Thief Takes Guns
Sheriffs Deputies are looking for someone who broke into a Wilkes home recently and stole several weapons. The homeowner has been having a considerable amount of work done on the house the last half of this year, and told deputies it was about the middle of this month that he noticed three firearms were missing. They are a .38-caliber World-War 2 Vintage Ruger semi-automatic pistol, and .41-caliber Magnum revolvers by Smith and Wesson. The homeowner doesn't know whether any of the construction crews may have stolen the guns, or if someone else came into the house, and he doesn't know when in the last six months it happened. The case is listed as under investigation.

Gas Thief Caught
A Hamptonville woman tried every excuse in the book, but Wilkesboro police weren't taking any of it, after she was caught driving off without paying for a tank of gas. 60-year old Suzanne Veta is charged with stealing about 24 and a half dollars worth of gas from a local Kangaroo station last week. A Wilkesboro officer says she was stopped by a Highway patrol trooper a short distance away, and brought back to the station. There, she told the officer her credit card hadn't worked in the pump -- but the pumps at Kangaroo aren't set up for pay-at-the-pump. Then she rolled through a number of other excused, none of which the officer found valid for driving off without paying. After she was made to pay for the gas, the officer cited her for the theft and Kangaroo banned her from the store property.

Identity Theft
A Millers Creek woman says she isn't sure how someone got her personal information, but she wasn't aware of it until bills started showing up for two credit cards she didn't apply for. The woman reported the ID theft recently, saying someone had signed up an American Express card and a J C Penney credit card in her name, and although she did not receive the cards, bills had started arriving. Both companies have voided the cards and written off the balances, so she is not out any money. Sheriffs deputies have closed the case for a lack of leads.

Purse Stolen, Checks Inside
Another Wilkes woman will have to be on the lookout for ID theft, after somoene stole her purse. It happened outside a home on South Center Church Road early last week. The woman reports she'd gone to visit, and left her purse in the car outside. Several hours later, whe returned to find it missing. During that time, neither she or any of the neighbors saw or heard anything suspicious. She reports only 11-dollars was in the purse, but the thief did get a checkbook, which of course has her bank account number, name and address on it. Deputies list the case as under investigation.

Ask First!
A Wilkes woman has reported a family member to the sheriff's office for making long-distance phone calls on her bill without permission. Naomi Bare says the man made several calls totaling over 12-dollars in early November, to a number in Fleetwood. As they investigated, deputies found the number was unlisted, but when they called a woman answered. She said she knew the suspect, but hadn't talked to him in a while -- probably about as long as it had been since the last long-distance call on the local woman's bill. Deputies continue to follow up thte case.

Heat Pump Stolen
The owner of a vacant home in Clemons says a thief stole his heat pump. Lee Laporte reports going by the home recently, and finding the heat pump missing from its concrete pad. Someone had cut the copper oil lines, backed a vehicle up to the unit, and carted it off. Since the house is vacant, it often sits unattended for long periods of time, and neighbors say they didn't see or hear anything. Deputies continue their investigation.

Mailbox Vandalism
A rural homeowner reports someone vandalized several mailboxes outside their home recently. Maria Hart of Millers Creek woke up to find during the night someone had come by and bashed five mailboxes sitting outside her house. The boxes all belong to her family, and were attached to the same post and supports. Neighbors don't report any unusual noises that night. The case is open, but deputies say they currently have no leads.

Pit Bull Stolen, Recovered
Just hours after a Wilkes woman reported somone had broken into her house and stolen several items, including her pit bull dog, sheriff deputies had arrested the man she suspected had done it. They say the suspect, Timmy Joe Taylor, admitted taking the dog. The crime was reported last week at a house on Byrd Ridge Road. The woman arrived home from a Christmas shooping trip to find her house broken into, the dog stolen, and a gold watch and antique pearal necklace, some gifts, and some medications stolen. She told deputies the teen had said at one time the dog would make a good one to sell to a crack dealer in exchange for the drug. Deputies recovered the dog before that happened.

NFL Donates to Wilkes Schools
The National Football League Alumni, a charitable and educational organization, recently donated $43,000 for the new student art gallery at Wilkes County Schools' central office. The donation came from the NFL Alumni/Shriners summer golf tournament at Jefferson Landing in Ashe County.

This is the fourth year that the tournament has been held at Jefferson Landing. Proceeds are divided among the Shriners Cincinnati Burn Hospital and various educational programs in Wilkes and Ashe counties.

Foxx: Media Ignores Good Economic News
38 straight months of job creation. Nearly 7 million new jobs. Lower unemployment than any time since the post-world war 2 years. Fifth-district congresswoman Virginia Foxx says those are some of the facts of the booming U-S economy. On a recent Focus on the Foothills interview with 3WC’s Angela Henley, Foxx said the economic good news – fueled by tax cuts passed by the Republican-led House and Senate – are being ignored by the national media. She predicts once Democrats are in power that will change -- and she gives it less than a month.

