Naomi Kowles

Charlotte, Madison

Investigative Reporter at WBTV-TV (Charlotte, NC)

NC/SC investigative reporter @WBTV_News | past: chief investigator, political host & manager @ WISC | perpetually first drafting | [email protected]

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Articles

Inside the turmoil at the Catawba County Humane Society

1 week ago | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

NEWTON, N.C. (WBTV) - Several dozen people brought their signs and their pets to a recent rally in downtown Newton, protesting the management of the Humane Society of Catawba County. “Fire toxic leadership,” read one of the signs. In attendance were numerous former employees, turning out to the rally after an online petition garnered hundreds of signatures demanding change from the top of the nonprofit.
ICE makes arrests at Mecklenburg County Courthouse

2 weeks ago | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement made arrests at the Mecklenburg County courthouse on Wednesday, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s said in a statement on Thursday. A witness told WBTV they saw three people in plain clothes arrest two people outside the Mecklenburg County courthouse late Wednesday morning. The people were put in white unmarked SUVs, the witness said. WBTV agreed to keep their identity anonymous for safety concerns.
Inside the hunt to stop a fentanyl shipment into the Charlotte region

3 weeks ago | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

WAXHAW, N.C. (WBTV) - A dozen law enforcement officers huddled in a dark parking lot in Waxhaw late in February. They’ve been standing by all day; narcotics investigators, special response officers, state troopers and others. They’re expecting a tractor trailer truck driver carrying several kilograms of fentanyl, a tip that the Waxhaw Police Department’s narcotics team has been working for several weeks.
FEMA contractors ordered to ‘stand down’ after security threats, messages show

Oct 14, 2024 | fox5vegas.com | Naomi Kowles

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) - An inspection agency that works as a contractor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency has ordered its employees in western North Carolina to cease inspections over the weekend and return to hotels, WBTV has confirmed. Sunday evening, the Washington Post first reported messages about reports of threats to FEMA-affiliated workers in Rutherford County. WBTV has independently confirmed that reporting with sources with direct knowledge of the threats.
Mecklenburg County Jail deaths double under Sheriff McFadden

Aug 12, 2024 | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - When presented with data showing deaths more than doubling at the jail compared to previous tenures, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden points first at rising substance abuse in the community -- and then his predecessors. “America has changed,” he said near the beginning of a wide-ranging 40-minute interview with WBTV. “The real question is what are we doing about the spike of fentanyl?
Officers’ radio communication amid Charlotte ambush shared in Mecklenburg County DA report

Aug 1, 2024 | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Mecklenburg County district attorney Spencer Merriweather concluded his review of the Charlotte shooting that killed four officers and injured four others in April, disclosing new details about what happened. The review -- a standard procedure following any police shooting -- found that the officers’ use of force was justified.
Pineville officer won’t be charged in deadly shooting but DA highlighted irregularities in story

Jul 2, 2024 | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The Pineville police officer at the center of a deadly shooting in April won’t face criminal charges in the incident, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and the Mecklenburg County district attorney announced Tuesday. But in a lengthy description of the investigation, district attorney Spencer Merriweather highlighted inconsistencies in the officer’s account of what happened as well as concerns with how the Pineville Police Department handled the ensuing investigation.
Charlotte’s corporate landlords: City ranks third in new report for nationally-owned rental homes

Jun 20, 2024 | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - On a sunny Friday afternoon in mid-June, two children walk up and down the sidewalk on Mineral Ridge Way in Charlotte while a man mows a lawn nearby. The street in a north Charlotte community is quiet – one of several reasons Stephen Barbour and his wife have enjoyed the last two and a half years in the neighborhood. Their 20-minute drive to Uptown combined with all the benefits of suburban life would be hard to give up.
Charlotte pastor elected Southern Baptist Convention President

Jun 12, 2024 | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (WBTV) - Charlotte pastor Clint Pressley was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday morning, according to the official news service for the denomination. Pressley has served as the senior pastor at Hickory Grove Baptist Church since 2010. He beat five other candidates in an election that required two run-off ballots during the annual convention, Baptist Press reported.
NC Treasurer warns towns about missing financial audits

Jun 10, 2024 | wbtv.com | Naomi Kowles

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - One hundred towns and counties across North Carolina, including a handful in WBTV’s viewing area, have missed their deadline to submit their annual audit to the North Carolina State Treasurer. Those municipalities will be at risk of losing a portion of their sales tax beginning on July 1 because of a new law in effect this year. “The purpose of an audit is to make sure that the taxpayer money is properly accounted for,” State Treasurer Dale Folwell told WBTV.