Man faces multiple charges
following shooting incident

Police arrested Terrance Lamont Gates Jr., 20, on numerous charges last Saturday, including intent to kill, following a weekend shooting rampage.

Gates, a resident of Hibernia Street, was charged with shooting at the victim with a .25-caliber gun, narrowly missing the victimís head.

He also was charged with shooting into an occupied building on Klondyke Avenue in Montford, stalking, threatening to injure, causing $200 in damage to a 2000 Mazda, failing to appear in court and violating probation.

Police seeking information
about Waynesville robbery

WAYNESVILLE ó Police are on the lookout for two men, who they say robbed a Waynesville business last Thursday night.

Police responded to a call at La Mexicanita on Miller Street about 9 p.m. An employee of the business told them that she had been robbed at gunpoint by two men.

The pair reportedly spent a few minutes looking around the store before asking the woman to show them a pair of boots.

When she turned to go behind the counter, one of the men grabbed her from behind, held a gun to her head and said he was going to shoot her, according to police reports.

Meanwhile, the other man took jewelry from a case and ordered her son to open the cash register and give him the money inside.

Anyone with information about the robbery can call Det. Ryan Singleton at 356-1175, ext. 2115.

State authorities charge 7
in illegal gambling sting

State authorities arrested seven people last Friday at the conclusion of a four-month investigation into illegal video gambling machines.

The arrests follow raids on June 18 and 19, in which N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement agents, Buncombe County sheriffís deputies and FBI agents† raided at least 15 businesses.

Those raids took place just before a new state law banning the machines went into effect. Authorities netted $25,000 in cash, as well as a luxury car, business records and office and gambling machines.

In similar raids, federal officials seized $1.7 million in cash and are now suing to keep the money. No one has been charged in those raids.

Those arrested Friday were the targets of the raids last month, including:
ï Mary Ellen Mears, 62, and Charles Bernard Mears, 69, of Shady Creek Lane in Leicester.
The pair were charged with gambling, allowing gambling in a public house, making illegal cash payoffs on video poker, operating a video poker machine and possession of a Pot-o-Gold video poker machine. The couple own Twice as Nice Consignment Shop and Mary Ellenís Treasures, both on Old Country Home Road.
ï Martha Jean Shelton, 66, of New Leicester Highway.
Shelton was charged with operating a Pot-o-Gold machine and gambling. She is an employee at Twice as Nice Consignment Shop.
During the raid, authorities seized $8,581 in cash, a black ledger book and a book containing a handgun and ammunition.
ï Johnny Lawrence Bradley, 59, of Sugar Cove Road in Weaverville.
Bradley was charged with allowing illegal video poker machines in an establishment, operating and possessing a Pot-o-Gold video poker machine, keeping illegal video poker machines where illegal cash payoffs are made, allowing gambling to occur in an ABC-licensed establishment and allowing gambling in a public house.

Bradley is the owner of Cowboyís Lounge at 441 Old Mars Hill Highway in Weaverville.
Search warrants show that officers confiscated three gaming machines, a plastic bag containing about 1 gram of cocaine, a handgun, $327 from gaming machines and a bag containing $1,457 in cash from the business.
ï Angela Marie Ponder, 30, of New Stock Road in Weaverville.
Ponder was charged with operating an illegal gambling operation in an ABC establishment, gambling and operating an illegal video poker machine in which cash payoffs are made. She is a bartender at Cowboyís.
ï Melinda Ann Watkins, 33, of Ferry Road in Asheville.
She was charged with gambling, possession of a slot machine and operating an illegal video gaming machine in an ABC-licensed premise.
Watkins is employed at the Hot Spot No. 5003 at 1118 Brevard Road.
ï Eleanor Faye Worley-Craig, 48, of Rough Creek Road in Canton.
Worley-Craig was charged with possession and operation of a Pot-o-Gold video poker machine, operating an illegal video poker gambling operation in an ABC licensed establishment, gambling and allowing video pokers machines in an establishment.
She is the manager of the Hot Spot on Brevard Road.
Authorities also raided three Smokers and Players locations during the raids last month and seized $14,300 in cash, several pieces of computer equipment and a gold-colored BMW, according to warrants.