Unsuccessful Break-Ins
An attempted burglary caused expensive damage to a roll-up door at a local self-storage business. Airport Rd & Highway 268 Mini Storage reported the break-in attempt late last week. Someone tried to break open the hasp on one of the storage units, but was unsuccessful. Still, the attempts caused 500-dollars damage to the storage unit door. Sheriff Deputies say they have no suspects at this time.

A rural Wilkesboro woman reports someone tried to break in to her house, but they were scared off. Wanda Morrison tells deputies she saw a person pull open her back screen door and try to open the door to the house. But the intended burglar heard another car and ran off before breaking in the door. Morrison says the man appeared to have a vehicle nearby, and she gave deputies a description and a partial tag number. So far, they have not located the car.

Mailbox Vandalized
Sometime Sunday night or early Monday, another Wilkes resident was the victim of mailbox vandalism. Doris Wiles reported the incident Monday morning. She says she went outside to find the mailbox damaged, but doesn’t remember hearing anything out of place that night. Deputies are making extra patrols of the area, but neighbors don’t report hearing anything, either.

Domestic Humiliation
A case of domestic violence reported late Monday night went from verbal abuse to degrading behavior. Although the man has been charged with assaulting his wife, we’re not going to identify either person, because of the humiliating nature of the acts he’s alleged to have committed.

Deputies were called to the home shortly before midnight Monday evening. The woman was sitting on the front porch, and told them her husband was inside, drunk, and had assaulted her. A deputy found him at the other end of the house, highly intoxicated, and when he asked the man how much he’d had to drink, he was told “too many.”

Here’s what the woman says happened: the husband came home about 6:30, carrying a 12-pack and sporting an attitude. She says she laid down on the couch to try and sleep, so as not to provoke him. Through the evening, the man drank continuously, and over time poured a number of liquids on her as she laid on the couch. First it was beer. Then he spit on her, the woman says. That was followed by a two-liter of cola, a jar of pickles. At some point, the woman says she passed out from a panic attack.

She woke up to find he had dumped a bag of kitty litter on her, followed by squirting a bottle of hand cream all over her, the couch, and the living room. At that point, the crime report stops listing the degrading things the man allegedly did to his wife, summarizing it as “much more.”

The man was arrested and charged with assault on a woman.

Bar Code Switch Leads to Charges
A Wilkes man is charged with theft, after a loss prevention officer at Lowes saw him switch bar code labels from two inexpensive items to two costly tools. 23-year old Daniel Reese is charged with stealing a 369-dollar chainsaw and a 334-dollar tool kit. The loss prevention officer at Lowes says Reese loaded up the items and went through the self-checkout area, appearing to have paid for them. But his total was not the 703-dollars it should have been. Apparently, the security tape doesn’t show Reese making the bar code tag switch, but he told the loss prevention officer and the Wilkesboro police officer at the scene that’s what he’d done.

Woman Charged for Having Drug Paraphernalia
A disturbance at a local convenience store leads to the arrest of a woman on drug paraphernalia charges. Wilkesboro police were called to the Brushy Mountain Run-In Monday afternoon. They say a woman was acting extremely suspicious when they arrived. As one of the officers administered a field sobriety test, the other searched Susan Pardues’ car, after Pardue gave permission for a search. That officer found three brass smoking pipes and mesh wire, both signs of crack cocaine. Pardue was arrested, and cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Kids and ATV's: New Safety Class Required
Any child that finds a brand new ATV under the tree on Christmas morning will also have to enroll in a mandatory half-day safety class.

A new state law went into effect in October that makes it a requirement before they ride. Doctors stress that riding an ATV is dangerous and those that fail to observe the new laws will only increase their chances of being hurt or killed.

North Carolina law also prohibits anyone under the age of 8 from riding an ATV, and there are specific engine guidelines for other ages.

Almost 90 percent of child-ATV injuries occur when the child is attempting to operate an adult-sized vehicle. In recent years, ATV manufactures have tweaked set-ups in order to provide a safer ride for younger riders.

College Park BP Burglarized
Wilkesboro police say a local convenience store was the victim of a burglary this weekend. The alarm at the College Park B-P went off early the morning of the 9th, and when officers arrived, they found the front window had been broken out of the store. After securing the store, the officers report they did nto find anyone in or near the building. They had to search for a little while to locate the manager’s phone number, but after they called him, he was able to determine the thief had stolen about 75 cartons of Marlboros, valued at two-thousand dollars. No suspects so far.

Diesel Fuel Siphoned from WCC Training Truck
Wilkes Communty College was the victim of a fuel theft recently. Wilkesboro police report sometime late on the 8th or early the 9th, somebody drained 100 gallons of diesel fuel out of the tank of the tractor-trailer rig used for student driver training. College officials say the truck was filled up on the 8th, and the morning of the 9th it had less than a quarter tank. Police say the truck was parked in a dirt lot across from Beacon Ridge. The investigation continues.

