sharon smith joins us now and is live from huntersville. sharon how is the student who was robbed? that must have been frightening! >> i cannot imagine, maureen. cpc says the student was not hurt and that student gave police a good suspect description which i will share with you. but that crime set off a chain reaction. them. three cms and one charter school there is a cluster here on old statesville road and that is standard procedure when someone like that is on the run. it is another case of no one expecting to be a crime victim. the student here at cpcc could not have thought at 11:20 on a tuesday morning he would be approached by someone with a knife demanding money. eventeds. huntersville police swarmed the area with officers and canines. parents got the call they did not expect. >> i feel like they had it under control. >> danielle was surprised by the principal's message and has two kids at the elementary school and had few details on what happened? >> she says police activity but everything was fine. >> her knowledge was limited to police activity. we told her about the ro

let's bring in sharon smith following the case for us at the courthouse. sharon what is the explanation? >> molly it's the ambien effect. we have seen this defense used before but it's not common. you may remember it was used in setting several fires fires in dilworth. and the case of a charlotte banker accused of killing his two children. even dwi drivers who do not remember anything. and did not know what they were doing. >> you can almost bet when potential jurors are quizzed by the state and defense to see if they are a good fit for the case, they will be asked about their opinion and experience with sleeping pills. the defense says it's the only way to explain charles' behavior that night two years ago when he is accused of firing at home in cornelius with his two children there. the state says sane assaulted his wife and shot at police as they responded to a domestic violence call. the defense says sane was not shooting at the cops but was unconscious and lacks culpability under the defense. it all hinges on whether the reasonable doubt that sane coul

live in fort mill, sharon smith wbtv on your side. >> thank you. carolina water service says 49 water systems did not have elevated lead levels. >> and just into the newsroom, we got word of a wastewater spill on norman shore road. that spill into lake norman. according to the city of charlotte 1,000 gallons of untreated wastewater discharged into lake norman. as we get more information we will pass it on to you. >>> tonya rivens is looking at what commuters are dealing with tonight. >> well, maureen things improved a little bit. your first alert traffic is sponsored by people's bank. as we check in around 485, spend around this area there is an accident on providence road. and congestion on rea road as we look in that intersection more red around this area indicating quite a bit of stop-and-go traffic. i mentioned rea road there was an earlier accident at rea road with injuries impacting the commute and the congestion remains between ray and johnston road and 485 heading back towards i-77, still quite a bit of volume and i-77 as we head to look ar

lincoln county had a slippery start to the day and where we find sharon smith live now. what are the latest conditions like? been a misty mix and we are getting tiny snowflakes. i don't know if you can see them. and main street in downtown lincolnton indicative of what we have seen most of the day. no major slick spots but with more rain it could become more of a problem as daylight goes away. we did find one bridge about a block from here and it was covered in a white dusting of snow. and it was slick. we watched cars going over it and they did not have trouble. and i spoke with ems that told me they responded to a whopping 50-something calls about accidents this morning. but by lunchtime, things had cleared up and they got better out here. and they are hoping it stays that way. coming up at 5:30 we'll show you the story we are editing now how the storm affected people in different ways. in her eyes as she was talking about her relief. live in lincolnton, sharon smith wbtv on your side. >> all right thank you. >> and you can track the winter weather with the first-alert

live in mecklenberg county sharon smith. >> i have a question. what what happens if someone live in charlotte do they skip the tax? >> we did digging and i can tell you the tax law follows where the labor takes place. if you buy your carpet in fort mill installed in charlotte you have to pay that tax. but you can take your car down there and get the work done and skip the tax. interesting. >> that makes sense. thank you. there are several exemptions. sharon has more information from the department of revenue with her story on-line at wbtv.com. >> let's talk weather a nice day in charlotte. this is live uptown beautiful sunshine here. >> we reached the 70s today. 73 right now. you can see spring is close, right? meteorologist leigh brock is live in the first alert weather center. >> meterological spring starts on march first that starts tomorrow. we are getting there. over the next couple of weeks we will see spring kicking in. 5:36 is your time and the temperature is 73 . and the camera, kids outside playing on the playground. i would have been d

