Seven charged, four sought in alleged building code scam

Authorities said the group defrauded a Wilson County senior citizen of more than $7,400 between May 23 and Oct. 10, presenting themselves as city code enforcement officials and telling the man that he needed to pay them to bring his home into compliance with state building codes. He wrote several personal checks to members of the group, authorities said.

Madison Earl Howlett, 28, of 449 Tobacco Road in Rocky Mount, and Andrew Jason Ward, 32, of 3935 Taylor Store Road in Nashville, were each charged with five counts of obtaining property by false pretense and one count each of exploitation of an elder adult and unlawfully acting as a code enforcement official.

Christine Hope Howlett Ezzell, 36, of 449 Tobacco Road in Rocky Mount, and Jonathan Taylor O’Neal, 26, of 3633 U.S. Highway 301 North in Wilson, were each charged with four counts of obtaining property by false pretense and one count each of exploitation of an elder adult and unlawfully acting as a code enforcement official.

Heather Roseanne Adcock, 18, of 2953 Abner Drive in Rocky Mount, Michael Sidney O’Neal, 24, of 3633 U.S. Highway 301 North in Wilson, and Nelson Skinner II, 38, of 50 Church St. in Black Creek, were each charged with obtaining property by false pretense.

Department of Insurance investigators are still searching for Jon Chase Daniels, 28, of 119 S. Harris St. in Rocky Mount, Bobbilee Faith Joyner, 26, of 3941 Whitley Circle in Rocky Mount, Douglas Michael Reason, 28, of 6056 Webbs Lake Road in Elm City, and Jeffrey Lane Tyler, 27, of 1029 Compass Creek Drive in Rocky Mount.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call the department's Criminal Investigations Division at 919-807-6840.