Yadkin County Chickenpox on Decline
Yadkin County health officials say the number of cases of chickenpox at Jonesville Elementary School seems to be leveling off.

Michael Reavis, Yadkin's health director, says fewer than five new cases of chickenpox were reported in the past week. Earlier this month, there were about 70 total cases reported.

The outbreak hit hardest at Jonesville Elementary School where a girl who had been sick with the chickenpox later died. Health officials have not confirmed yet whether the disease was responsible for her death.

The Yadkin County Health Department has given more than 800 chickenpox vaccinations since the outbreak began. Reavis said yesterday that there are only a limited number of doses left, and those are reserved for children ages 18 and younger who have not received their first dose.

Drunk Driver Clocked at 71 mph
Wilkesboro police have charged a 48-year old Wilkes man with driving under the influence, after an officer clocked the man speeding through town at more than 70 miles an hour. It happened Saturday afternoon on Highway 421. An officer on routine patrol spotted Robert Stewart Yow driving east on 421 at an estimated 70 miles an hour. As he turned on his blue lights, the officer hit the radar gun and confirmed it: 71 miles an hour. The limit is 50 in that vicinity. When the officer got him stopeed in a business parking lot, he noticed Yow smelled of beer. Yow admitted havng one beer before leaving home, but failed several field sobriety tests, and ended up blowing a .17 on the intoxilyzer. The officer also found a cold Miller Light stuffed under the driver’s seat. He was arrested on misdemeanor DUI and speeding charges, and is scheduled for a court appearance in February.

Um, Maybe You Shouldn't Drag Other People?
An argument between a woman and her boyfriend ended with him dragging her up their driveway and her calling the sheriff’s office. Deputies were called ot the couple’s Millers Creek home Friday night. The woman told them she and the man had been arguing most of the day. A friend came over to help her leave for a while, and the woman says her boyfriend went outside and put several dents in her friend’s car. The friend backed out, waiting for the victim at the end of the driveway. When the woman got partway down the driveway, the man came back out of the house and dragged her, up the driveway toward the house. When deputies arrived, 44-year odl Daniel Mark Absher was arrested on a charge of assault on a female.

Cold Snap May Have Caused Crackle, Pop
The recent cold snap may be to blame for what’s being investigated right now as a possible car break-in. A North Wilkesboro woman called sheriff deputies Friday morning to report the passenger window of her car had been broken out during the night. Deputies didn’t find anything inside or outside the car that might have been used to break a window, and nothing had been taken. They suspect the window popped due to suddenly contracting as the cold air settled in Friday morning.

Rock Creek Storage Building, Carts Burn
Fire has burned out a golf cart storage building at Rock Creek Golf Course. Fire Marshall Nich
Hamby tells 3WC News the fire was reported at the Rock Creek clubhouse about 8:25 this morning, but the storage building is actually right next to the clubhouse, which didn’t sustain any structural damage.

One of the wood stoves being used to heat the building apparently had a loose connection to the chimney. That loose connection caught fire, and before course personnel could get it doused, the fire had worked into the chimney and fully involved the storage building. Fortunately, none of the staff or firefighters suffered any injury. Hamby says the loss to the building and contents is complete, but he was unable to make a dollar value estimate yet. Three departments helped fight the blaze. In spite of the flashing lights, smoke and fire trucks, the course remained open, and Hamby said Rock Creek had other carts stored in a different building, so they will still have carts to rent.

Speed + Alcohol = Arrest
A short chase resulted in sheriff deputies arresting a North Wilkesboro woman for driving under the influence and speeding. Deputies leaving another call late Friday night spotted 19-year old Cassie Mahaffey barreling down highway 18 North at an excessive speed. They turned on their blue lights and turned around, finally stopping Mahaffey outside her home on Sparta Road. As they were questioning her, deputies say they could smell alcohol on her breath, and she tested just over the legal limit twice. Mahaffey stands charged with driving while intoxicated and excessive speed, and could face charges for underage drinking.

Convenience Store Burglarized
A burglar, or more than one, hit a Wilkes convenience store over the weekend. The break-iun was reported early Sunday at the Walker Community Store. An empployee reported during the night someone had pried open a garage door, then broken the hasp off an interior door to gain access to the store. The thief or thieves carted off 600-dollars worht of cigarettes, over 200-dollars of snuff, 24 packs of rolling papers, 100 packages of candy, plus about 250-dollars in coins, a 22-caliber rifle, several knives and a watch. The total value of the stolen items is nearly 14-hundred dollars. Deputies have no suspects at this time.

Blood Need Urgent
Red Cross officials are issuing an urgent plea for blood donors this Christmas season. They say all types are needed, but this eyar they are especially short of Type O and Type B blood. Four blood drives have been held in Wilkes aleady this month; another is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Wilkes County Office Building.

