North Carolina Lottery: Lottery winner is arrested for failing to appear
Winning the lottery proved to be unlucky for a Craven County, North Carolina, man.
Publicity over the $10,000 prize Henry Wooten Jr. won earlier this week netted a visit from Craven County Sheriff's deputies.
But they weren't looking for a loan. They were looking to arrest him.
Thomas Bersch, with the Craven County Sheriff's office, said Wooten, 20, was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court for larceny, and breaking and entering.
Bersch said authorities were given information that led them to believe Wooten was in Washington, N.C. However, when they saw a story on Wooten winning the lottery in Wednesday's Sun Journal, they renewed their efforts to arrest him.
Bersch said he arrived Wednesday to arrest Wooten, who then tried to run away.
"He saw me and he took off running," Bersch said. "He didn't want to go back to jail."
Bersch caught up to Wooten and took him to the Craven County Jail. He was released on a $20,000 bond.
Wooten told the Sun Journal that he was going to save the money from his winnings to buy a house or a truck.
Instead, he used it for another reason, according to Bersch.
"He used some of his lottery money to make bail," he said.
Orginal News Story
Lottery Post presents the original news story, published in the New Bern Sun Journal.
Vanceboro man hits lottery for $10,000
And the winner is ... Henry Wooten Jr.
The 20-year-old West Craven Mobile Home Park resident won $10,000 in the $5 Carolina Cash scratch ticket game.
According to the N.C. Education Lottery, he is the first big winner from Craven County.
For those who might want to hit on Wooten for a loan, the money is already in the bank.
"My friends know I don't give money away or anything like that," he said.
Wooten, who works at Bosch in New Bern, said he has not spent a dime of the money. No clothes. No fancy trips. No fast cars.
"I'm saving it for a house or truck," he said.
He said he couldn't believe his eyes when he bought only one ticket from Mills County Store last week and scratched it off.
"I examined it and examined it and re-examined it," he said.
He said there was no celebration or big bash. He simply traveled to the Greenville regional lottery office, passed the ticket to a clerk, and in minutes, had his check.
The former West Craven High School football player said taxes were taken out of the original $10,000, but he would not say what the final amount was.
"It has not changed me one bit," Wooten said. "I still go to work, have my same friends and do my usual thing."
At that moment, Wooten's mother yelled out. "He's going to continue to work. I'll tell you that," she said.
He said he had not decided if he would become a regular player of the lottery.
"When the notion hits me (to play again), maybe I will," he said. "A body isn't that lucky all the time."
Wooten is one of the highest lottery winners in the eastern part of the state reported so far. A Wilson man won $100,000 in a scratch-off game.