Man Wouldn't Give Up Gun, Is Arrested

A rural Wilkesboro man faces several charges, after deputies say he was belligerent to them and to dispatchers. Barney Brown was arrested at his home Saturday afternoon. Deputies say he appeared intoxicated, but did no tests to prove their suspicions, because Brown would not cooperate. They were originally called by another person in the house, who said there was a disturbance going on at the time they called 9-1-1. Dispatchers said Brown took the phone from that person and started to get abusive with them during the call. When deputies arrived, they found Brown sitting down, with a rifle next to him. A deputy picked up the rifle to check it for any ammunition, and after making sure it was unloaded, gave it to another deputy.

One of the deputies apparently had knowledge that Brown had been convicted of a felony at an earlier date, and went about confirming that to be the case. During the conversation, Brown told the deputies they were not taking his gun away. Finally, they had enough, and arrested him for delaying an officer doing his job. Brown started fighting with the deputies, and after a short struggle, was handcuffed and carted off to jail. He's charged with the original disturbance, with possessing a gun after a felony conviction, and with obstructing the deputies form doing their job.

Conspiracy Charged in Attempted Arson

Two Wilkes residents are behind bars, after deputies were called to a Hays home late yesterday because one of them was pouring gasoline into a widow air conditioner trying to start a fire. Deputies weren't' sure what to make of the case initially, as when they pulled up, they found 44-year old Mark Sine holding his face and bleeding. He was wearing trash bags on his feet, and there was a red gas can, a latex glove, and a black stocking laying on the ground nearby. The victim, Tim Potts, told deputies he had caught Sine in the act of puring the gas into his window air conditioner. Sine told the deputy several times he had done it, and that it was being done as a favor for Dawn Roten. She was arrested on an outstanding warrant at Sine's house.

Roten was jailed on a 75-thousand dollar bond, charged with attempted arson, conspiracy, and felony criminal solicitation. Sine was charged with the attempted arson and conspiracy counts, and jailed on a 50-thousand dollar bond.

Burglar Caught After Being Chased by Victim

Wilkes county sheriff's deputies have released the full report of a theft in Roaring River we first told you about this morning. Jamie Prevette came home Thursday night and found someone sitting in his driveway in a Red Mustang, his gun safe in the front seat of the car. The man sped off, Mr. Prevette in hot pursuit, on his cell phone calling 9-1-1 as they sped toward Surry county. Prevette told dispatchers he could see the car was full of other property, which apparently was not his. When the driver couldn't shake Prevette, he threw the safe out the window to get his to back off. With the help of Surry county authorities, deputies located the home where the car's registered owner, Tommy Akbus, lives.

It turns out the burglary was committed by his brother Joshua, a fact admitted to by Joshua when deputies confronted him. A search of the roadside, the car, and the ground outside the house turned up much of the stolen property, including an item or two Prevette didn't realize had been taken. The major item still unaccounted for is a firearm, which Prevette said had been sanded and had no bluing. Joshua Akbus was taken to jail, and faces charges of breaking and entering, theft, and the theft of a firearm.

Johnny Faw Killed in Saturday Wreck

Highway Patrol officials confirm a well-known Moravian Falls man was killed in a wreck Saturday morning on Highway 18 North. 83-year old Johnny Faw was turning left off Byrd Ridge Road, according to the crash report, and apparently failed to see a southbound car driven by Ella Foster Pardue of North Wilkesboro. The impact was in the driver's door of Faw's car, and caused injuries that claimed his life Saturday afternoon. Troopers report all four people in the cars were taken to the hospital with critical injuries. Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem reports Georgia Faw is in fair condition, Ella Pardue has already gone home, and Althea McNeal is in good condition.

Repeat Burglars Grab Chainsaws

It appears a Wilkes man is the unlucky victim of a second theft. James Chapman, who reported a break-in and theft early last week, called deputies back on Wednesday night saying he'd been hit again. After the first burglary, Chapman had gone through and listed his property, so he knew exactly what was missing. On Wednesday, three chainsaws that had been on his earlier list had disappeared. Be believes the same people, whoever they are, returned to steal them. The stolen chainsaws are described as a 14" Stihl, worth 100-dollars, a 16-inch Still worth 150-dollars, and an 18-inch Husqvarna worth 150-dollars, giving a total loss this time around of 400-dollars. Deputies still have no suspects.