Yadkin Chicken Pox Outbreak
An eight-year old Yadkin county child has died of chicken pox, and county officials say they’ve given out over 800 doses of the chicken pox vaccine in the past week. Starting today, health department officials in Yadkin are reserving the vaccine only for children up to the age of 18. It takes two doses to build up immunity; you can still get chicken pox after the first dose.

Blood Supply Dangerously Low
Two more blood drives are being held today, as Red Cross officials say blood supplies remain dangerously low this time of year. Both blood drives today are in the afternoon, from 2 until 6:30pm at VFW Post 11-42 and at the Speedway Ruritan Club.

Robert F. Fechner, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Carolinas Blood Services Region, said in a recent news release, “the holidays are a traditionally challenging time for blood collection. The blood supply often dips to dangerously low levels this time of year. By making a donation during this holiday season, individuals can help avoid a blood shortage and brighten the season for hospital patients and their families.”

More than 1,600 units of blood and blood products are needed each day by patients in the 103 area hospitals served by the Carolinas Blood Services Region. Currently all blood types are in need, however individuals with blood types O and B are especially encouraged to come in and give.

Car on Side of Road Burglarized
A man on his way through town to Jefferson says his car broke down along the highway, and them someone broke into it while he was gone to get help. Antonio Carl left his car on the side of Highway 421 for nearly a week after it broke down December 3rd. He came back on the 8th to tow the car home, but found he didn’t have the right equipment to do so. In looking around the car, he noticed the passenger window had been broken. He reports a cell phone, a DVD player and several CDs and DVS were taken, with a total value of about 500-dollars. There are no suspects or leads at this time.

Eviction Dispute Leads to Property Damage
A dispute between a landlord and someone she’s trying to evict has led to a crime report being filed for damage to her property. Mary Eller tells sheriff deputies she believes the man she’s been working to evict from one of her rental properties is the same person who used a pickup truck to spin up large ruts in the front yard of the rental house. The deputy taking the report told Ms. Eller she should pursue the damage to property claim through the courts alongside the eviction process.

Plane Crashes Near Taylorsville
Two people died when their small plane crashed Sunday just after take-off in Alexander County. Authorities said the plane crashed behind a service station just before 3:30 p.m. near Taylorsville.

An FAA spokeswoman said the single-engine, fixed-wing plane was an experimental aircraft. It crashed on its way back to Taylorsville Airport, a small airstrip privately owned by the Taylorsville Flying Club.

The sheriff's office said 44-year-old Leon Marion Fagan Jr., the plane's owner, and 53-year-old William Kermit "Billy" Little were killed. Both were from Taylorsville.

Tool Box Broken Into
A Hays man says someone broke into his pickup tool box and stole more than 900-dollars worth of tools. Earl Byrd tells sheriff deputies he parked his truck in an open field near Traphill last Thursday afternoon and traipsed off into the woods to go hunting. When he got back after sunset, he noticed some items gone from the truck bed, but didn’t have enough light to really tell what was going on. The next morning, Byrd looked through the tool box in the back of the truck, and discovered someone had stolen tools including several cordless drills, wrenches, a miter box, a bow saw, and several other tools. Deputies have listed a suspect, but he has not been arrested so far.

Wind Storm Causes Damage
Today’s wind storm is blamed for damage along Statesville Road, along with some power outages. The gusty winds blew the roof off the outer shell of IT WAN-LAN Solutions and onto some cars in the parking lot. Damage was also reported at Harold’s Restaurant. The National Weather Service has a wind advisory in effect until midnight, as the wind will continue to gust above 50 miles an hour, causing the potential for more damage and power line problems.

Crack Dealer Busted
A pickup stuck on the side of the road led to a large crack cocaine bust in Wilkesboro this morning. An office on patrol on Industrial Boulevard saw the pickup stuck in the ditch, with a woman standing next to it on the passenger side. When the officer talked with her and with the driver, their stories didn’t match. The officer asked if he could search them, and was told he could. During the search, the officer found a packet containing 83 baggies of the kind often used for packaging illegal drugs, and when he took a look around the pickup, he found to bags a short distance away containing 58 rocks of crack cocaine. The man, Quentin Parsons, also had 342 dollars on him. On further questioning eh woman admitted she was there to buy crack from Parsons, but had not made the purchase when the officer pulled up. A search found nothing illegal on her, so she was not arrested. Parsons is charged with possession with intent to sell, and with possession of drug paraphernalia. He is jailed on a five-thousand dollar bond.

Employee Arrested for False Refunds
A Purlear man faces an allegation he stole more than one thousand dollars from his employer over the course of several months. 25-year old Troy Allen Green was arrested yesterday. Wilkesboro police learned about the theft when a manager at Penney’s stopped an officer who happened to be in the store and told him the store had discovered Green was writing cash refunds to customers who didn’t exist, and pocketing the money. According to a police report, the Green has admitted to the thefts.

