Eight arrested in Mooresville crackdown on online child exploitation
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A multi-agency effort led by the Mooresville Police Department resulted in eight arrests tied to internet crimes against children.
Dubbed 'Operation Millstone,' the initiative brought together 78 personnel from 21 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
Those arrested ranged in age from 25 to 91 and allegedly used various online platforms to solicit minors.
Charges include felony solicitation of a child by computer, with some suspects also facing charges for appearing to meet a minor. Mooresville Police said this operation was built upon 'Operation Artemis,' a 2024 investigation that led to 15 arrests.
The eight individuals taken into custody include:
Damon Jefferson, 25, Salisbury – Felony solicitation and appearing; $250,000 bond
Judson Creech II, 36, Mooresville – Felony solicitation and appearing; $30,000 bond
Jorge Armondo Martinez, 37, Charlotte – Felony solicitation and appearing; $30,000 bond
Ismael Vazquez, 33, Charlotte – Felony solicitation and appearing; $30,000 bond
James David Courtney, 91, Lexington, SC – Felony solicitation; $50,000 bond
Eddie Rigdon, 72, Leland – Felony solicitation; $2,500 bond
William Dane Tobey, 75, Salisbury – Felony solicitation and appearing; $30,000 bond
Manuel Crispin Gonzalez, 35, Winston-Salem – Misdemeanor charges unrelated to solicitation; $1,000 bond
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Person seriously hurt in northeast Charlotte apartment shooting
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — One person is in the hospital after a shooting at a northeast Charlotte apartment complex. Medical personnel responded to the 8300 block of Paces Oaks Blvd in reference to a shooting, shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday. Officials say one person was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police have not said if any arrests have been made in this 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Alleged impaired driver crashes into tree in Iredell County, killing his passenger: NCSHP
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A man could be facing charges after allegedly speeding while driving while impaired before crashing and killing a passenger in his vehicle, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Around 8:20 p.m. on Friday, May 30, troopers responded to the crash on I-77 South near mile marker 39 in Iredell County. Officials said a 39-year-old man was driving south in a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 when he lost control, drove off the right side of the road and struck a tree on the passenger side of the vehicle. 'Lucky to be alive'; Driver hurt in reported road-rage shooting on I-85 in Rowan County, suspect wanted The driver, Floyd Dale Davis II, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The passenger, 43-year-old Timmy Hillard Hartsoe Jr., was also transported to a local hospital, where he sadly died, highway patrol said. Investigators believe speed and impairment are contributing factors in the crash and say charges are pending. I-77 South was closed in the area for about two hours during the on-scene investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Former Gastonia police officer indicted on charges claiming she made false statement during firearm purchase
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A former Gastonia Police officer who was convicted for unlawful use of the department's computer databases was indicted in more charges this week. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Western North Carolina, a federal indictment was unsealed Friday in federal court charging Xana Dove with straw purchasing a firearm. Dove, 28, of Charlotte, was arrested on Thursday, and was released on bond following her initial court appearance. Parents held on $1.5M bond each after 7-year-old fatally struck crossing street unsupervised According to allegations in the indictment, on May 25, 2023, Dove knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement to Shooters Express, a licensed firearms dealer in Belmont, in connection with the acquisition of a Springfield Hellcat Pro, 9mm pistol. The indictment alleges that Dove falsely stated on a federal form that she was the actual transferee/buyer of the firearm when the defendant knew this statement was false and fictitious. Dove is charged with making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and causing a false report during a firearm purchase. If convicted, Dove faces a combined maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison. In December 2023, Love was charged with 32 felonies, including 15 counts of accessing a government computer and four counts of felony conspiracy. This includes allegations of telling a man how to lie on a polygraph test. She pled guilty to two of the charges, and was sentenced to 11 months in prison. She was suspended from the department the previous September after she posted bond for allegedly filing a false police report, and was terminated in November. The new charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Washington with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
