Relationship Over

Deputies called to help a woman get out of an abusive relationship ended up chasing down the man accused of being the abuser. It happened at a Traphill home where 22-year old Chris Bowers and 20-hear old Charlotte Brown were living, Wednesday evening. According to the report, the two got into a physical confrontation after he woke up late for his second day at a new job and she decided she was going to pack up and leave, taking her 14-month old daughter with her. Brown says Bowers picked up the girl and said he was leaving with her, and she followed him into the front yard, where he pushed her over a large children's toy and she fell.

Brown says Bowers then set the girl down some distance away and started approaching her. She tells deputies she believed he was going to start beating on her as he had done other times. He did hit her in the back of the head, and she says the blow knocked her out briefly. When she got up, she stumbled inside, called 91-1-, and stayed inside on the phone until deputies arrived.

After they interviewed both people, deputes tried to arrest Bower, who was sitting outside on the front porch. As he was supposedly turning around to be handcuffed, Bowers yanked his hands away and started running. Two deputies and a Highway patrol trooper chased him through a nearby field on foot, tackling him partway across. He is charged with domestic assault and resisting arrest. Brown refused medical treatment.

Electronics, Movies Stolen

A Miller's Creek man says he's not sure how someone got a key to his house, but now that they have it, they seem to be helping them self to his stuff. 28-year old John Coffey reported the theft last week. He says two nights in a row, he found items missing form the house, and no apparent break-in damage. The first night, the thief took several movies, but the next night the person made off with quite a bit more, including a large Emerson TV and a VCR-DVD player, together worth about 300-dollars, about 100 tapes and DVDs, several CD's, three alarm clocks, a lades watch, an air compressor, and an electronic game set and games. Altogether, the loss totals over 18-hundred dollars. There are no witnesses or suspects, but the case remains open.

Inattention Bags Scammer

A former nurse says the reason he's been scamming area Lowes Food stores is to help others. Wilkesboro Police learned of 53-year old William Graves of Pfafftown, North Carolina at the Lowes Foods in Midtown Plaza Wednesday. According to loss prevention personnel at the store, he has been tracked going into other Lowes Food stores in a total of 20 counties and pulling a refund scheme. He takes in a Lowes Food grocery sack, gets Brita water filters, and then takes them to the service desk for a refund. He tells store personnel the filter is the wrong size, or he simply doesn't need it, and has been given refunds 113 times, dating back to last November. Only one of those cases happened in Wilkesboro, back in May. When he tried to return another filter, they told him no, because that particular filter wasn't sold in that particular store. The loss from the May incident, when Mr. Graves received a refund for a filter and a Brita faucet replacement, is about 58-dollars.

All in the Family?

When it comes to stealing drugs, sometime people don't know any limits. For instance, the Wilkes woman accused of not only breaking into a man's house, but then stealing her mother's drugs as she got out of the car a little while later. Deputies arrested 26-year old Angela Dawn Prevette last night, following a break-in reported by Bill Pruitt at his home in rural North Wilkesboro. According to Pruitt, someone had broken into his house, then smashed their way into his gun cabinet, and stolen about 60 dollars worth of medications. Deputies found a pair of bloody sunglasses and a picket knife on the bed. Pruitt, who is Prevette's uncle, said he knew the items belonged to her.

A while later, another deputy went by the Prevette home. Wanda Prevette, Angie's mother, told deputies that she, her husband, her son and her grandson had all piled in the car with Angie and gone over to Pruitt's house. She gave deputies a written statement saying Angie broke out the window, went into the house, and came back out with the stolen medicine. One of the prescription bottles was found in the car. Wanda Prevette says her daughter got out of the car at a local convenience store, and into another car driven by someone she didn't know. It was at that point Wanda realized the medicine she had just purchased at Walgreen's was missing. She tracked down Angie by phone, and when she came home, deputies arrested her on charges relating to the break-in and theft at her uncle's house, and misdemeanor theft in relation to her mother's medicine.