sharon smith is live at the courthouse with more on what happened inside. and explain to us? >> well, i tell you nowhere else but here at the courthouse can you find such a diverse group of strangers. and get them to open up and share things about very, very personal issues. we heard typical questions like are you connected to any police officers? have you ever been involved in a domestic violence case? and yes, some of the potential jurors said they had. and came the questions about drug use and drug abuse. jury selection is one time attorneys all wish they could be mind readers. they try to predict which side gains favor based on probing questions. in this case, attorneys for charles sane say they will argue saying sane was unconscious and is not culpable because of the prescription sleep aid ambien. he is accused of firing shots at cornelius police officers as they responded to his home about a domestic violence call. today state prosecutors eased into asking potential jurors about their experience with alcoholism or substance abuse. at least five of the first 13 admitted

for now live in lincoln county, sharon smith wbtv on your side. >> and download the wbtv weather app that will alert you to changes with the storm system. >> in five days voters will head to the polls for the first in the south republican primary in south carolina. hard to believe but the race is getting muddier and nastier. saturday right here on wbtv we saw the candidates go head-to-head several times in a fiery debate. and today donald trump turned his focus to ted cruz. >> i have never, ever met a person that lies more than ted cruz. >> trump threatened a lawsuit against cruz if he does not end what trump's campaign calls false ads. trump made those comments while stumping in mount pleasant today. he will be in greenville tonight. ted cruz was in aiken and marco rubio in rock hill and ben carson in lancaster. jeb bush is preparing to speak in north charleston with a face you will recognize. his brother, former president george w. bush. live to will inside that event. momentum tonight. >> absolutely, after his performance saturday with the back and forthwith donald trump, jeb is t

lease a 2016 lincoln mkx for $399 a month >> anchor: good evening, thank you for joining us i'm sharon smith. we start with whether this weekend it is the end of a warm weekend. hopefully, you enjoyed it. forecast. we are checking in with meteorologist lee brock. >> reporter: we actually hit 69 degrees, not bad. 13 degrees above average. here is our elementary school cameras. a couple of kids out there this afternoon getting early season baseball practice in. nothing wrong with that. it felt like springtime. it is 6:39 the sun has been still holding on to the 60s. we have had a couple of showers, nothing major. let's take a look at where they are. we had one shower to these south of charlotte it is moving out now that is tapering off. we will pull it out one time and let you get your bearings and let you zoom in where we do have shower activity but his main in the southern part of avery county, it is pushing off to the east. you can see table rock, you have some of those showers up in avery county, ingalls is where some of our heaviest rain is falling. not a whole lot of precipitation or muc

i am sharon smith. we start with the charlotte/raliegh show down. the governor e-mailed city tea members saying that the could create public concerns. it is what folks call a bathroom clause. changes accommodations for the locker rooms and restrooms. joishgs opponents thought that the bags was over. advocates are fighting to get city council to look again. and after an e-mail city leader ares may be second guessing putting it to a vote. proposed changes to protect people from discrimination are long overdue. >> no one should be kicked out of a cab for holding hands with their partner and kicked out of the restaurant for the way they identify. >> reporter: it is a battle north carolina has been fighting since the measure failed. there is a new mayor and several city council members that may >> every person deserves the rights that everyone else. >> reporter: one proposed change is the using of the with. >> there is a risk for sexual that. >> reporter: the governor e-mailed the council members that it could strain relationship between charlotte and th

