steve ohnesorge was in court and spoke with the sister of one of hewitt's alleged victims that story is new at 5:00. accused of three counts of first degree murder. five years ago when he was arrested he told me he was innocent. >> did you kill those people? >> no, i did not, sir. >> the murders happened four people shot and three died u i want justice for all three. >> beverly's sister was among the victims and beverly was in court today as the defense argued that the state failed to turnover all evidence in a timely fashion and the judge agreed and says it was not enough to throw out the case and we learned a plea deal was offered to hewitt second degree murder. >> i wish he would take the plea deal so we do not have to relive this nightmare. >> he said no. still maintaining his innocence. just as he has since that day he was charged. >> you did not do any of this? >> no, sir. >> his rejection of the deal means the death penalty is on the table if he is convicted. no matter what happens here, justice will be served. judgment some day. and it's god. >> his judgment in here gets unde

in catawba county, steve ohnesorge wbtv on your side. >> thank you. as deputies try to pinpoint what happened one lesson is clear they say never have your wallet or purse in a spot where a stranger can grab it or take what is inside. >> new information in a deadly crash in west charlotte one of the drivers involved is now charged. the crash happened this month at billy graham and boyar street. jessica costa ran a red light and hit a pickup truck killing the driver. costa is charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and turned herself into the mecklenberg county sheriffs office over the weekend. >>> let's see if we have trouble spots on the roadways. and i can see there is a backup. tonya rivens has the details. >> independence boulevard that is where we continue to see congestion and problems. your first alert traffic is this is kind of different by the wal-mart there on independence boulevard and a lot of volume building. we had the problem at actually by pierson and eastway and independence. albemarle road where this exit is off of independence but

wbtv steve ohnesorge talked to one of the heros and the story is new at 5:00. been around the world taking care of business. >> wherever they are needed that is where they will be. >> sunday afternoon they did not have to go far. >> i know everyone has everybody's back. >> this time a young girl in trouble walking up gold avenue in kings mountain when a man grabbed her and groped her across the street the local guard unit was in weekend drill and they heard the girl shouting. >> and help me, help me. >> a passerby called police and soldiers yelled at the suspect and spotted two guardsmen going to help. >> they was coming across the road. >> the suspect let go. girl and they grabbed him and the man apologized. >> he admitted he was guilty of what happened. >> 19-year-old kyle moore was charged with sexual assault and battery. mary says it is a good thing the soldiers were there. >> think if they had not seen him? >> they were being good citizens. what happened until i told them. officials in raleigh are not sure if this is a recruiting tool but they want everyon

wbtv's steve ohnesorge has the story now from catawba county. >> sam noticed what is happen togas prices. >> yes, i have. >> john says it's jolted a dime. >> they have gone up a lot the last week. >> along the stretch of 321 in catawba county, the prices in the upper 50s are in the 160s' and higher elsewhere. >> disappointed. it was fun. to have cheap gas for a while. >> many are wondering why it's happening with the crude oil prices so low and a glut of it on the market. but there is not a glut of gasoline. refinery space is limited. and this time of year they the systems and switch to summer blends and during that period at the beginning of spring gas prices will go up. 10 to 15 cents agallon in this area is possible. >> not good news for roy wallace. >> i drive 200-300 miles a day. >> everyone who puts miles in will feel the effects. a few cents can make a difference. >> oh, yeah. >> it's still $2 cheaper than three years ago. and danny browning has other plans for the money. >> stay at home. got a daughter getting married. >> always the chance prices will come back down. but no guara

steve ohnesorge has that story from hickory. >> you got to feel for four-year-old bryson. >> nasty cough and run any ross noses are horrible. >> in hickory with trees in full bloom and all that other stuff coming out, well... >> sometimes i'm miserable. >> allergy specialist is seeing a lot of patients and weeks before the normal rush period. >> we have pollen counts as early as a month ago. >> the big three is hitting hard, the pollen and the grasses and the mold, the trifecta of trouble and because it's so early here is the bad news about >> we will have a longer season than normal. >> the doctor says try over-the-counter stuff first. pharmacist says there is all kinds but read the warnings. some will make you sleepy and give you dry eyes and more. >> it can affect people different ways. >> absolutely. >> and because you never suffered before does not mean you will escape this year. >> the doctor says our bodies are always changing and the longer we live the more we are exposed to all the allergens. do not we surprised if one year you're allergy-free and the next year you have trouble