Auto Thief Behind Bars
Sheriff Deputies have arrested a man for an auto theft we first told you about last night. Terry Eugene Bates was arrested yesterday, after a neighbor saw him towing off another vehicle from Jesse Carter’s shop outside Elkin. This time, the neighbor took a photo as Bates and another man, so far unidentified, loaded up a 1963 Ford Custom Cab pickup. Four other cars had been taken from Carter’s place while he was gone to Florida. Bates tells deputies he was simply getting rid of junk cars. But he said he didn’t know who owned them, and didn’t have permission tot take them. He claimed he shouldn’t have to have permission, as the cars had set there for 20 years. Carter says he’s been working on repairs to each.

Sugar in the Gas Tank
A Wilkes family’s pickup faces expensive repair, after someone poured sugar into the gas tank. Catherine Roberts tells sheriff deputies she heard a noise outside last night, and when she looked out, saw someone standing next to her husband’s pickup. When she went to the door, the man ran off. Mr. Roberts says a man matching the vandal’s description had been hanging around his outbuildings earlier yesterday, and Mr. Roberts had run him off. Neither of them know his name. Deputies estimate it’ll cost about 400-dollars to replace the gas tank.

Christmas Parade Saturday
Saturday is the annual Wilkes County Jaycees Christmas Parade. President Jody Chatham says about 75 entries will follows the traditional parade route, which starts at Melody Square in North Wilkesboro and ends at Glenn’s Tastee Freeze in Wilkesboro. They’ll be led by the 505th Engineer Battalion, the North Carolina National Guard unit that recently returned from service in Iraq, which has been designated the parade’s Grand Marshall. The parade starts at 1 Saturday afternoon.

Burns is President of the Year
A local man is being honored as the state’s Community College President of the Year. Dr. Gordon Burns received the honor during an awards ceremony earlier this month. The Record reports the objective of the President of the Year program is to encourage, identify, and reward outstanding leadership and commitment to the community college mission among the presidents of the 58 institutions of the North Carolina Community College System

Wallet Stolen
A Wilkes man laid his wallet down in a local store while paying recently, and forgot to pick it back up. When he came back to the store minutes later, the wallet was gone. Kenneth Absher says he was getting some things at the Rock Creek BP station Tuesday evening. The security tape shows a man behind him in line picking up his wallet and putting it in the man’s jacket pocket. Unfortunately, the tape wasn’t clear enough to identify the black male. The clerk says the thief is a regular customer, and if she finds out his name, she’ll call sheriff’s deputies.

Whoo, That Was Heavy, Man
North Wilkesboro police continue to work leads on the weekend theft that could have been done by a circus strongman. It probably wasn’t one person, but several who hoisted a 1-thousand point safe up on a dolly inside Lowe Fur and Herb early Saturday and rolled it out the door. A police report says at least one of the burglars came in through a side window. The safe contained money, guns, and stock certificates. The thieves also took about 50 Carhart camouflage jackets valued at about 45-hundred dollars. They haven’t been caught yet.

Stray Shot Penetrates House, No One Hurt
An unknown hunter is likely to blame for an incident yesterday that fortunately didn’t injure anyone. Ford Pickering called deputies to his house on Mountain View Road yesterday afternoon, saying he’d heard gunfire in the woods, and found a bullet on top of his refrigerator. The stray round had passed through a window and the refrigerator. He was in the living room at the time. Deputies say the bullet appears to have come from a high-powered hunting rifle. Neighbors didn’t report seeing the hunter.

Underage Intoxication
An 18-year old man and a 17-year old girl were arrested recently, after deputies found them drunk at a house on Traphill Road. Lucas Wilcox and Katrina Sloop are both under the legal age to consume alcohol. Deputies were called to the house for an overdose, after Wilcox couldn’t get Sloop to wake up. After paramedics woke her up, Sloop admitted to being drunk and having smoked marijuana. Wilcox was also intoxicated, according to the deputy.

C-Store Burglary Foiled by Alarm
Once again, a thief went a lot of work to break into an area convenience store – but unlike a few weeks ago when a thief stole thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes, this time the person went away empty-handed. The owner of Michelle’s Market in Ferguson tells sheriff deputies the alarm went off early this morning. When he got to the store, he found someone had pulled siding off the building and gotten into the attic, then climbed a ladder down into the store room. However, when the intended burglar went out the back room door into the store, the alarm was set off and the thief fled without taking anything. There was a security camera running, but in the darkness it wasn’t possible to get a tag number off the burglar’s car, or to identify the vehicle.

Domestic Fight Ends with Both Spouses in Jail
Sheriff Deputies arriving at a recent domestic disturbance call walked into a house to find a man and a woman both bloodied. The fight was called in by a third party from a nearby convenience store on Thanksgiving Day. After deputies met the man at the store to find out what was going on, they went to the house on Tanglewood Lane in Cricket.