Those raids, which were known as Operation Falling Deuces, came a day after the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the sheriffís office and the ALE raided at least eight businesses in Buncombe and Madison counties.

A new law banning video gambling machines went into effect July 1. Prior to that time, players were allowed to win up to $10 in merchandise. Cash payouts were illegal.
Meanwhile, a legal fight has continued between the federal government and Demetre Theodossis, a

Hendersonville restauranteur whose home and businesses were the subject of a Nov. 14 raid.
During that operation, state and federal agents completed an 18-month investigation into illegal gambling establishments and raided 21 businesses and two homes.

According to warrants, officials seized illegal gambling machines and $1.7 million stashed in an attic, false walls and dog food containers at Theodossisí home.

He has not yet been charged. Under the speed trial law, federal prosecutors must bring a case to trial within 70 days of filing charges. Because of this, they are often slower to indict suspects than are state courts.

Meanwhile, the federal government has sued to keep the money seized, as well as money in bank accounts.

Theodossisí attorney has argued that the federal government has failed to prove that the money seized came from machines he owned.

Canton police stop driver,
find 93 pounds of marijuana

CANTON ó Canton police made their biggest drug seizure in recent department history on June 21 when they reportedly discovered 93 pounds of marijuana in the back of a Candler manís vehicle, according to a report released last Thursday.

Police stopped Michael Shane Hollifield, 32, of Youngs Cove Road in Candler during a routine driverís license checkpoint along Old Asheville Highway.

Police said the officers at the stop detected a marijuana-like smell and saw something green on the center console. They then discovered four plastic boxes full of marijuana in the back of the vehicle, according to police reports.

Police said the the marijuana was sitting in plain sight when officers shone a flashlight into the back of the vehicle. A large amount of the substance was protruding from an open bag in one of the boxes, the report said.

Upon searching Hollifield, officers also reportedly found rolling papers, a knife and $1,197 in cash.
Police said that when they first stopped him, Hollifield told them he had smoked a joint but had no other drugs.

He was charged with trafficking in marijuana, maintaining a vehicle for sale or delivery of drugs and possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or delivery. All are felonies.

Hollifield was released after posting a $100,000 bond.

According to Police Chief Bill Guillet, the seizure was the largest in Cantonís history. Guillet has been chief for more than 20 years.

Hollifield has a criminal record that goes back to 1992 and includes multiple convictions for breaking and entering and a larceny conviction, according to the N.C. Department of Corrections.
He was self-employed as a yard worker, the report said.

Cremated human remains
found at drained lake bank

William Lewis

A resident taking a walk last week around the bank of the draining Beaver Lake discovered a pile of cremated human remains

The ashes were discovered last Thursday by resident Mark Bennett, 49, who was walking along the east bank of the North Asheville lake.

Beaver Lake has been drained to allow workers to repair its drainage system.

Bennett said he was looking for the remains of an airstrip and building he had heard about.

He added that he immediately recognized that the mass as ashes, which contrasted with the red clay of the lake bed.

A subsequent investigation by the Asheville Police Department confirmed that the ashes were human remains after finding a labeled box nearby from a mortuary.

Furthermore, pieces of bone were also found in the pile, which would be about big enough to fill a small shoebox.

Earlier this month, a late-1960s General Motors car with a 1989 registration was pulled from the lake after its water level had dropped about 10 feet.

Asheville police intercept
armed fugitive from Texas

Asheville police last Friday arrested William Soleman Lewis, a fugitive from Texas.

Lewis was wanted in Harris County, Texas, for felony retaliation against a peace officer in Houston and was considered to be armed and dangerous.

Asheville police received information that Lewis might be at a residence at 50 Park Ave., off of Sweeten Creek Road in South Asheville.

Officers then set up surveillance and verified that Lewis was indeed at the residence.

He is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility under $20,500 secured bond. He was also charged with resist, delay, and obstruct.

