Soda Machine Broken Into

Sheriffs deputies say a van load of people pulled up to a Ronda store and tore the money box from a soda machine, then sped off. it happened early yesterday at Fosters Grocery. By the time the breakiin was reported, deputies arrived several minutes after the thieves left. The store was secure, with the soda machine being the only thing that had been disturbed. The store owner showed up, and he and the deputy reviewed the video tapes together, seeing the burgundy and white late model Ford van pull up, two or three men jump out and use a pry bar to pull the change box and dollar bill changer from the machine. The damage has been reported to the Coca-Cola company for repair, and there's no estimate of how much money the thieves got away with.

Break-In Tried Again, Unsuccessfully

For the second time in two weeks, Wilkesboro Police were called to Tarheel Lumber to investigate a break-in. This one wasn't successful. An employee arriving for work Tuesday reported finding the door knob to the main office building pried off, and he thought it looked like someone had tried to kick in the door. THe officer says he didn't see any scuffs from shoes.



Interestingly, Monday night was the only night in the pst two weeks the lumber yard did not put out its video cameras, and the camera that covers the exterior area was turned off.



Police say they found several cigarette butts outside the fence, near a hole big enough for a person to crawl through the fence. That's across the property from the company's designated smoking area, but it is fairly close to the damaged door. The employee identified four fellow employees he knew smoke, but he doesn't know if the brand they smoke is the same as what was found outside the fence, or whether any of the smokers tear off the filters.



The case, and the earlier break-in, remain under investigation.

Raw Milk Warning

North Carolina Divisions of Public Health and Environmental Health are warning citizens against raw milk consumption after one person became ill following consumption of raw milk products in Wilkes County.



"Raw milk - milk that has not been pasteurized - contains harmful bacteria that may cause illness and possible death," State Epidemiologist Dr. Jeff Engel said. "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 45 outbreaks of food-borne illness associated with unpasteurized milk or cheese made from unpasteurized milk occurred between 1998 to May 2005. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths."



Engel added that the Wilkes County case serves as a reminder to all North Carolinians that consuming raw milk or raw milk products is dangerous and a risk to one's health.



Health officials have confirmed one case of campylobacteriosis in a man who drank unpasteurized milk. That man, who was hospitalized, is now recovering. Investigators are looking into several other probable infections in people who drank from the same milk source. Campylobacteriosis is one of several diseases that can be acquired by consuming raw milk.



Symptoms of illness caused by raw milk vary depending on which harmful bacteria are present. Symptoms may include but are not limited to vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headache and body aches. Most healthy people recover quickly from illness caused by harmful bacteria in raw milk or raw milk products; however, pregnant women, the elderly, infants, young children and people with weakened immune systems are at a greater risk of developing long-term or life-threatening illnesses.

Man's Threat Apparently Carried Out

A Boomer woman is still cleaning up the mess and compiling a list of what is missing or damaged, after someone ransacked her house yesterday. Deputies were called to Amber Louis' home about 5:15 yesterday afternoon. She said she'd come home to find the front door had been pried open, and someone had gone through the house, leaving it in a tremendous disarray. There ws damage to a flat screen TV, valued at 900-dollars, and other items were likely damaged or taken, as well. Louis is to re-contact deputies when she's assembled a list. She did tell them she's been having problems with a young man in the past few weeks, and that he'd previously threatened to cause damage or steal stuff from the house. Deputies are still working on contacting and interviewing him.

When Someone is Calling 9-1-1, Don't Yank the Phone Cord from the Wall

My house, my phone line, I can decide who can call on it. Seems a simple enough concept, right? But there are some situations in which that thought is not right -- when someone is calling 9-1-1 for instance. It's against the law to interfere with an emergency call once it's placed. A Purlear man found that out the hard way last night.



Deputies were dispatched to the home of Mark Rogers after someone called 9-1-1 form the house and got disconnected, and dispatchers were unable to make contact with anyone when they called back. They discovered the person that had placed the call was Crystal Walker, and that Rogers had yanked the phone cord out of the box on the wall during her call. There's no explanation in the crime report why she was calling in the first place. When they found out what had happened, deputies told Rogers it was illegal to disconnect the phone from the line while another person was talking with 9-1-1. He responded, "It's my house and my phone, I'll disconnect it from the line whenever I want." After a short verbal disagreement, the deputy placed Rogers under arrest and transported him to jail, to be charged with interfering with an emergency communication.

