"While Reels Brothers remain in Jail, Construction Work Starts" by Mike Shutak in the Carteret County News-Times.

http://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_043c8eb2-58b6-11e6-87d2-139a3b6572fd.html

Adams Creek Associates digs Trench on Disputed Property

The Reels family is concerned for the safety of their family and their property. Brothers Melvin Davis and LiCurtis Reels have been held in the Carteret County Jail since March, 2011. The brothers contend the court is ignoring the 1976 judgment which awarded 13.25 acres of Merriman shoreline to their family. When the court ruled the property belonged to Adams Creek Associates, Davis and Reels refused to vacate the contested property on Silver Dollar Road in Merriman, claiming the land has been in their family since 1911. They are incarcerated on trespassing and Contempt of Court charges. In 1976, the Reels family was represented by Claude Wheatley, Jr. Esq., who later represented the Adams Creek Associates.

Last month, Davis and Reels were denied a Motion in Cause filed against Judge Jack Jenkin’s 2011 Order.  No notice was given this week before a backhoe arrived on the Reel’s family property in Merriman and dug a trench across a back access road to the brothers’ property. This action is being supervised by the Carteret County Sheriff’s department. According to a recent land survey, the Reels family claims this road was never part of the 13.25 acres of the long-contested land. In addition, personal property, included a dump truck, pool table, and tools have been destroyed or removed from the property. Family wondered if  Davis and Reels could be allowed to retrieve their own property.

What does this action mean? If Adams Creek Associates is moving onto the disputed property will Melvin and LiCurtis soon be released? These are murky questions, in part, because Jenkin's 2011 order states the brothers must write and sign a document that states the property is not theirs. Usually such a document is drafted by the plaintiffs, not the defendants in such matters.

Meanwhile, Davis and Reels have been moved to individual jail cells at the Beaufort County Jail. For most of their five year incarceration, they have resided in the dormitory-style quarters. Mr. Reels has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and his family has great concern for his health.