Pack Square conservancy
issues plea for pigís return

City officials have issued a plea for the return of a bronze sculpture of a piglet that was stolen in front of the Vance Monument two weeks ago.

The sculpture was part of a larger installation commemorating the herds of livestock that used to cross what is now Pack Square.

Officials offered an amnesty through last Friday to anyone returning the pig ó no questions asked ó to the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. But no one accepted the offer.

Anyone with information about the pigletís whereabouts can contact Donna Clark at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Authorities seeking leads
in death of Concord man

CANDLER ó Investigators are seeking information into the death of a Concord man who was found July 9 on a logging road on federal land.

Officials say a hiker discovered the body of Mark Jeffrey Laughter, 41, about 1:20 p.m. Laughter was found just outside his vehicle about one mile south of the intersection with Black Oak Cove Road and within 100 yards of Pisgah Highway.

Though the cause of death has not been determined, a spokesman for the Buncombe County Sheriffís Department said that there were no signs of foul play.

Laughterís body has been sent to Chapel Hill for an autopsy.

SBI investigates shooting
of woman during car chase

While a woman who was shot by police during a car chase last month is recovering, the State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident.

Mary Ann Wilcox, 52, suffered gunshot injuries to her liver, leg and spleen on May 31 during a pursuit in which Larry Julius Wilson was being sought by police. Wilcox was a passenger in the car Wilson was driving.

Police said they tried to stop Wilson, 57, at Lee Walker Heights Apartments after they observed him acting suspiciously. They did not say how he ws behaving, specifically.

Wilson then reportedly got in a car and fled, prompting officers to chase him out of the housing complex, where he tried to run down one officer.

Police said he then drove into Haw Creek and entered Spruce Hill Apartments where he tried to run down another officer, who then opened fire. Wilson drove out and collided with a police car, according to reports.

Police deployed stop sticks on New Haw Creek Road, which blew out at least one of the vehicleís tires, but Wilson allegedly kept driving.

According to police, Wilson then returned to Spruce Hill Apartments and tried to run down two more officers who fired on the vehicle. Ten bullets hit the Pontiac Grand Prix he was driving, according to investigators.

Wilson was stopped on New Haw Creek Road and arrested on charges that included six counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and two counts of fleeing to elude arrest.
He is scheduled to stand trial in Buncombe County on July 19.

Meanwhile, the officers who were involved in the shooting, Sgt. Stony Gonce, Cheryl Intveld and Brian Hogan, all returned to administrative duty last week, according to Asheville Police Chief Bill Hogan.† Officer Brian Hogan is not related to the chief.

Police seeking information
on fatal motorcycle crash

Asheville police are seeking help in their investigation of a fatal motorcycle crash on July 1.
Ricky Jones, 37, was driving west on Tunnel Road about 11:12 p.m. when he ws struck by a Chevrolet Tracker driven by Lucia Hrubjakova, 26.

No charges have been filed yet in the incident. Anyone who has information about the accident can call Officer Ann Fowler at 251-4043.

Fireworks stand refuses
to remove flags from roof

A fireworks company that was set up in preparation for the Fourth of July at the Wal-Mart parking lot off Swannanoa River Road has refused to take down an American flag, which the city says is in violation of a local sign ordinances.

TNT Fireworks announced last week that it would continue to fly the flag there, as well as at its Patton Avenue location, despite fines of $100 per day that the city has imposed.

The ordinance prohibits businesses from flying signs atop their buildings or structures. Flags are included in the ban, though they are allowed to be flown in other ways.

Charles Thomas, manager of the TNT store in the Wal-Mart parking lot, says the company will appeal the fine.

City Attorney Bob Oast said that appeal will have to go through the city Board of Adjustment, which meets next on July 16.

City Councilwoman Robin Cape expressed objections to the prohibition, saying that flags are not advertisements.

However, city planner Shannon Tuch said the problem is the way in which the flags are displayed.
Flying the flag overnight without lighting or in inclement weather violates federal guidelines, he noted.