JACKSON – ‘Spring Cleaning’ was the theme of the day on Friday, but it didn’t involve sweeping, dusting or cleaning out closets

The Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, joined by their law enforcement brethren from Halifax and Hertford counties, were out, 26 strong, before the sun peeked over the eastern horizon, serving warrants for a wide variety of crimes that, of as late in the day, resulted in 14 arrests.

The paperwork on those arrested Friday was not complete by News-Herald presstime for today’s edition. That information is expected to be available and published early next week.

“We decided to conduct this operation in an effort to serve warrants on subjects that have, to date, been hard to locate,” said Northampton County Sheriff Jack Smith. “We were able to put together this operation thanks to the assistance provided by municipal police departments in our county, the Highway Patrol, and agencies from outside our county.”

Northampton Sheriff’s Captain Chuck Hasty said there were in excess of 100 warrants to be served.

“For those not at home on Friday when we made our rounds, we will be back,” promised Smith. “If you are hiding, we will find you…it may not be today, tomorrow or next week, but we’ll find you and we will bring you to justice. We take our job seriously and part of that job is to arrest those who have committed crimes as per the order of our judicial system.”

Those sought on Friday had arrest warrants for robbery, assaults with deadly weapons, breaking and entering, drugs, probation violations, child support, and worthless checks.

After a pre-dawn meeting at the Northampton County Communications Center, the officers fanned out in teams, first covering the eastern portion of the county, where eight were arrested, followed by a visit to the western end.

The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald accompanied one of the teams. Homes were visited on NCHS-East Road, Dusty Hill Road, Potecasi, Arrowhead Mobile Home Park, Woodland and the Menola Road. On the western end, residences on Sandy Lane (off Cal Floyd Road), and BerryScottTrail (off Warner Bridge Road) were visited.

On Sandy Lane, two subjects wanted on outstanding warrants – brothers Jevonte High and Tavione High – ran from their home as officers arrived. J. High was arrested after a short foot chase. T. High was not located, despite the use of tracking dogs from Caledonia Prison.

Other than the Northampton Sheriff’s Office, agencies involved in “Spring Cleaning” were Rich Square Police Department, Jackson Police Department, Conway Police Department, Garysburg Police Department, Seaboard Police Department, Gaston Police Department, Roanoke Rapids Police Department, Murfreesboro Police Department, the NC Highway Patrol, the NC Department of Public Safety Division of Community Corrections, and the NC Department of Public Safety (Division of Prisons).

“This is a prime example of how law enforcement agencies in our area of the state are willing and able to help out a neighboring county,” Smith noted. “I called and they came and rendered assistance to our department and to our citizens. It’s not about the glory, it’s about serving our citizens.”

Smith also thanked his deputies, many who used their scheduled day off to take part in the event. He offered thanks to the sheriff’s dispatch and the county’s Communications Center for their work.