Roanoke Valley law enforcement reported the following:
RRPD
A Roanoke Rapids man was charged Monday for injury to real property for the spray-painting of graffiti at the Sarah Keys Evans Plaza.
Roanoke Rapids police Chief Shane Guyant said that 23-year-old Diante Devon Hockaday of Oakridge Drive expressed remorse at the act and indicated that the graffiti was not done out of hate and nor was the act gang-related but that it was an expression of art.
Hockaday was released on a criminal summons and has a December 15 court date after Sergeant D. Newsome lodged the charge.
Guyant said the brick wall near the entrance of the public arts plaza was spray-painted between November 9 and 10.
The maintenance staff of the city’s parks and recreation department cleaned the graffiti from the wall last Tuesday. It took two employees between two to three hours to clean the vandalism from the wall. With materials, it was estimated the cost of the clean-up was around $300.
The plaza was opened in August of 2020 and features the artwork of Napoleon Hill — artwork which tells the story of Keys’ 1952 arrest in Roanoke Rapids for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white Marine when Keys herself was a member of the Women’s Army Air Corps.
Her refusal to give up her seat came before Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama.
Keys died last Thursday.
HCSO report
Captain Scott Hall of the Halifax County Sheriff’s reported that last Thursday around 1 a.m. agents with the Halifax County Regional Drug and Gang Task Force conducted a traffic stop at the 171 mile marker in the southbound lane of Interstate 95 for equipment and registration violations.
Probable cause was established to conduct a search of the vehicle driven by Devonte Rhisean Gary, 31, of Clayton .
Agents located a .40-caliber Glock handgun stolen out of Florida in 2020.
Gary was arrested and charged with possession of a stolen firearm, carrying a concealed gun and expired registration.
He received a $15,000 secured bond and November 30 court date.
