Former Criminal Allegedly Back At It

It didn't take long for a new employee at the Coffee House in Millers Creek to be discovered stealing from the business. Deputies were called to the restaurant Wednesday afternoon by Jonathan Ashley, who told them an employee that had worked there only two weeks, 33-year old Nicole Watson, had been caught stealing form the store twice. The first time, a week ago today, was captured on the security video, which showed Watson pocketing 14-dollars in cash. the register that night came up more than 50-dollars short, and Ashely believes Watson is to blame. In addition, the register came up 44-dollars short Sunday night, according to store records. Prior to the incidents, Watson was a client of Probation and Parole, and when she visited her probation officer this week she was arrested on the warrants, which allege two counts of theft by an employee.

Chase and Struggle Leads to Taser Use

A Wilkesboro man is behind bars on an outstanding assault warrant, after he led sheriff deputies on a short foot chase. Deputies had been looking for 30-year old William Vencill for some time, to take him in on the outstanding warrant charging him with assault on a female, property damage, and resisting arrest. They were tipped to his whereabouts shortly before 11 Wednesday night. Two deputies confronted Vencill to serve the warrants, but as they approached, he took off into a nearby field. The foot chase led about 80 yards into the field, before Vencil and one of the deputies slipped and fell in the mud. As they were struggling to get back up, the deputy says Vencil kicked him in the head, apparently by accident. The deputy then took out his Taser and fired, missing Vencil. The wires on the Taser probes coiled harmlessly on the ground, and the probes themself never made contact. Nevertheless, Vencil was arrested by the two deputies without any further problem. He now faces two additional charges of resiting arrest, and is jailed on the other outstanding warrants.

Big Jim Hamill Passes

Legendary Kingsmen lead vocalist Jim Hamill passed away this morning at the age of 73. In addition to singing with the Kingsmen, he performed with the Weatherfords, Blue Ridge Quartet, the Rebels Quartet, the Oak Ridge Quartet and the Senators. Subscribers of Singing News Magazine had voted Mr. Hamill "Favorite Lead Singer" five times, as well "Mr. Gospel Music" twice during the magazine's Fan Awards.

Though he was often regarded as one of the best frontmen in Southern Gospel music, his singing ability was also ranked among the best. Many Southern Gospel fans will long remember his performances of "Love Lifted Me" and "The Apple Tree Song" among many others.

Mr. Hamill's legacy also includes his efforts to continually put the younger members of the groups he sang with into the spotlight. Though he was confident in his own stage abilities, Mr. Hamill thought it was more important to encourgage the young performers and give them the opportunity to showcase their talents.

Funeral arrangements are pending at this time.

Several Guns Stolen, Victim Believes He Knows Who Took 'Em

A burglar took several guns from a Ronda home earlier this week, and deputies are still looking for the person. Glen Blackburn reported the theft Tuesday mid-day. The burglar had taken a small pane of glass out of the front door to gain entry to the house, and once inside had broken the glass on the front of a gun cabinet to get the long guns. Nothing else in the house was disturbed. Blackburn told deputies the names of a man and woman he believes to be responsible, because the man had asked him for money not long ago, and when Blackburn refused, the man spouted off that he knew where the safe was. In addition, neighbors say they saw the man and woman go in and out of the house earlier. Deputies have not released the pair's names, and they are still trying to locate them. The guns, which include several rifles,a shotgun and a couple of BB guns, belong to Blackburn's son Chad, who is serving in the US Army. They are worth about 13-hundred dollars.

Assault with a Bolt

Two people were hurt and police have issued warrants against two others, following one of the oddest attacks in recent memory. According to North Wilkesboro police, Scott Nafe, the owner of the former Carolina Mirror factory building on N.C. 268 East, was taken to Baptist Medical Center with a skull fracture after being attacked with an eight-inch bolt. That's right, the device one usually uses to attach things together. Police say a disgruntled contractor, Michael Sutton, attacked Nafe and employee Katrina Johnson. Warrants have also been issued against his father, William Rose Sutton.
The victims said Michael Sutton had gotten into an argument with Nafe over money before the assault occurred. According to the police report, Johnson jumped in and was trying to defend Nafe. A couple of men working on the business tried to get the younger Sutton off Nafe during the attack and that was when the older Sutton began swinging a chain, to keep anyone from intervening.

Police are still looking for the men, who are laborers from out of the area.

Cops Working Two Bad Chek Cases

Authorities are investigating two unrelated cases in which someone recently defrauded a business with checks that were either forged or written on a closed account. Sheriff deputies are looking for a woman whose name hasn't been released, after Foothills Grocery in Thurmond reported receiving eleven checks from her in the past several weeks, that turned out to be drawn on a closed account at First Community Bank. The checks total more than 750-dollars.