later sharon smith live in lincoln county. and ice made for hazardous conditions on the roads there. >> and parents questioned cms' decision to close schools today. dedrick russell is talking with the school district about its decision and what you need to know at 6:00 p.m. child's school will be closed tomorrow visit wbtv.com/closings. >> and to stay on top of what is happening with the weather download the wbtv weather app for free from your app store or marketplace. >> right now one person is being treated after this pickup truck crashed into this building in southeast charlotte. this is morris costumes on monroe road. the person was treated here at the scene and will you notice that fake ufo above the truck that crashed. and we don't know what caused this but it is in a parking lot. curious about the roads. we have been getting lots of reports of messy conditions and slick spots. tonya rivens is in the first alert traffic center. >> and maureen we are starting to see volume pick up especially on the secondary roads problem

coming up sharon smith will be with us live and bring us the latest from lincoln county. >> right now live to alex giles he is in the alert center monitoring the conditions at the airport. it's causing some issues. the weather there. >> always a concern with this type of weather forecast. activity, 31 aircrafts received deicing treatment and 21. one of the latest tweets from the airport and said security lines were heavy at all checkpoints. check with your airline for flight status. and the picture they tweeted out more deicing can show you one of the planes getting deiced on the runway. we are going to continue watching the airport and checking the flight statuses for the folks looking to travel today. >> all right, alex, thank you. >> for those of who you have to travel by road here is tonya rivens in the first alert traffic center. >> and good afternoon. your first alert traffic is sponsored by people's bank. i-85 and i-77 we have wet streets but no major problems on i-77 or i-85. problems close to, however as we head to tuckaseegee road and i-85, there is an accident. and in thadz

i'm sharon smith. we'll have the stories in just a minute. but first, we do have some breaking news from crowders mountain. a man fell off the mountain this afternoon at the boulders access. he's in serious condition. we are working to learn more information and we will keep you updated on this. also, just into the newsroom, a c.v.s. in pageland was robbed at gunpoint this afternoon. we just got surveillance video in from the police department from that c.v.s. on north van lingo mongo boulevard. the shift supervisor told police that the suspect walked to the back of the pharmacy, pointed a

i'm sharon smith. we are glad you are here and we do have some school closings and delays to tell you about now. ash, avery, catawba county schools all closed tomorrow. union county schools will operate on a two-hour delay. you can stay up to date with all the closings and delays. just go to our website, wbtv.com/closings. we are sending it street to meteorologist lee brock who is breaking down how the weather will be changing tonight. way. temperatures are below the freezing mark. your actual high temperature in charlotte, 29 . never even hit 30. 28 in charlotte. 21 in waynesboro. 26 in shelby and 15 if you are in boone. we have snow showing up over the area right now. here's the thing. a lot of what you see, other than in the mountain communities, that's not reaching we have a very dry atmosphere. we'll have to moisten up the atmosphere. it will be later tonight when we see the snow falling to the ground. tomorrow, we have a winter storm warning for avery, ash, caldwell, burke, the rest except for a

i'm sharon smith. we'll have the stories in just a minute. but first, we do have some breaking news from crowders mountain. a man fell off the mountain this afternoon at the boulders access. he's in serious condition. we are working to learn more information and we will keep you updated on this. also, just into the newsroom, a c.v.s. in pageland was robbed at gunpoint this afternoon. we just got surveillance video in from the police department from that c.v.s. on north van lingo mongo boulevard. the shift supervisor told police that the suspect walked to the back of the pharmacy, pointed a with some oxy codeine. that investigation going on right now. meanwhile, gunfire in uptown overnight. right now, three people are under arrest. jail records show they all live out of town. police confirm the trio was here visiting charlotte to enjoy the ciaa basketball tournament. christian is in uptown. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: well sharon, fortunately nobody was hurt last night and as you mentioned, the suspects were in town for the ciaa to

