NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Members of the New Hanover County ABC Board recognized efforts to make downtown Wilmington safer. 

The board invited local law enforcement officers to their monthly meeting Tuesday morning.

Last summer, the ABC Board agreed to give $180,000 toward a Joint Task Force to help add extra officers in downtown Wilmington.

Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous and New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon both say they have never seen cooperation between the two groups as strong as it is now.

"We're working together.  We understand and respect each other,” said Evangelous.  “We know what our responsibilities are and it's a great partnership and one that I truly hope continues.”

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – A 26-year-old man from Wilmington was sentenced to over 13 years of prison for intending to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin.

Douglas Marvell Black III, a validated gang member, was responsible for the trafficking of more than a half a kilogram of heroin between 2009 and the summer of 2010, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. The Wilmington Police Department reportedly made three heroin purchases from Black between February and March of 2011.

He pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute on Sept. 8, 2011 and was sentenced on Wednesday to 160 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release.

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - Having registered sex offenders as neighbors is leaving some people concerned about their kids' safety. In less than a month six registered sex offenders moved into one Wilmington residence that's right down the street from the Brigade Boys and Girls Club.

Sabrina Rivera lives down the street from the Tree of Life home.

"There are kids here, there and everywhere," she said.

She said she didn't know the sex offenders had moved into the neighborhood until she looked at the online sex offender registry.

"The only way you're going to find out if they're there is if you keep yourself educated," Rivera said.

Tree of Life's director Jonathan Washburn said it wasn't his original plan to let sex offenders live at the facility for people trying to recover from substance abuse.