GATESVILLE – Apparently, individuals wanted for criminal activity in other areas figure that Gates County is a good place to hide.

Apparently not based on the number of recent fugitive arrests made by the Gates County Sheriff’s Office.

Gates County Sheriff Ed Webb reported that Charles Beamon, 31, of Gatlington Road, Sunbury, was arrested by GCSO Major Randy Hathaway on Jan. 12. That arrest was based on a fugitive warrant issued by the Suffolk (VA) Police Department where Beamon was wanted on the charges of attempted murder, armed robbery, and assault while in the commission of a felony. Beamon was held under no bond locally and is now in the custody of the Suffolk Police.

Webb said that prior to picking up Beamon on the charges across the state line, he had just recently been arrested by GCSO Sgt. Brandon Hawks on local drug charges. In Gates County, Beamon was charted with two felony counts of possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a Schedule II controlled substance (crack cocaine), and felony trafficking (possession of 41 dosage units of the illegal drug). During that arrest, Beamon became disruptive and was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of RDO (Resist, Delay and Obstruct a police officer).

On Jan. 13, Sgt. Hawks arrested another fugitive wanted by the Suffolk Police. William Alan Priest, 54, of Moonshine Farm Lane, Corapeake, was wanted for abduction and attempted rape. He has been turned over to the Suffolk authorities.

Shaneka Norfleet, 36, of Brinkley Road, Corapeake, was arrested by Gates County lawmen on a fugitive warrant issued by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office. There she faces child support charges. Norfleet was also charged locally with probation violations by the Department of Community Corrections.

Late last year, Hathaway and Hawks arrested 25-year-old Cassius Norfleet of Cooper Road, Sunbury. Norfleet was wanted on a fugitive warrant in Suffolk for first degree murder. Webb said Norfleet has been formally indicted on that charge.