Update on Fatal Wreck

A head-on collision between a car and a Jeep led to a chain of events that killed a Wilkes man last night. Highway Patrol Trooper K-W Dean says the wreck that killed Don Michael Mitchell happened about 6:45 p-m on Boone Trail near West Wilkes High School.



Mitchell was eastbound on Boone Trail and drifted across the center line. The driver of a westbound Toyota saw it happen, and tried to avoid hitting him. But he swerved back into his own lane at the last second, hitting the Toyota nearly head-on.



That crash spun Mitchell's Jeep around and rolled it on one side, with the roof facing oncoming traffic. Less than a minute later, a third car, driven by Ronnie Lee Moore, rounded the curve and was unable to stop in time to keep from hitting the Jeep. Mitchell had to be extricated from the S-U-V, and was pronounced dead at Wilkes Regional Medical Center a short time later.



The driver of the Toyota in the original crash, Carissa Smitty, suffered some broken bones, and at last check was in serious condition. Moore and his passenger Ruby White were treated and released at Wilkes Regional.



Trooper Dean says it's unclear right now what caused Mitchell to drift left of center in the first place. The other drivers did all they could to avoid the resulting crashes.

Fatality Wreck

A head-on collision on Boone Trail is reportedly responsible for the death of one person. Unofficial information indicates three cars were involved in the crash near Wilkes West High School last night. Two cars are reported to have collided head-on about 7 p-m, and shortly afterwards another car came around a curve and hit the wrecked vehicles before it could stop. Names and conditions of the people involved in the crash have not been officially released, and North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers have not returned a call for comment as of news time. We expect to have more official information later in the day.

North Wilkesboro Man Admits Having Child Porn

A North Wilkesboro man has admitted to possessing child pornography in federal court. 37-year old Richard Harrold entered the plea Friday, according to a news release form the U-S Attorney in Buffalo, New York. The plea is the result of a deal with prosecutors after Harrold allegedly sent illegal photos of children to an FBI agent he met online. According to the U-S Attorney, Harrold emailed the photos numerous times form 2004 until he was arrested late last summer. He is to be sentenced in May and faces a possible 10-year prison term, a quarter-million dollar fine, and wiil have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.



He was caught as a result of the Innocent Images National Initiative, part of a program known as Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

Stolen Trailer Recovered

Thieves who stole a canoe trailer in Ashe county ditched it in Wilkes county last week. A motorist driving in the 3000 block of Brocktown Road saw the trailer hidden of to the side of the road in the woods. He called sheriff deputies, who determined it had been stolen from New River Outfitters in Jefferson. Deputies from Ashe county were called and have retrieved the trailer.

No Driver's License

A sheriff deputy on routine patrol saw a man weaving all over the road late last week, and when he pulled the man over, he found he had no drivers license. According to a crime report, the deputy say 24-year old Juan Montejo Francisco, who's from Florida, nearly hit two other cars as he weaved in and out of his own lane. The deputy pulled him over and discovered Francisco's license had been revoked. The owner of the Kia Spectra asked that it be left along Highway 268 West where it was stopped, and the deputy did so rather than having it towed.

Wilkesboro Man Held for Nearly 20 Burglaries

A Wilkesboro man has been arrested, and faces charges on nearly 20 burglaries at homes in Wilkes and Ashe counties over the past few months. Deputies from Ashe and Wilkes counties along with Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro Police, raided a house at 515 Corporation in in Wilkesboro this week, executing a search warrant issued by a judge in Ashe County.



During the raid, Wilkes county deputies recovered property believed to have been stolen in at least a dozen recent burglaries -- so much property they haven't released a full list of it because they're still contacting the owners to come identify it. Ashe county deputies identified property from four break-ins they've been investigating recently, and Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro police believe each agency has solved at least one recent burglary as well.



Gene Wayne Haymond, who turns 36 next weekend, is being held in Ashe county, and is likely to face multiple charges. Deputies and officers with all four agencies involved continue their investigation of the case.

Storage Unit Burglarized, Items Sold for Scrap

Although deputies celebrate the capture of a man believed to have committed at least a dozen burglaries in Wilkes, the parade of people suffering break-ins continues unabated. A storage unit on Skyline Road was broken into recenly, and almost five-thousand dollars woth of automotive parts taken. Danny Bell reported the crime yesterday afternoon, after he had tracked down quite a bit of information to lead deputies to the suspected burglars.



Neighbors told Bell they had seen a blue Chevy S-10 make several trips to the unit in recent days, and when he had a list of items taken, he went searching at local recycling places. He found the stolen items at two scrap yards. Both had issued checks to 27-year old North Wilkesboro man, who they said har arrived in a blue Checy S-10 along with another man. Deputies have not released the name of either man. The thieves stole 13 radiators, four sets of wheels and tires, along with fan shrouds, a transmission and a cooling fan. Deputies continue their investigation.

Thieves Steal Wire, Mobile Home Tie-Downs

Several people are listed as suspects in a series of break-ins at renal mobile homes in Wilkes owned by a Boone company. Roger Wright reported the burglaries to the sheriff's office Wednesday. He said several homes at Byrd Ridge Terrace had been broken into, and copper wiring was cut out. In other homes, the thieves removed furniture and fixtures, and the tie downs and underpinnings on one of the homes was stolen. Some of the other residents of the park identified at least three suspects, including 17-year old Bradley Myron Little, who has some previous history with law enforcement. Total value of the loss is six-thousand dollars. The case remains under investigation.

Mailbox Vandalized

Mailbox vandals hit a rural Wilkes homeowner for the second time this week, this time damaging the mailbox beyond repair. The vandalism was reported Saturday morning, the day bevore a vandal or more than one ran down another rural road with a bat hanging out of the car and whacked ten mailboxes. In this case, the Miller's Creek woman says the kids damaged the box enough she's having to replace it, at a cost of about 20-dollars.

Boone-based Guard Unit's Iraq Tour Extended

A unit of Army National Guard soldiers based in western North Carolina will stay in Iraq for up to four months beyond its one-year deployment as part of President Bush's troop buildup plan. The 1451st Transportation Company, headquartered in Boone, is the first National Guard unit in the state to be affected by the plan Bush announced two weeks ago. The soldiers were expected to return home in March or April, but under a 125-day extension they could arrive back as late as August. The unit, which has detachment headquarters in Morganton and Marion, has 175 soldiers from 10 counties mostly in the western part of the state. The unit's soldiers move supplies around Iraq and provide security for convoys. Four soldiers in the unit have been wounded in combat.



The 1451st is in its first deployment to Iraq though 39 of its soldiers had been deployed to the country before. The unit is attached to a larger National Guard unit in Minnesota.