They could hear the verbal part of the fight as they pulled up. A deputy says he knocked on the door, and Jeff Patrick answered the door covered in blood. A check of the house found his wife April in a bedroom, also with blood on her. Both told the deputies the other person had been the first to start hitting them. After being checked over by paramedics, both declined to be taken to the hospital. Deputies arrested both of them and charged each with assault.

Shoplifting, Taken to the Next Level
Shoplifting is one thing, but brazenly walking into a store, grabbing merchandise, and sauntering outside right past the clerk is another completely. The clerk at a local FasTrack called police right after it happened Thanksgiving afternoon. She told officers two men came into the store together. They split up, with one heading directly to the cigarette aisle where he grabbed three cartons of Newports. The men left the store without paying and got in a grey Nissan Sentra with tag number SWY-7000. Police were unable to get a phone number for the registered owner of the car, but are still working to interview that person. The clerk did not know either thief.

Business Burglary
The owner of a local business believes he know who broke in after he set the place up Friday night and went to get a bite to eat. Jimmy Welborn tells sheriff deputies that’s his normal routine as he gets ready to open the Family Game Room. When he came back from dinner Friday, Welborn found the front door of the business had been kicked in, a cash box stolen, and the security videotape taken out of the VCR. The 19-year old man he suspects of burglarizing him has had numerous addresses, and deputies are still working to track him down.

Fights Mar Evening at Two Local Restaurants
Two men exchanging words inside a local restaurant Friday night were told to take their argument outside, but even then, a store employee ended up being drawn into the fray. The Pizza Hut on School Street is where it happened, just before midnight Friday.

After tempers flared, employees of the restaurant asked them to leave, so they walked out and continued the fight in the parking lot. A waitress went out into the parking lot a few minutes later to tell them to leave the property because they wouldn’t calm down. Both of the men turned on her, grabbing her by the arms and shaking her until the manager ran outside to break it up. Police told the manager and the employee how to get a warrant drawn up on the men, whose names are known, for assault. So far, they have not been arrested.

A fight that started in another Wilkesboro restaurant ended with a man getting punched in the eye. Christopher Habershaw, a Virginia man having a meal at Ruby Tuesday’s last week, somehow got into a verbal confrontation with a local man. He reports the man had been yelling at him and some friends, and when Habershaw shot the man a grin, the man walked over to him and punched him. The restaurant employee who called police told officers after he was hit, Habershaw stood up, but never took a swing at the other man. He refused medical attention, and declined to sign a warrant for the man who hit him.

Recent Fires Accidental
Fire Marshall Nick Hanby has released the causes of two recent fires, and has ruled both are accidental in nature.

The first fire was reported November 18th at about 4:30 in the afternoon. A manufactured home on Haymeadow Road in Hays suffered about 15-thousand dollars damage. The fire was reported by a woman who said she’d been next door visiting when another neighbor knocked on the door saying her house was on fire. Ola Mae Hawkins believed the fire had started form a candle she’d left burning, sitting on a plastic chair in a bedroom. Fire Marshall Hanby says that’s consistent with what was found in the house.

The second fire was reported two days later, on the 20th at a manufactured home on Carl Drive in North Wilkesboro. The unoccupied home suffered more than 9-thousand dollars damage, and Erwin Ward lost about 12-hundred dollars worth of personal property he was moving into the house. The fire investigation showed an electrical outlet on an interior wall of the house’s center bedroom shorted out, sparking the blaze. Some of the damaged items were owned by a third person; neither she nor Ward had insurance on the property.

Domestic Fight Leads to Foot Chase
A sheriff’s deputy responding to a domestic disturbance call last night had to chase down one of the parties involved. 46-yer old John Burton Burns was collared in the woods behind a house on Colbert Place near Elkin, after he dashed from the house as deputies drove up. Once the deputies got inside the house, they found Burns’ girlfriend, April Wood, with a black eye and a cut on her eyebrow. There were several picture frames broken through the house, according to a crime report, and a hole in one wall. Burns was arrested and charged with one count of assault on a female.

Speeding, Open Container, and More
Wilkesboro police say a man was speeding on highway 421 through town last night, and that’s what started the chain of events that ended with him in jail facing several charges including drug possession.

An officer saw 21-year old Robert Jerome Cobb speeding on Highway 421 about 10:45 last night, and pulled him over in the Bo jangles parking lot. At first, Cobb gave the officer a false name, and said he’d left his drivers license at home. The bogus name was already in police computers, and the officer discovered Cobb had a suspended license. He received consent to search the car, and found an open bottle of Corona. Cobb also admitted as he was being questioned that he had a small amount of marijuana hidden in his pants. He faces a total of five misdemeanor charges and was jailed in lieu of 5-thousand dollars bond. His court date is scheduled for early January.

Purse Reported Missing
A Wilkes woman will have a somewhat harder time completing her Christmas shopping this year, after her purse, which contained 600-dollars, was taken out of a restroom at Wal-Mart recently. Amanda Lovette reported last Wednesday that she’d gone into the restroom and left her purse behind. When she went back about 20 minutes later, the purse was missing. She said the purse contained 600-dollars in cash and some makeup items. So far, police have no information about who might have walked out of the restroom with the purse.

