WILMINGTON — On the second day of new ‘stay home’ orders from the state and New Hanover County, the Wilmington Police Department issued the first violation to a manager of a furniture store.
According to WPD, manager William H. Shugart was cited for refusing to close the showroom of the Rose Brothers Furniture store, located in University Landing at 421 S. College Road. WPD said an anonymous caller reported that Shugart “refused to close the showroom and even sold furniture to a walk-in customer.”
Shugart was warned to comply with the State of Emergency declaration on Tuesday, the first full day of the stay home order, according to WPD.
Governor Cooper’s executive order, shuttering all non-essential businesses, took effect on Monday evening at 5 p.m. The state-level order was followed by a more restrictive set of closures issued by New Hanover County. Both apply to Wilmington automatically, although Wilmington City Council did vote Monday morning to symbolically ‘adopt’ the county’s increased restrictions.
The stricter county regulations order businesses that offer a mix of essential and non-essential services to rope off ‘non-essential’ areas; Rose Brothers Furniture apparently did not comply with this requirement.
The orders will be in effect through the end of April. Violations are punishable by a Class II misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
