Ellerbe hunting dispute sets in motion perplexing deputy response

ELLERBE — A land-usage conflict between the co-owners of the Ellerbe Springs Inn and Campground and a former Richmond County and current Moore County deputy will be heading to civil court in the coming weeks.

Suset Gibson, owner of the 43-acre Ellerbe Springs Inn and Campground, along with her daughter, Jessica, says that multiple officers affiliated with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office have used their power and authority to intimidate her over a dispute involving hunting on what she believes is her property.

Suset and her family moved from South Florida to Ellerbe in June of 2022.

In either late March or April of 2023, a camper at Ellerbe Springs heard that there was gunfire unusually and extremely close to the campground. The hunter, assuming that this camper was the owner of the property, spotted and retroactively asked them for permission to hunt and identified himself as a Rockingham law enforcement officer.

When the camper reported this to Suset, she confronted the hunter, who also informed her that he was a Rockingham law enforcement officer.

Suset says that the hunter, Mike Wagoner, started yelling at her, and stated that he “had every right to be on the property” and the easement. Suset said she’s fully aware of all of the easements on her property and which were available and informed Wagoner of this. She recollects that she told Wagoner that if he brought the proper paperwork documenting his proper access to the easement and his ability to hunt on any supposed adjacent land, she would recognize it, although Suset maintains that the property he is hunting on remains Ellerbe Springs property.

Suset recollects that Wagoner got even more irate following this exchange. He flashed his ID and badge to Suset, but too quickly for her to confirm any information.

Suset and her husband called the police, who subsequently escorted him off the property. According to Suset, the responding deputy, Travis Bohman, informed her that that the hunter had leased the property in dispute and received permission from the previous Ellerbe Springs owner Mark Buckeridge. Suset says that Buckeridge informed her that he made no such special request or permission for any hunter. Suset says that she has spotted the same white Tacoma truck on their property a few times since, but did not have the necessary time to follow-up.

There are three easements on the Ellerbe Springs property, which Suset has documentation for. According to the land deed, there are excepted tracts of land for the Town of Ellerbe and Boone Hall Farms. There is also a conveyance to the Ellerbe Telephone Co. Carolina Power and Light Co. and Metro Mobile.

Chief Deputy Jay Childers confirmed that Wagoner used to be a deputy for the RCSO, but was not an employee at the time of this initial incident. The Moore County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Wagoner is a current employee. Suset stated that the camper who was alerted to Wagoner’s presence is willing to testify that he misidentified himself as a current local law enforcement officer.

According to an incident report dated Oct. 12, 2023, filled out by Lt. Mike Childers, it states that Wagoner says he received permission from Pee Dee Electric to use eight acres of land and access an adjacent roadway.

“Mrs. Gibson claims Mr. Wagoner is on her property, even after being told the property does not belong to her,” Childers writes in an incident report. “Mrs. Gibson refused to listen as I attempted to explain everything to her…I spoke to Mr. Wagoner again via phone and recommended to him to speak with a lawyer to attempt to have the issue resolved since he feels she is harassing him. There is nothing further to report at this time.”

“After a review of this [land deed], Pee Dee owns no property in that area,” shares Tony Eason, VP of Engineering and Operations for Pee Dee Electric, in an email. “Any easements related to the “right of ways” associated with distribution lines on our system do not contain any language that would allow Pee Dee to grant permissions for it to be hunted. Therefore, we have no knowledge of this situation.”

Problems continue

Flash-forward six months later, another suspicious truck is parked in the same spot as before on a roadway within the Ellerbe Springs property at 11:00 on the morning of Thursday, Oct. 12. Jessica and her boyfriend, Josh Meeks, confronted the hunter.

The hunter, Armon Waters, informed them that he had received permission from Wagoner to hunt at this location. Jessica informed the hunter that this was private property, pointing to the numerous ‘No Trespassing’ signs that the hunter had passed.