House Shot Into, Man Not Hit

A Wilkes man is fortunate he was not in the path of a bullet fired from outside his home Saturday night. It's unclear if he was actually being targeted, or if the round was shot haphazardly. James Wyles, who lives in Purlear, says he heard the gunshot outside, and a single round penetrated the wall of his mobile home. It shattered a mirror hanging on the wall, and continued traveling through the house until it struck the ceiling, lodging there. Deputies say the path of the bullet was upward from the time it hit the wall of the house. They were unable to find a person outside or to determine the exact path of the bullet before it hit the house. Neighbors don't report seeing anything, and there are no suspects at this point.

Man, Apparently High, Took 2 Taser Shots to Subdue

Wilkesboro Police were called to Dooley's Sunday evening, when someone reported they'd seen a man outside trying to deal cocaine. As the officers arrived, the man later identified as Luis Lopez started to run off. An officer reports he told the man to stop and come back. When he wouldn't do so, the officer pulled his Taser and fired it at the man, jolting him to a stop. But when the electrical shock stopped, Lopez was grabbing at the taser probes and trying to get away still. After telling him several times to calm down and leave the probes alone, the officer was forced to activate the Taser again to subdue Lopez. Officers searching Lopez at the jail found 15-point-2 grams of cocaine on him, enough to qualify for a Felony charge of Possession with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute Cocaine. He was also charged with resisting arrest, and booked on a 10-thousand dollar bond.

Caught Red-Handed

Two young Wilkes men are charged with multiple break-ins to cars on Sunday evening. Justin Minton and Johnny Whitley were arrested after the victims caught them in the act. Joshua Call notified deputies about 10:20 that he and two others had looked out of their home on Brushy Mountain Road to see Minton and Whitley rummaging through two cars across the road in the church parking lot and one in the driveway. All three cars were unlocked. Whitley actually had an armload of stuff taken from Brittany Couch's car. When the two men saw the three victims coming out of the house, they took off running, but they caught Whitley. He told deputies about Minton's involvement later, as he was being questioned. There were a number of CDs taken, along with various small auto electronics. It totaled about 160-dollars. The property belonging to Couch that was recovered was worth 90-dollars. A judge set Whitley's bond at 75-hundred dollars, and issued warrants for Minton.

Video May Help Capture Thief

A digital video system can be worth its weight in gold when a business is the victim of a crime. A local convenience store is finding out how much difference a system with no moving parts can make, because their system shot clear, color video of a burglary early yesterday. Deputies responded to the Little Market basket on Highway 268 West when the burglar alarm went off shortly after midnight yesterday morning. A deputy found the front door had been broken in -- later, he'd see the burglar do the damage with a ball bat. When the manager arrived, the deputy went into the store and made sure it was safe, then he and the manager looked back over the recording. It clearly shows a white male about 6-feet tall, 170 pounds, wearing a camo hat and a blue Tee shirt with a motorcycle design on it, tan cargo pants and bright white shoes. It appeared from the tape that the man may have had five-o-clock shadow or some other facial hair. The recording shows the burglar breaking in the glass with the ball bat, then stalking down the store's main ailse to the beer cooler, where he hefted out two 12-packs of light beer. then he walked back to the front, grabbed some magazines, and left. He had been gone only seven minutes when the deputy pulled up. Deputies don't knwo who the man is, and the store manager didn't recognize him either. The investigation continues.

Forget the Copper Tubing, Let's Just Take the Whole AC!

Copper thieves have been regularly stealing copper pipe and even the tubing from inside air conditioners and under homes. But it's not often they simply cut the entire heat pump loose from the house and cart it off. An out-of-town homeowner says he came back from Maryland recently to find that's what had happened to him. Richard Wilson has someone locally who keps an eye on the house, and that man told him the unit was where it belonged back on April 3rd. But sometime between then and last Friday, it had been taken. Wilson reports the unit is too heavy to be toted off by one person, but deputies noted no tracks from a vehicle in the yard. They have the name of one suspect, but have not made any arrests. The investigation continues.