Accused Shooters Arrested; No One Hurt
Two men are behind bars today, following a drive-by shooting yesterday that sheriff deputies say was motivated by an oustanding debt. 22-year old Jesse Michael Poole of Purlear and 19-year old Justin Lee Royal of Lansing are charged with shooting into an occupied home, two counts of making threats to a person, and felony aiding and abetting.

Here’s how deputies say things went down. Royal was owed money by one of the victims, who live in a manufactured home on Suncrest Orchard Road. He threatened to shoot up the man’s house if he didn’t pay the money, and, according to the crime report, even pulled out the gun he said he’d use. Poole called the man and threatened him as well. About 9 last night, two shots were fired into the house, one of them penetrating the living room wall, passing through the kitchen, and out the far wall, passing through the wall of an adjacent trailer and breaking some dishes in a cabinet in that home. Fortunately, neither of the shots hit a person.

Deputies stopped the pair later on Highway 268, and quickly found that one of them had ditched the gun behind a business nearby. Two women in the car were taken into custody, but released after deputies determined they had nothing to do with the crime. Justin Royal admitted that he’d fired the shots at the urging of Jesse Poole.

Woman Disappears After Hitting Boyfriend With Car
Deputies have issued an arrest warrant for a Hays woman who reportedly hit her boyfriend with a car. They’re looking for 30-year old Tabitha Ann Church, who hasn’t been seen since the incident last night. Christopher Scott tells deputies he and Church had been fighting off and on all day, and he heard her start the car to leave. As he went outside to try to stop her, Scott says Church gunned the car, heading right for him. He couldn’t get out of the way quickly enough, and the impact broke his arm.

Accused Gas Thief Arrested
Wikesboro Police arrested a local man Friday about noon, after he allegedly drove off from a FasTrack store without paying for gas. 18-year old Ronald Anglin the Third is charged with theft, and is scheduled for trial in January.

The clerk at the FasTrack on US 421 called police after Anglin pumped just over 20-dollars in gas into his Blazer, then went inside and told the clerk he didn’t have any money to pay. His passenger, Harvey Lowe, refused to leave with him, and remained at the store until police arrived. Anglin was arrested when he returned to the store, and charged with the theft, along with not having a drivers license. He was also wanted by Davie County authorities for an earlier break-in there.

Stolen or Repo'd?
Sheriff Deputies are looking for a pickup truck that was reported stolen Friday. David Holman told deputies Friday evening he’d come home to find his blue 2004 Ford flare-side pickup had been taken. He admitted to deputies that he’d gotten behind on the payments, and that he’d left a key in the truck . There was also a 22-caliber Ruger pistol in the pickup when it was taken. It hasn’t been seen since.

Accused Thief Behind Bars
A local man is in jail, after a sheriff’s deputy found several items in his house and utility trailer that were reported stolen a little over a week ago. Owen Coffey was arrested following a break-in and burglary of a home on Boomer Road November 18th. He’s accused of stealing almost 15-hundred dollars worth of fishing gear, tools and other items including a fishing boat from a home less than a mile away. Deputies leaving the burglarized house saw Coffey, and found much of the stolen property either in his house or in a utility trailer in his yard. He is charged with prying open the door of the home up the road, along with a storage building on that property.

Stolen Cigarettes Total $3,500
The owner of a Wilkes convenience store that was broken into last week has completed inventory of his stock, and found more than three thousand dollars worth of cigareettes was taken. As we told you earlier on 3WC News, the Pure for Sure store was broken into by someone who peeled back roofing paper, cut a hole in the roof, and dropped through the hole into a restroom after the store closed for the night. The thief made off with 150 cartons of cigarettes total, $3,582.62.

Deputies still have no suspects in the case.

Break-In Reported
Deputies are investigating a reported break-in that happened Tuesday night at a McGrady home. The 77-year old victim reports she had opened her back door to feed her cat, and while the door was open, she was rushed by a man who forced her back into the house, then walked through and let another man in the front door. The woman tells deputies the pair forced her to sit down in her living room and one guarded her, holding an ice pick out as a threat. She says they would not let her near the phone, nor could she see what one of them was doing in the kitchen. When they ran from the house, the woman found 500-dollars had been taken from her purse, which was on the table in the kitchen.

The woman describes the robbers as white men, one about 6-feet tall and 200-pounds, with a beard and mustache. He was wearing black clothing and had black paint on his face at the time. The other man had a slim build, was wearing white clothing, and was about 5 feet 4-inches tall. She was not hurt during the robbery, and the men have not been seen since.

Christmas Tree Farms
While retailers prepared this week for the busiest shopping weekend of the year, Christmas tree farms were preparing for the same.

The Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving are always the busiest for the Christmas tree industry, and choose-and-cut tree lots in the mountains of northwestern North Carolina are expected to attract crowds.

Choose-and-cut farms have become more popular in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Christmas Tree Association. That's especially been the case in the past two years, when many choose-and-cut operations sell out of the trees they've allotted to cut.

About 125,000 trees will be taken home from choose-and-cut farms in the state, with 90,000 of those coming from western North Carolina.

According to the N.C. Christmas Tree Association, 1,600 North Carolina growers produce about 50 million Fraser fir trees across the state.

Surry County Project Delayed
Part of a $6.5 million project by North Carolina and Virginia to extend water and sewer lines from Mount Airy to the rest areas and welcome centers along Interstate 77 in Surry County has been stalled, officials said, and the delay could end up costing the states more money.

Although transportation officials are preparing to award bids as early as January to run 12 miles of water lines from the city to the interstate, the sewer lines will have to wait because Virginia has had a shortfall of money.

When the announcement was made in July 2004 that North Carolina and Virginia would work together on the project, officials expected that it would be completed in 2006. Now, engineers estimate that the soonest the water lines could reach the interstate would be mid-2007. Sewer may follow a year later.

Two Arrested on Burglary Charges
Sheriff deputies have arrested a 19-year old man and charged him with two counts of burglary, and they say other arrests may be made in the cases.

According to a crime report released Wednesday, deputies believe Steven Ryan Little broke into the same house in Hays two different times. The first burglary happened October 19th, the second was reported earlier this week. The homeowner told deputies the house had been re-secured after the first break-in, where a DVD player and two small TV’s were taken. A couple of days later, the house was broken into again, and a big-screen TV was taken.

In addition to Steven Ryan Little, deputies have charged 19-year old Terry Nicole Little with counts of breaking into the home and of burglarizing it. Deputies say they have have recovered the big screen TV, the DVD player, and the smaller TV’s from the Little’s home on Arlie Myers Road.

Sex Offender Charged with Not Registering Move
Deputies have arrested a convicted child sex offender, because he moved and failed to notify the sheriff’s office as required to. Alphonso Lynn Leach was convicted in 2000 of two counts of indecent liberties with a minor, and served a two-year prison term. As a convicted sex offender, Leach has to register with local police agencies each time he changes address, so his current location can be made available to neighbors and law enforcement. According to a crime report, Leach moved out of the Bell Court Apartments in June, and failed to notify authorities of his new address. He was arrested Tuesday at a home in the 100 block of Mountain View Road.

Egg-Shaped Metal Object Found, Bomb Investigators Called
Authorities aren’t sure what a Wilkes man found next to his house Tuesday, but they’re taking precautions just in case it is something dangerous. A man who lives on Yellow Banks Road reported finding a metal object in the woods next to his house just before dark Tuesday. The Hazardous Devices team was called out to investigate, and ended up placing the egg-shaped object in their bomb trailer, so they could look at it more closely in daylight.

Statesville Teacher Aide Charged with Statutory Rape

A teacher's aide at Statesville High School faces sex charges involving a teenager. Donald Williams was arrested Tuesday night in Charlotte. Williams and another person have been charged with nine counts of statutory rape and statutory sex offenses.

Williams is accused of trading prescription drugs for sex, and it's alleged that the incidents took place in an apartment he rented.

Id-Theft Cases
Wilkesboro Police have been working with a Boone man to get his identity theft case straightened out, after he discovered someone had used his name or information to start a number of credit accounts.

It’s unclear when this happened, but police filed a total of four cases recently, each alleging a North Wilkesboro man with nearly the same name as the victim had used the Boone man’s social security number to establish credit accounts in his own name. The Boone man discovered the accounts after pulling his credit report recently. The companies that opened accounts included Lowes, U-S Cellular, and Cingular Wireless. The supect had also tried to open a credit account at Wachovia Bank but had been denied.

The men share the same last name, and the victim’s first name is the same as the suspect’s middle name. They are both in their mid-40’s, but police haven’t said what the relationship between the two is.

An unrelated identity theft case involves a 49-year old Purlear man and his son, who is in college at Appalachian State. Sheriff deputies say the man’s debit car was used to make a 200-dollar purchase recently without his authorization. The delivery address was outside Boone, but not the address where his son is living. His son says he doesn’t know who might have used the card number to order the items. Wilkes and Wautuga countie deputies are working the cast together.

Mailboxes Hit
Two local property owners report vandals have struck their mailboxes recently. The first case was reported about a week ago, along Shumate Mountain Road in Hays. The woman who reported someone had damaged her mailbox said she didn’t know who might have done it. Her husband was able to add only a little more information, saying he remembered hearing a noise outside about 1 in the morning. The mailbox was found in a nearby field.

The second case was reported early this week. It happened along Arbor Grove Church Road. The man who reported the vandalism said someone took a swing at his mail box, early Tuesday. There are no suspects in the case.