thank you for joining us tonight, i'm sharon, smith and i am glad that you are here, police arrested three men, accused of shooting up two cars in the front door of a condo, and hotel on coldwell street, all three suspects were in town for the tourn. christian spoke to someone who lives at the condo, what did he say? >> yeah, sharon, i spoke to him late this afternoon and he was and even though no one was injured, he says an incident like this will make him think twice about staying in town during next year's tournament. >> about 7:00 a.m., we got up and took the dog for a walk and came out to a crime scene. >> is it was a rude awakening for charlie and just hours after he brought his dog for a walk, the police say that south, calwell street, blocked off, they fired, 50 shots in the two cars and the front doors of the hotel. >> the glass was shot out and four window pains and they had little bullet markers all over the floor. >> but even more shocking than the front lobby of his condo was the state of the cars parked out in front. >> it looked like a truck driving around in iraq. >>

for the raycom news network i'm sharon smith in charlotte." and following the game, nfl mvp cam newton caused some controversy for the post-game press conference. the often boisterous quarterback didn't have much to say to reporters before deciding to cut things short and walk away from the mic without any warning. the move has caused some criticism from former players. coming up on the next hour of sunrise, our joe gorchow will join us live from santa clara for more on last an attempted murder suspect, on the run from law enforcement, is back in police custody today. richland county deputies say 17 year old tony gilmore was taken to palmetto health richland late saturday nigig by columbia police, after deputies were dispatched after learning gilmore was wanted for 2 counts of attempted murder. after being discharged from the hospital, gilmore reportedly ran away from deputies while handcuffed. after more than 12 hours, gilmore was caught around 2 o'clock this afternoon on monticello road -- still in handcuffs. deputies say gilmore is wanted i

find the defendant travion smith to be guilty of first-degree murder >>> guilty in the brutal murder of a mother as her child slept in the room next door. good evening i'm sharon taswell. >> thanks for joining us. it took an hour for the jury to find 23-year-old smith guilty of murdering melissa huggins jones in her apartment. >> steve was in the courtroom throughout the trial. he joins us now from the wake county courthouse with more. >> reporter: the jury returns to this courthouse tomorrow. it's not over for them yet. they still have to deal with the penalty phase. this after hours of closing argument which is the jurors had to consider during their deliberations. 18 times that knife or that fist went to her head, neck, and torso. >> prosecutor jason waller literally driving home the the jury. a killing he said smith was party to. >> travion smith is a murder also. look at the nature of the attack. there's injuries to both sides of her body. look at the blood in the room. look how small that apartment is. both of them had to have known what was going on in there. >> he claimed that smith's reactions were crucial for the jury to consider like when ron anthon

. >> sharon, the defense right now is trying to build a case that it hopes will save the life of smith. of witnesses today which they hope would present mitigating circumstances. among the first to testify was travion's half sister. she talked about what she said was the constant mental abuse that her dad gave travion and talked about the physical beatings he endured as a youngster and then they brought in a series of teachers and psychologists all of whom added a different perspective to the young man's profile. >> he was a great kid. he did well in the program. he came in, he was one of the most impulsive children i've worked with. but he loved the structure. he cared about other kids. >> travion was hospitalized, let's see, three times during his elementary school years. he was hospitalized again in february of 20 owe 5 during his sixth grade year. he was one of my favorite people. >> he's one of your favorites.

travis smith ran from the scene and later killed himself during a standoff. standoff.fox carolina's sharon johnson joins us live.sharon - how is her hometown responding? 3 friends from high school and neighbors were all saddened to hear about the shooting. but they are proud of the officer kimber gist has become.and sending well wishes for her continued recovery. 3 3 3 corporal kimber gist was shot multiple times this morning... according to the berkeley county sheriff's office - she was shot while investigating a suspicious vehicle behind a closed grocery store in goose creek. creek.7:55:34 "i was shocked, caused i thought once but when they said twice, i said oh my gosh."that investigation continues.and her high school recovery. 3 19:24:40 "my main thing is honoring kimber and letting her know we appreciate her for doing what she does and she is one that we will keep praying gets back in the line of duty." kimber gist is a 2009 graduate of woodruff high -was an honor student and athlete.her assistant principal called her an outstanding student with a strong personality. and surprised she