Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1951-11-21
Masked Men Beat-Up Two
Columbus County Citizens

dent from his home ana tnen sew
erely beat him in the New Hope
section about ten miles from Tab
or City last Thursday night, the
sheriff's department announced
this week.
At the same time, the sheriff
disclosed an almost Identical
flogging that occurred in the Oily
phic section late last month. NO
mention of this earlier episode
had been disclosed until this
week.
The latest victim was Clayton
Sellers, 28-year-old married man
of the New Hope section, six
miles southwest of Whiteville,
who was severely beaten about
midnight Thursday.
The other case which came to
light was that of Robert Lee
Gore, who lives in the Olyphic
section near the South Carolina
line.
Sheriff H. Hugh Nance said evil
dence indicated that Gore was
seized by masked men on the last
Friday night in October and TAX
en- across the state line in Horny
County, South Carolina, where
he was whipped.
Neither incident was reported
Immediately, and the known facts
in the Gore flogging were turned
over to the Federal Bureau of In
vestigation because the victim
was carried across the State line.
State Bureau of Investigation
agents were called into the Sellers
case.
Sellers told a press representa-.
tive, in the presence of Sheriff H.
Hugh Nance, that two unmasked
men aroused him from sleep a.
bout II o'clock Thursday night
and asked him to let them have
some gasoline, claiming their car
had run out of fuel.
According to his story, he was
engaged in drawing gasoline
from his car when another auto
mobile pulled up and stopped. He
was seized, but was not loaded
into a car until his mother had
tried to tear the mask from one
of the men and his wife had fired
five shots in the direction of his
|captors.
The victim said he was taken
blindfolded to an "out-of-the.
way" spot and beaten with what
seemed to be either a piece of
machine belt or a piece cut from
an automobile tire. Two men beat
him alternately on either thigh
while two other men held his
arms.
He said they gave as an excuse
that he had beaten his mother the
previous Sunday. He denied to
them and to the sheriff that he
had ever struck his mother.
Sellers exhibited dark spots
about eight inches above the
knees where he was bruised in
the assault.
Following the beating, Sellers
said the masked men carried him
to a spot about mile from his
home and told him to get out of
the car. He said they held a gun
on his back and ordered him to
"get gone" and not look back. He
said several cars were in the pro-
cession.
To the sheriff and the news.
man, Sellers denied he had ever
beaten his mother but admitted
that sometime back he had had
trouble with his wife. He said.
however, they were now living
together amicably and that his
wife tried to defend him when he
was seized.
The Gore flogging, so far as
could be learned locally, was SIM
liar in detail to the Sellers Incl
dent. In that case the victim was
also visited about II o'clock at
night and was persuaded to help
two men who claimed their auto
mobile had broken down. He was
in the act of getting his car tools
to go to their aid when he was
grabbed and blindfolded.
According to the information
turned over to the FBI, Gore was
carried into South Carolina, fore
ed to bend over forward while
his captors whipped him with
heavy instruments such as de.
scribed by Sellers.
Sheriff Nance said his officers
and Horace L. Shaw, superintend-
end of the Columbus County Blu
reau of Investigation, were work
ing with the SBI and FBI on the
two cases, but that he was unable
to report any progress at this
time.