Home Break-In

A Wilkes woman wonders if some unfamiliar people visiting a neighbor might be responsible for the theft of a couple of items from her house. Mary Catherine Butner says she came home about 5:30 in the morning early this week, and found someone had broken into her house by kicking in the back door. A Samsung DVD-VCR combo and a glass bottle containing about 70-dollars in change were the only items missing. So far, deputies report no suspects or witnesses.

Four-Wheller, Due To Be Reposessed, Stolen

A man who had bought a four-wheeler he could no longer make the payments on tells sheriff deputies he was trying to cooperate with the repo company, but someone stole the four-wheeler while it was out waiting for them to pick it up. Gregory Faw, who lives in Millers Creek, says he had been rolling the four-wheeler outside every day for almost a week, and the repo company never came by to get it, so he'd take it back in at night. Tuesday morning, he rolled it out once again, and during the day the repo company called his wife to say they were on the way to get the four-wheeler. When they got there, it was gone. The free 4-by-4 King Quad is worth about 10-thousand dollars. It has chrome wheels, according to the crime report. There are no suspects reported, and no witnesses.

Tools Stolen, Handyman Blamed

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Miller's Creek man, after authorities say he stole more than three-dozen tools form his employer. 35-year old Jason Wayne Porter had worked as a handyman for Windmere Apartments in Wilkesboro. Another employee, Tonya Weddle, called Wilkesboro Police last week to report the crime, believed to have happened about a month ago. She says Porter had purchased the tools using the complex's Lowes card, then apparently taken them home, because they were nowhere to be found. She says a letter had been sent to Porter telling him to return the tools, but the complex had received no response, even after leaving a message with Porter's wife. The total value of the 43 tools is about 11-hundred-20 dollars.

Step Up for Soldiers Fishing Event Tomorrow

The North Carolina National Guard proudly supports Step Up For Soldiers Children’s Fishing Day for children of military families sponsored by Step Up For Soldiers. The event will take place Saturday at the Kure Beach Pier, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Kure Beach.
The Fishing Day is free to all children of Military Members with food, awards and prizes with each child receiving a free fishing rod and reel.
This is the second Fishing Day sponsored by Step Up For Soldiers and other community leaders. North Carolina National Guard Family Assistance Centers coordinated with Step Up For Soldiers bringing Guard Families and sponsors together for this second annual event.
Step Up For Soldiers started in November 2004 building wheelchair accessible ramps for two local North Carolina National Guard Soldiers. Step Up For Soldiers continues to support returning veterans including home modification and personal transporters.
Community support for Guard Families, with deployments and reunions a fact of life, is critical. Guard Family Assistance Centers are an opportunity for community leaders and members to provide specific and unique assistance to family members of deployed Soldiers and Airmen spread across the state and region.

Employee Boosts Software at Staples

A former employee of Staples, or someone who will be an ex-employee soon, faces felony theft charges after admitting to store security personnel she'd stolen a number of digital cameras and computer software. 20-year old Laken Danielle Shumate was arrested for the theft of more than 4-thousand dollars of merchandise. According to the police report, she had put numerous software titles and the photo equipment in the trash and taken them outside, and apparently took them home after her shift, as the items were not recovered. The manager, Michelle McKeel, had confronted Shumate early yesterday afternoon, and after she admitted to the theft and wrote out a confession, the manager called police. Shumate also verbally confessed in the officer's presence. She was arrested and booked on the theft charge without incident.

Woman Injured, Man Arrested

A 37-year old rural North Wilkesboro man spent some time in jail, after being charged with assaulting his girlfriend last night. Sheriffs deputies arrested Eric Meyerhoffer at his house on Twin Hill Road around 10 last night, after they were called there on a report of a domestic disturbance. When they arrived, Meyerhoffer's girlfriend was outside, as was he, but no fight was going on. However, she had a bruise under her right eye, and told the deputies he had struck her, but she didn't remember if it was a hit or a slap. After the deputies explained a few things about how the domestic violence laws work, they took Meyerhoffer into custody on a charge of domestic assault. It was not necessary for the woman to seek medical treatment.