RALEIGH -- A Durham County man pleaded guilty Friday to felony tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Willie Lee Hill, 72, of 2115 S. Alston Ave., Durham pleaded guilty in Wake County District Court to eight counts of attempting to evade or defeat North Carolina and Durham County taxes. The offenses occurred from June 1, 2000 through Dec. 31, 2003 while Hill owned and operated Hill’s Open Air Market, located at 712 S. Alston Ave. and Hill’s Market #2 at 201 Geer St.

District Court Judge Paul Gessner consolidated the charges and sentenced Hill to one, six-month minimum, eight-month maximum jail term. The sentence was suspended and Hill was placed on unsupervised probation for 36 months. He paid $34,519.97 in restitution before the sentencing. Hill was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and court cost.

The charges against Hill resulted from an investigation by a field auditor in the Department of Revenue’s Durham Examinations Office and a special agent with the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.

Last modified on: 10/31/07 03:44:10 PM .