By BOB HIGH

The fifth of six gang members charged in the serious beating of a 19-year-old male on March 10 in the West Side Park beside Central Middle School here turned himself in to authorities Monday after four others had been arrested last week.

The beating and some shooting incidents caused the closure of the park for about 10 days until police stepped up their presence on the streets in the west side area, particularly at and near the school. Another shooting incident early Saturday involved shots being fired at three police officers. (See separate story Page 4-A of the printed edition)

Kendrick Brandon Bethea, 20, of Columbus Court Apartments along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Whiteville, was arrested after he walked into the police station here shortly before 5 p.m. Monday. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injuries, plus conspiracy with five-codefendants to commit the crime.

A sixth suspect, Troy Steven “Izzy” Childress, 23, whose mother lives along Baldwin Circle here, is wanted by local police and the SBI for his part in the savage beating of Jerome Bullock, 19, on March 10.

Childress is considered armed and dangerous, according to Whiteville Police Detective Bobby Fowler. The detective said calls about Childress could be made to him at 642-5111 or to CrimeStoppers at 1-(800) 531-9845. Childress has recent addresses in Whiteville – including Sunset Terrace – and some in Robeson County.

The six males are members of a gang identified by police as Hell’s Gangster Disciples, a group associated with the Crypts gang that began and flourished in California before spreading east.

The suspects, including three members of the Whiteville High School 2005 football team, are charged with using their hands and feet to inflict serious injuries to Jerome Bullock, 19, of Berry Lane, Brunswick, in the beating that took place in West Side Park, beside and behind Central Middle School here.

Bullock is still hospitalized in Wilmington and is scheduled to begin a lengthy rehabilitation program because he sustained severe brain damage in the beating and is unable to talk or eat. He communicates with family members by squeezing their hands.

Bullock was found unconscious in the park at 9:30 p.m. on the date of the beating after being asked to go to the park that night by some of those charged, Detective Fowler noted.

Bethea and Childress are co-defendants with Reggie James Bellamy, 18, of Chadbourn, plus Christopher Dewayne “Snooky” Campbell, 18; Christopher Paul “C Roll” Roland/Rowland, 17; and Andrew Winfred Powell, 18, all three of Whiteville. Roland’s photograph is published today. It was not available for Monday’s issue.