Wilkesboro Police are looking for a man who identifies himself as Larry Bethea, and has bee cashing checks at several Food Lion stores in the region, all of them turning out to be counterfeit. The man gave a clerk at the Food Lion on Westwood Lane a check for 425-dollars back in October, and store personnel learned yesterday that it was a fake. When he cashed the check, the man identifying himself as Bethea gave the clerk a North Carolina driver's license, which does not match his name. He's given other license numbers in other stores. One of the licenses comes back to an address in Elkin. The man is seen on store video during the entire check-cashing scam, and deputies have a fairly detailed description: a black male about 5-feet, 10-inches tall, with a light build, weighing about 160 pounds. He was wearing a white dress shirt and navy dress slacks at the time, along with a pair of glasses. The same man has been seen on security video at other Food Lion stores doing the same thing. The investigation continues.

Goss Appointed to Drought Committee

As we reported earlier today, North Carolina Senate leader Marc Basnight has appointed local Senator Steve Goss to serve as co-chair of a 20 member select committee to study and recommend needed state responses to the drought and its impact on North Carolina agriculture.

In a newsrlease today commenting on the appointment, Goss said,” I am honored to have been appointed co-chair of this committee. Most important, however, is the commitment of legislative leadership to look for ways to assist our farmers as they endure the worst drought in memory. Chicken and cattle farmers and our orchards in Wilkes County are under particular stress. My hope is that this committee, which is to report back to the General Assembly in May, will find ways to provide assistance our farmers who are threatened by the drought.”

Burglar Steals 1 Carton + 1 Pack of Smokes

With all the work a burglar went to recently, you'd have thought he'd have taken more once he got in the store. The alarm at Parson's Quick Stop in Roaring River went off early yesterday morning after the man broke out the front window. When deputies and the store owner arrived, he was gone, but the video tape showed him clearly, throwing a brick through the window and kicking it until it broke free. Once inside, he grabbed a single carton and one pack of Winston cigarettes. On the video, deputies saw the man had covered his hands and face, so they could not tell his race or an approximate age. He was wearing a red ballcap backwards to cover his hair, along with desert camo pants and a pair of white tennis shoes. The case remains under investigation.

New Helmet Law Starts January 1st

January 1, motorcycle riders will have new rules to follow if they're taking to the road. Recent changes to the state's motorcycle helmet law go into effect in the new year. The changes specify more clearly what types of helmets can be worn and also clarifies that the helmet must be properly secured on the head using a strap so that it will stay on in the event of a crash.
Motorcycle helmets are considered legally compliant if they meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 218, which requires helmets to have a firm inner liner of polystyrene foam that is about one-inch thick. According to a news release from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, compliant helmets also carry the symbol "DOT," for US Department of Transportation, permanently installed by the manufacturer on the back of the helmet, as well as a permanently attached manufacturer's label on the interior of the helmet. Novelty-type helmets are not compliant with FMVSS-218.

Bar Fight Takes 10 Officers to Get Stopped

It took ten law enforcement officers from every local agency to help quell a disturbance over the holiday weekend at Dooley's. By the time all was said and done, three people were behind bars on a variety of charges. Although the fight happened early Friday morning, WIlkesboro police released the report only yesterday. Two officers and two deputies responded to the call, after Seth Cohn of Dooleys called dispatchers to say a private party had gotten out of hand in the upstairs area of the bar, and the 100 or more people at the party would not leave.

Officers waded into the middle of the party and started telling people it was time to go home, and while most of the crowd obeyed, several started to resist -- especially 26-year old Martin Victor Harris, who repeatedly cursed at officers, threatened other people, and made verbal threats against officers. After initially being helpful to the crowd of officers now on scene, once he got outside with Harris, 28-year old Damion Ferguson stood on the other side of the parking lot hurling insults and threats toward the officers.

The disturbance briefly escalated when the crowd got into the parking lot, and that's when North WIlkesboro Police, more Sheriffs Deputies, and a Highway Patrol Trooper converged on the scene. During the melee, one of the officers saw 24-year old Ashley Marie Martin slap Harris in the face after he tried to start a fight with the trooper. Finally, Harris and Ferguson were cuffed, thrown in the back of a squad car, and Ferguson was seat-belted in place tightly to keep him from damageing the car. The men and Ms. Martin were taken to jail, and now face a number of charges including domestic battery, along with being drunk and disruptive. The case will be forwarded to prosecutors to determine if additional charges will be filed.