Arson in Belhaven Area | Eastern North Carolina Now

While Rowe was driving back, the Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about a fire at the same abandoned residence.

ENCNow
For Immediate Release:

   On November 3, 2012 at approximately 11:08 p.m., Investigator Greg Rowe with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division was traveling on Yeatesville Road in Belhaven in his personal vehicle. As Rowe turned onto Sidney Road, he observed a suspicious vehicle with one occupant at an abandoned residence at the intersection of Yeatesville Road and Sidney Road. Rowe contacted the Sheriff’s Office and reported the suspicious vehicle. A Patrol Deputy was dispatched to the area.

    Inv. Rowe retrieved his assigned Sheriff’s Office vehicle from his home and responded back to the abandoned residence to investigate. While Rowe was driving back, the Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about a fire at the same abandoned residence. When Inv. Rowe arrived, he observed a fire at the residence and the suspicious vehicle traveling north on Yeatesville Road.

Tiffany Nicole Cornelius
James Marvin Atkins III


    Inv. Rowe caught up to the vehicle and noticed that it now had two occupants. Rowe activated his emergency lights and conducted a traffic stop. Rowe spoke to the occupants about their reasons for being at the residence. The driver showed signs of alcohol use and the passenger denied stopping at the abandoned residence. During the stop, Patrol Deputy E. Davis arrived to assist. The passenger later admitted to setting the fire.

    Local volunteer fire fighters responded to the residence and extinguished the fire. As a (more)result of the investigation, Inv. Rowe arrested James Marvin Atkins III, age 22, of Bright Road #1 in Washington and charged him with 2nd Degree Arson, Felony Breaking and Entering, and Possession of an Open Container. The driver, Tiffany Nicole Cornelius, age 30, of Boyd Loop Road in Pinetown was arrested and charged with No Operator’s License and Possession of an Open Container. Atkins was held in the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $20,500.00 secured bond. Cornelius was held on a $500.00 secured bond.

    Major Kenneth L. Watson
      Beaufort County Sheriff's Office
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published )
Enter Your Comment ( text only please )




BCCC announces make-up days for inclement weather Community, Combat Crime Beaufort County's 300th Birthday and our Military Come Together


HbAD0

Latest Combat Crime

On Sunday, September 7th, 2025, Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence on Highway 102, Chocowinity NC for a 911 call reporting a male subject being shot.
On Tuesday February 18, 2025, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Raleigh, North Carolina executed a search warrant at a residence on Old Saw Mill Rd in Blounts Creek, NC.
On Friday August 30, 2025, members from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit, Patrol Division, and K9 Unit conducted a traffic stop on Andrew Slade of Washington, NC.
On Monday February 24, 2025, members from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the Craven County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant on residence on Main Street Extension in Edward, NC.
On March 6, 2025, Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit along with Probation and Parole Officers from the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction arrested Robert Earl Blount III and Ryakeem Devon Blount at a residence in Aurora, NC.
On August 16, 2025, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office received a report of a laptop being stolen from outside of a residence in the Washington area.
On March 30,2025 at 7:03 am Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Handy Mart located at 5385 River Road, Washington after receiving a 911 call reporting an armed robbery had just occurred.
On December 11, 2023, Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the Richlands Township in reference to CPR in progress.
On Sunday, August 24, 2025, at approximately 6:40 a.m. the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received a request for assistance in locating and apprehending 40-year-old Casey Latham Bell of Pantego from the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office.

HbAD1

On July 28, 2025, at approximately 10:09 a.m. the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office received a report of a possible missing person, who resided in Chocowinity NC.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating a runaway juvenile and her 15 month old son. 17-year-old Nevaeh Nicole Tanjaya Harvey was last seen on 08/08/2025 around 2:00 PM, leaving her residence on South White Post Rd. in Pinetown NC with her 15 month old son.
On Thursday, August 7, 2025, at approximately 2:45 AM, Jamyah Hale was located at a residence in the Washington city limits by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the Washington Police Department.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating a runaway juvenile.
This week the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit executed three (3) search warrants in the Chocowinity and Aurora areas and assisted the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office with a search warrant in Pitt County.
On Monday, 04/14/2025, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer (SRO), assigned to Snowden Elementary School, received a complaint from the school administration that a student may have possessed a handgun on a bus.
On June 6, 2025, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit arrested Akeim Raquon McCray of Angier, NC on multiple felony drug and gun charges.
On July 8, 2025, at approximately 10:00 am, Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office executed search warrants on 11 Tobacco and Vape stores located in Washington, Chocowinity, Aurora, and Belhaven NC.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the disappearance of 45-year-old Jennifer Hollowell Watkins.

HbAD2

 
Back to Top