Extreme Caution Urged In Stanley, Mt. Holly Area As Manhunt Called Off For Storms

Rodney Helton

Rodney Helton

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. – A Stanley neighborhood was on lock down Sunday as police looked for a man suspected of cutting a woman’s throat. Police were patrolling Creekwalk neighborhood and the surrounding area looking for 21-year-old Rodney James Helton Jr.

Police believe Helton kidnapped a woman, drove her to the Stanley neighborhood and slit her throat. Police were urging residents to stay inside their home and be on the lookout.

Helton is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Police received a 911 call at 1:15 p.m. from Helton’s grandmother. She told dispatchers when she returned home from church, her grandson had a woman bound in her house, said Capt. Suzanne Mauney-Smith with Gaston County Police.

Prior Mugshot

Prior Mugshot

“She saw a female in the residence bound by her wrists,” Mauney-Smith said. “The suspect, Helton, left with the female in the female’s car.”

Stanley Police found the car in the Creekwalk subdivision. Shortly afterward the woman was discovered.

She had cuts to her neck, Mauney-Smith said.

The woman, who has not been identified, was alive and transported to a hospital around 1:30 p.m. Mauney-Smith said the victim was semi-conscious at the time she was found.

Police believe Helton left the woman’s vehicle at the neighborhood and ran into the woods.

Previous Mugshot

Prior Mugshot

Police secured a large perimeter of the neighborhood, between Highway 27 and Kelly Road, Greene said.

Residents of the area were urged to remain on the lookout.

“We are asking all residents to stay inside, locked in until we do find the suspect,” Mauney-Smith said Sunday.

Police officers patrolled the area with guns and several K-9 units were on the scene.

Police have not described the relationship between Helton and the woman.

Helton was last seen wearing a T-shirt and camouflage shorts.

The search was called off due to a band of thunderstorms that were set to hit the area and was not expected to resume Sunday night.

Helton has a history of arrests in Gaston County, including three in the past three years. His most recent arrests were for breaking and entering and larceny.

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