Couple's Fight Lands Him in Jail

A Millers Creek woman was told how to go about getting a protective order against her husband, after deputies were called to their home when he was reported to be trying to strangle her. 22-year old Joseph Daniel Beck was arrested on a charge of domestic violence after the incident Thursday night. According to a crime report, Mary Ann Beck encountered deputies as she was walking away form the couple's home following the fight. She had red marks on her neck, and told the deputies she and her husband had been in an argument. It started out with shouting, but escalated to him grabbing her by the neck and slamming her to the floor, threatening to kill her. Mrs. Beck says when she got up and tried to call 9-1-1, he ripped the phone from the wall. Mr. Beck admitted to grabbing her, but his story differs concerning the rest of the events. He was jailed on a domestic violence charge, and a charge of making a threat.

Soda Machine Thief Has A Key

It appears someone has obtained a key to certain cola machines around town. Police report the night clerk at the Run-In on Oakwoods found the drink machine out front open about 5:30 yesterday morning. This time, instead of being broken into as has happened in other recent soda burglaries, it appeared the machine had been opened with a key. The change box had been taken out, and the dollar bills had been pulled out of the bill changer. The clerk says she never saw anyone at the machine during her shift, but because of where it's located, it would be pretty easy for someone to come up in front of it and accomplish the theft. The sheriff department and North Wilkesboro Police also say they are working identical cases that happened the same night, and all three machines have the same serial number on the lock.

Burglar Makes Off with $23K in Jewelry

A Wilkes family will likely change their habits after losing more than 23-thousand dollars worth of jewelry to a burglar. The couple, whose names we're not going to release for reasons that will become apparent, reported the theft last night about 8pm. The woman says she realized she couldn't find a pair of earrings she had worn recently. After going through her purse, thinking sh might have dropped them in the bottom, she started looking for them around the house. In doing so, she realized a total of a dozen jewelry pieces had been taken, including a 7-thousand dollar diamond engagement ring, and a 5-thousand dollar diamond and sapphire ring. There were no signs of anyone forcing the way into the house, but she told deputies that sometimes when she's just out working on the farm, she'll neglect to lock the house. When she goes to town, the doors are locked. According to the crime report, there was nothing else missing or disturbed in the house. The burglary happened sometime in the past month. There are no suspects at this time, and deputies continue their investigation.

Woman, Evicted, Breaks Into House

A Wilkesboro property owner says an evicted tenant broke into the house she used to rent. Melanie Bynum was evicted from the house on Kelly Street last Friday, and a deputy placed padlocks on the front door and kitchen door, to prevent her from going back in. She had been given several days to remove her property from the rental before it was locked down. Wednesday, a property manager checked on the house, and found the locks had been removed, somehow without causing damage to the house. The front door had been opened using a key. The property manager said she belied Bynum had returned to the home and was sleeping there, because several of her items had been moved around since Friday. The officer did not file charges; the property owner will have to do so if she decides to.

Shoplifting Arrest Turns Ugly

A shoplifting suspect gave a Wilkesboro police officer a few moments of grief this week. Deborah Lynn Foster, who is 53, was arrested outside Wal-Mart on Tuesday. Police had been called there by a Kohls security officer, who said she had just stolen several items from Kohls. When Foster came out of Wal-Mart and was confronted by the officer, she denied taking anything, although several items could be seen through the windows of the car. After several rounds of the officer telling her to produce a receipt, she finally was able to prove she'd bought a couple of the items. But the stolen items sill in the car were worth about 114-dollars more than what her receipt showed.

When the officer began to arrest Foster, she suddenly started claiming she had a medical problem. Fist, she said she had to go because she was very, very, very sick. The officer got one handcuff on her, and she insisted that she had to get her a drink, or she would have a panic attack. The officer gave her a choice -- cooperate and be handcuffed the more comfortable way, in front; or continue resisting and be handcuffed in back. She complied, but kept up the story about the panic attack, so the officer offered to call an ambulance. Foster refused that. She was taken to jail and charged with theft, and held on a 750-dollar secured bond.