in catawba county, steve ohnesorge wbtv on your side. died deed ra traveled to flea markets. if anyone has information about that or anything else to call the catawba county sheriff's office they are asking for your help. >> right now this couple is now charged with murder in albemarle. we were there when one of the suspects admitted to killing a man. the duo tony hearne and lindsey lentz were arrested after they were trying to dump a body in alexander county an hour-and-a-half drive away. hearne said that he killed his uncle robert hearne, jr. in self-defense. they are both in jail. >> right now let's get over to alex giles live in the alert center with an alert from the f.b.i. about a bank robber wanted. >> an interesting case. look at the images we have gotten of the man police are sending out asking us to watch out for him. he robbed banks in raleigh, greensboro and knoxville and traveled throughout the carolinas. he is 6'2" or 6'3" and has a mole on a cheek. he has used vehicles some of one of them a black chevy trail blazer. keep an eye out if you see him let officers k

they may have never known about steve ohnesorge spoke with the man who called investigators he is on your side with new information on the case. >> toney hern was not talking as he went to court. lyndsay was silent, too. the sheriff thinks it was luck they were caught or maybe the lord stepping in. >> like he was leading the officers. >> a passerby, a former deputy, spotted this car in the woods yesterday. >> i did not seem right. >> he call to do in. >> the old cop in me. >> when deputies found them and the body of robert hern covered in leaves, brds and tires. tony told me he was trying to hide the body that he killed the man his uncle in self-defense. >> i never wanted to fight my uncle but he came in and came at me with his knife. >> hern says there was a struggle he had no choice. >> he was choking me and i was choking him. >> he survived and his uncle didn't but something is not you think if there was a fight to the death there would be evidence besides the statements from the subject, scratching and bruising something? these photos i took yesterday and today show none of that

steve ohnesorge on camera. we showed you part of that at 5:00 and here is the full story new at 6:00. >> tony herns says the man he killed, yes he admitted that to stranger. >> that the is my uncle. >> how particular co-came to be killed and why tony and this woman wound up here with the body that is the question that it began when a passerby noticed a strange car turning into this property. >> and called one of my officers. >> a deputy found this car stuck. a man and woman around it and spotted something else says the sheriff. >> found what appeared to be a drag in the leaves that led to a body. >> the two were cuffed and investigators moved in. lyndsay said nothing to me button any? yes he was here to bury his uncle. >> i brought him here to hide him because he attacked me and i >> he claims his uncle was drunk or drugged up. >> and unconscious and when i seen him expired i brought him to put him away. >> the woman had nothing to do with it all but was it bad luck that he got caught because his car was stuck?

one of the suspects confessed to steve ohnesorge and explained what he says led to it all. steve joins us live now with more. so, steve, is this murder have they been charged? >> well, i'm hearing from the sheriff now that there have been charges of murder that have been filed. and also charges of burying a body. but at this point, the investigation is far from over. there is a lot that they are trying to learn. now, tony hern, the one of the suspects in the case told me that this was all a case of self-defense. that his uncle came into where he was living last night and said his uncle was drugged up or drunk and then came at him with a knife and that is when everything happened. and he had no choice but to defend himself. they choked each other until they were both unconscious and when his uncle was expired and he came up here to alexander county to hide the body. picking the wrong place and wrong time. a passerby spotted the vehicle and called deputies and they came out and found tony and a woman here and they found the body. now, the two are charged and this is what tony

wbtv's steve ohnesorge talked to sullivan's father. >> ever since justin sullivan was arrested on the federal charges involving isis local authorities suspected that he was involved in the murder of his neighbor whose body was that murder scene in december 2014 is three doors down. the victim john clark was shot and buried in his own front yard. ballistics showed that a weapon at sullivan's home matched the murder weapon. a grand jury indicted him for murder last month. >> he messed up. >> justin's dad is the one who turned him in on the federal terrorism charges. the murder charges were a surprise. and it was tough to watch his son go before a judge on that today. >> see that our son and flashbacks of how he was and what could have within.- >> at today's hearing the state announced it would seek the death penalty. attorneys were appointed to represent him. rich says his son as told him he wishes he could live his life over. it is a tough time for this family. >> he is still scared. still scared. the unknown and for us, too. >> sullivan will remain without bond. the federal charges ar

and steve ohnesorge has confirmed that and we learned it 10 minutes ago. 22-year-old eric yount from granite falls is charged for the crimes. i imagine that the charges will change for him now that the second victim in the shooting has died. investigators say they thought it was a domestic dispute that spurred that shooting in hickory. back to you. >> thank you. protestors gathering right now in uptown to demand answers about how police use fore: the rally is partly in response to the arrest of a man in east charlotte. a neighbor recorded video of 'officer appearing to strike glen while he was on the ground. they say glen was resisting arrest. tonight at marshall park. >> north carolina is shaping its response to the zika virus. we have learned the state is hiring two medical experts to monitor mosquitoes that can carry the disease and consult how to control the mosquitoes. and the state is asking you to pay attention to travel advisories and cdc is warning pregnant women to avoid the countries where zika virus is a problem. it's believed to be cause birth defects in kids. >> that is

