house with scales and an honor system arrangement for after hours sales. Fallston usually doesn’t have much crime and everybody watches out for one another. They have to.
But on this day and at the time noted, two black Gastonia gang members, one 19 and the other 20, showed up with 12 gauge shotguns and bad criminal intentions. Note that the gang from Gastonia probably didn’t walk to Fallston. A “wheel man” was likely in on the crime to be.
The two young black men, dressed in black and wearing black ski masks found Horty’s front door locked and cut loose with two shotgun blasts that shattered the glass door and went inside. A citizen happened by and saw it all. The citizen’s identity is withheld because these are gang members. The citizen traveled just a bit more North on Highway 18 and recognized a Sheriff’s Department officer at the ATM machine. The Officer, name also withheld, immediately made his way to Horty’s place and observed the criminals inside.
The Officer called for backup and covered the front door. The back door had been previously boarded up. The crooks were trapped. Later investigation indicated the crooks had tried very hard to get out the back door but didn’t have time.
Backup quickly arrived, including a K-9 Officer. The Deputies shouted for the crooks to come out and one of them surrendered quickly. The other crook was holding out. That is holding out until the K-9 Officer was sic’ed on him. The K-9 Officer quickly changed the holdout crook’s mind and he too became cooperative. The two crooks were carted off to jail and are being held without bond. The wheel man got away.
About all the crooks accomplished was to try to hide their shotguns in Horty’s office area. Both, though young, were multiple felons on parole, under house arrest and supposed to be wearing ankle monitors. One crook still has his ankle monitor on his ankle. They know the drill and were trying to avoid charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, which is a separate crime.
