One of the individuals charged in connection with allegedly interfering with the traffic stop at The Pines on Ivey Road last Thursday afternoon, Matthew Jamal Cobb, had been convicted in Alamance County superior court in February 2022 of felony possession with a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the state Department of Corrections (see related story, this edition).
Cobb had been sentenced in February to perform community service and complete two years’ probation, according to his Department of Corrections (DOC) file.
The two other individuals charged during the incident at The Pines last Thursday also had prior criminal records. Highlights from their Alamance County court files reveal:
• Christopher Lee Jordan, 29, white male of 740 Ivey Road, Apartment A, Graham, was previously convicted of misdemeanor larceny in July 2010;
• Wesley Cobb, 19, black male, of 736 Ivey Road, Apartment G, Graham, has was charged on February 22, 2022 with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana paraphernalia; that case is currently scheduled to be heard in district court on June 27.
Two others charged in connection with the attempted murder at The Pines in January 2020 are currently being held in the Alamance County detention center, where they awaiting trial.
Abdur-Rahman Waheed, 24, black male, of 137 West Lakefield Drive, Greensboro, was charged in January 2020 with attempted murder, possession of stolen goods, assault with a deadly weapon, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle or dwelling, and marijuana possession, according to his court file. He is being held on a $1.375 million secured bond, according to the detention center.
Also being held in connection with the January 2020 shooting at The Pines is Alliyah Jenee Crouse, 22, black female, of 419 North Street, Graham, who is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill/inflict serious injury, and discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle or dwelling. Crouse is being held on a $1 million secured bond while she awaits her trial.
The suspect who escaped from a patrol car while being transported to the jail in May 2021 – Peter Lorenzo Allen, 30 black male, 233 Hall Avenue, Burlington – was previously convicted of: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in May 2019; misdemeanor resisting an officer in November 2018; felony breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, and felony obtaining property by false pretenses in October 2012; multiple counts of felony breaking and entering, misdemeanor larceny, and misdemeanor wanton injury to persons/property in March 2011; and felony larceny of a motor vehicle and misdemeanor hit-and-run in October 2009, according to the state’s Department of Corrections.
Meanwhile, Graham’s police chief has given her assurances that the department and a separate, external agency are fully investigating whether excessive force was used during the arrests at The Pines last Thursday.
Cole confirmed for the newspaper this week that the two officers who were involved in three arrests that afternoon, whom she identified as corporal Clint Cross and officer Douglas Strader, are continuing to perform their duties while the investigations are being conducted.
Social media posts show the arrest but not the behavior that preceded the incident at The Pines last Thursday afternoon. A short video posted on Instagram shows one individual struggling with the officers and his subsequent arrest; neither of the other two arrests or the circumstances that led to them is shown.
A handful of activists – including two who were involved with and/or charged at Black Lives Matter protests in downtown Graham during the second half of 2020 – staged a protest outside the Graham police department this week.
Graham assistant police chief R.S. King confirmed this week that the individual shown in the video was taken to the ground after he refused to comply with officers’ verbal commands not to interfere with the traffic stop that was underway. It appeared that individual “most likely sustained” a scrape on his forehead as he struggled with officers, King said this week.
Read each of these stories in this week’s (April 28) edition of The Alamance News and online at alamancenews.com:
Graham Police: Pines Apts. has become hot spot for crimes involving guns, drugs, and gangs: https://alamancenews.com/graham-police-pines-apts-has-become-hot-spot-for-crimes-involving-guns-drugs-and-gangs/
Latest episode: Routine traffic stop results in apt. residents trying to interfere with police; three arrested – https://alamancenews.com/three-arrested-for-trying-to-disrupt-traffic-stop-at-the-pines-apts-in-graham/
Serious charges involving previous incidents at the apartment complex: https://alamancenews.com/other-violent-crimes-at-the-pines/
Covid eviction moratorium has prevented expulsion of criminal characters from the complex: https://alamancenews.com/evictions-moratorium-made-it-harder-to-get-rid-of-bad-actors/
Community policing is Graham police chief’s focus: https://alamancenews.com/a-model-for-graham/