According to an incident report of a ‘Trespassing on Posted Property’ completed by Captain Joshua Chermak, this case is closed by means other than arrest. The report itself was filled out eight days after the fact, reportedly due to the Gibsons forgetting to file it on the day of the incident.

When Suset was informed of this encounter, she wanted to put an end to this situation. She called the Sheriff’s Office to get a copy of the incident report from six months before. When there was difficulty finding the report over the phone, and it remains unclear if that incident report even exists, Suset was transferred to Lt. Mike Childers.

“He was basically extremely aggressive,” recalls Suset. “He started off by saying there’s no police report.” This led Suset to wonder why he already had a wealth of information that he was about to share.

“I’ve already done told you people that he has legal right to be on your property, easement rights,” Childers, a pastor at Mt. Carmel Church, yells in the recorded phone call shared with the Daily Journal. “You’re about fixing to get sued because we’ve already consulted with an attorney.” It remains unclear who ‘we’ is. “Everything is on video, we have it on video,” Childers continues.

“We’ve already talked to him [Wagoner], it’s already been talked to a lawyer y’all are getting ready to get sued for harassment,” Childers shares in that same recording.

“You’re telling me that this hunter has every right to be on my property, is this correct?” Suset asks. Childers responds affirmatively, yes, after a 10-second delay.

Bewildered, Suset schedules a follow-up meeting with Sheriff Mark Gulledge that next day on Friday, Oct. 13, According to Suset, in that 2-hour long meeting, Gulledge was “shocked” by the recording and “couldn’t believe it” was the behavior of a long-time deputy. Suset said she recalls that Gulledge said that Childers has never received a complaint against him in 20 years.

“I’m not shocked at all that no one has complained [against Childers],” Suset said. “Anyone would be terrified to go against a lieutenant.”

“[Childers] is putting his career, he’s putting his credentials on the line to protect this hunter that keeps trespassing,” Suset says. “It’s beyond the scope of understanding.”

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a question asking if the behavior of Childers is in violation of any standard procedures or if there is any expected disciplinary action. “The only information I know is that it is a civil issue/dispute over rights to a piece of property,” Chief Deputy Jay Childers said in an email. “I do not have an answer to the other questions, because I do not know the answer.”

Wagoner returns to hunt again

Just a day after meeting with Gulledge on Friday, all evidence points to Wagoner arriving again on their property on Saturday, Oct. 14, in the same white Tacoma truck as before.

“It was almost like out of spite,” shared Jessica. “Like, ‘Oh they just told my friend, so I’m going to go up there because no one can stop me.’”

“I was just informed by one of the occupants of our property that this truck has been here a couple days in a row….parked at the back of our property and he’s hunting,” Jessica says in a 911 phone-call shared with the Daily Journal.

“Are there any weapons involved?” the 911 operator asks.

“We’ve heard shots going off,” Jessica replies.

“Where are the suspects now?” the operator asks. “They’re in the woods, the truck is the back,” Jessica responds. “You need to come right away,” interjects Suset, mentioning that they had just met with Sheriff Gulledge. “I don’t want to confront this person again.”

A description and license plate number is shared with emergency services.

“Is anyone in danger?” the operator asks.

“Yes, we’re in danger,” Suset responds. “Yes, because they’re hunting and trespassing,” Jessica adds. The operator informs them that they should wait at the front of the property and law enforcement will meet them there.

Seconds after this brief exchange, the same deputy as before, Travis Bohman, arrives on the scene.

“I though that it was very bizarre how quick from the end of the 911 call to how quickly Bohman showed up,” Meeks said.

“This is like the third or fourth time y’all have been dealing with this,” are the first words said by Bohman as he exits his vehicle. He talks to both Suset and Jessica, before heading to the Tacoma truck, which was partially hidden behind a bush. The trio of Suset, Jessica and Joshua all stated that they were close enough that they should have been able to hear Bohman and the occupant of the vehicle talking, but it appears that they may have been whispering.