. >> we got video of that accident from our reporter steve ohnesorge up in the area.a. this happened south of hickory. we can show you the video and the skid marks behind that truck it slammed into the school bus from gainwell middle school south of lenoir and that truck is smashed into the back of that bus. 25 kids were on the bus when the accident happened. no one involved had to be taken to the hospital. but troopers will be charging the driver of that truck for that accident. and the kids along with the we will update you when we get more information. >> thank you. glad the kids are ok. >>> police say say south carolina officer was shot and killed while serving a warrant on a self-admitted gang member. the suspect ran and opened fire on the officer hitting him several times. the officer died at the hospital. officers on the scene were visibly distraught and crying. the suspect shot and killed himself. >>> the sun shining on this friday afternoon and the skies are clear but we are headed for a cooldown. >> we could have temperatures in the 30s and rain in charlotte a

steve ohnesorge is on the scene right now. tonight at 5:00 he will tell us what one of the suspects told him. >> we are following breaking news in our alert center. alex giles with more on an accident in rock hill. >> this appears to be a serious accident sky3 chopper live over the scene. let's look down there. it's in front of a shopping center in rock hill and it is one of the three-wheeled motorcycles involved in an accident with a pickup truck. there is heavy traffic backup in the area near the bellview square shopping center. traffic is diverted at east main street and pinewood. and you see the wreckage in the middle of the road. police officers on scene as well. officers are investigating. we've reached out to the police and the fire department in rock hill to get more information about how this accident happened as soon as we get details about to you in the alert center. >> alex, thank you. >>> first at 4:00 charlotte-mecklenburg police still looking for suspects in four separate shooting in the city yesterday. six peop

. >> we got this law enforcement video from steve ohnesorge. take a look. this happened in lenoir a motorcycle is chased bylaw enforcement here. he does not get far before he wipes out. and he is not done yet he tries to make a run for it. police officer is not getting away and tries to chase after him. as chuck summerment and that crash and wreck. officers found drugs in the backpack. he is now in jail facing several felony charges and under a $300,000 bond. scary situation. he got up and kept going and is in custody now. >> that motorcycle on that gravel road was not going to work well. appreciate the update. >> we have the top consumer headlines. check your fridge. whole foods recalling maytag raw milk blue cheese because of a possible listeria contamination. no illnesses have been reported if you have the cheese throw it away or get a refund. >> and self driving cars can cause fender-benders. google says one of its vehicles was partially responsible for an accident with a city bus. it's the company's first played a part in causing a crash. the bus hit t

. >> steve ohnesorge put on an army helmet working on this story. last year he was attacked and has the scratch to prove it. have been nesting there. neighbors put up spikes and trees but they find other spots. the hawks are protected species you can't shoot them. neighbors have to wait until the hawks leave which last year wasn't until june. >>> the city of charlotte is going green this weekend, charlotte st. patrick's day parade is tomorrow, will be the 20th anniversary of the parade. the charlotte goes green festival is the same day in uptown, free, open to everyone. the parade kicks off at 11:00 tomorrow morning, starts at 9th street, marchs south on tryon street. the spot where it ends is where the festival is held, music, dancing, food, drinking all sort of things going on, a great time, get out and try it. >>> coming up at the top of the hour, the fight continues over charlotte's controversial non-discrimination ordinance, the push one lgbt group is making in raleigh, chris? >> chris: we could be looking at rain showers for the st. cloud cove

. >> john: steve ohnesorge put on his army helmet working on the story. this is the sixth year the hawks have been nesting here. neighbors have put up spikes in trees but they find other spots. the hawks are a protected species you can't shoot them. >> christine: you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. here is meterologist chris larson. >> chris: quiet end to the work week across the charlotte area, right now 53 hickory, 45 in boone, 55 charlotte, 57 degrees in monroe, let's switch over to max 2 and take a look at what to expect for this afternoon. there you go, power doppler is quiet in the charlotte area, up to statesville back toward morganton, we did see a band of thicker cloud cover out to our east earlier this morning, it rides up along the carolina coastline, all the rain showers down toward charleston. in the weekend, though, we'll see a southerly system develop at the surface, work across the carolinas and then upper level low, trough of low pressure swinging in, really dropping our temperatur