According to an incident report, the individual inside the truck is Carly McKay, who states that her boyfriend is currently hunting. The Gibsons believe that her boyfriend is Wagoner because it was the same truck as before, and they stated that Bohman said that it is the same individual as before that was hunting.

“On 10-14-23 received a phone call form Lt. Harris in reference to harassment of a deer hunter behind Ellerbe Springs. While I were enroute, I received a call from dispatch about trespassing at same location,” states the report written by Bohman. The investigation report lists Carly McKay as victim one, while including Suset and Jessica as others involved. The incident report does not reference Joshua Meeks, and weirdest of all, completely omits any reference to Wagoner, who appears to be the lynchpin in all of this. The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office did not provide any answers as to why there appears to be multiple deputies with a vested interest in the outcome of this situation, or why and how Harris became involved in this.

“I spoke with both parties and advised them that it was a civil issue with the easement,” Bohman concludes. “I told them that they needed to contact a lawyer to resolve the issue.”

“He had an attitude of they have a legal right to be here,” Suset recalls. “I know without a doubt that [Wagoner] was there, 100%.”

Later that day, Jessica calls Bohman in an attempt to get further clarity.

“We have no trespassing signs,” Jessica says. “We can’t have people coming up on our property.”

“Like I’m telling your mom, I’m not 100% on the easement issue. It’s going to be a civil issue, not a criminal issue,” Bohman states.

“They’re still trespassing,” Jessica says. “The Sheriff told us that people shouldn’t be coming up and down our property.”

“Technically, they’re not hunting on your property,” Bohman responds, alluding to the apparent adjacent eight-acres that has a every-changing of history of where the proper permission has ben granted. “Eight acres — they got eight acres right there that’s leased [to]Mike Wagoner.”

“We see this person now and between we’ve seen a magistrate, can you guys arrest him?” Suset asks in a separate follow-up conversation.

Bohman at first says no, then states that if the suspects are there when officers arrive, it’s possible.

“This is a civil issue m’am,” says Bohman, and then confirms that trespassing is a criminal issue. “You need to go talk to a lawyer and find out about what that easement is for. I don’t know that the easement is for.”

“If [the easement] cuts into your property, it’s public, anyone can go into your property,” Bohman says to Suset. “I’m not 100 percent sure on the easement stuff, it’s going to be a civil issue…You’re not going to set me up…Are you going to charge everybody in your campground for driving on that road?”

Jessica later stated that the only people who ever use this portion of the road are already campers in the campground who are permitted to be there. If there is a vehicle on this part of their land, they immediately make sure that this person is permitted to be there, and that historically the only people in this area are people working on the cell phone tower.

“Every person is engaged with as a guest,” Jessica said. “We always have the same approach.”

Suset has contacted the State Bureau of Investigation over this matter, and has filled out paperwork with the District Attorney’s office. A subpoena has been filled out for Wagoner and McKay to appear in court for criminal trespassing. Suset has requested access to the body cam footage. She was told that she needs a subpoena for it and is currently waiting to take future action. Police body camera footage is not public information in the state of North Carolina.

A court date has been scheduled for Nov. 17 at 9:00 a.m.

“No one is allowed to hunt on the property at all,” Jessica said. “He doesn’t have a legal easement.” She added that they can hear hunting from a distance, but that campers on their property were critically concerned with Wagoner due to his proximity.

“I just want some good to come out of this,” Suset said. “If I’m being treated this way, who knows how other people are being treated.”

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to a question of why multiple deputies have offered conflicting information and spoken so authoritatively on the easement rights to the owners of Ellerbe Springs.

“We came here to make a difference in the community and be a part of something bigger than ourselves, Jessica said. “We want to help make Ellerbe and Richmond County grow as a whole and we’re not able to that when we’re fighting just to not have people on our property.”

“I feel unsafe for my family, for my two daughters,” Suset elaborated. “When I walk in the back now, he could be back there, because he feels as if he’s above the law. I’ve had nightmares about it. We should be safe in our own home and our own property.”