Asheville firefighter charged
with soliciting child online

A senior firefighter with Asheville Fire and Rescue was arrested last Monday on charges of solicitation of a child online.
Robert M. Kutzer, 32, was hired in May 2003 and most recently served at Fire Station 8 on Tunnel Road. He has been put on paid investigative suspension pending the outcome of the charges, according to city spokeswoman Lauren Bradley.

UNCA student found dead;
no signs of foul play found

A student at UNC Asheville was found dead last Friday afternoon in his dormitory room, but police say they found no signs of foul play.

The body of Daniel Hendricks, 22, was discovered in Scott Hall by his father, who was there to visit him.
Asheville police officers said they saw no indication of violence or of threats to any other students.

The universityís Student Health and Counseling Center is offering grief counseling for students and can be contacted at 251-6517.

Man arrested on charges
of kidnapping, burglary

HENDERSONVILLE ó A man has been charged with first-degree kidnapping and second-degree burglary related to an incident last Saturday at the Waverly Inn in Hendersonville.

James Mayfield, 44, is accused of breaking into the hotel at 789 N. Main St. about 4:38 a.m.

Police say Mayfield forcibly entered the rear door and was confronted by the innís owner, John Sheiry Jr.

Sheiry called police from the office and was followed by Mayfield, who forced his way into the office, according to police. A fight ensued and the man refused to let Sheiry out of the office.

Mayfield was being held on a $100,000 bond.

Police charge 2 in murder
at Swannanoa mobile home

SWANNANOA ó The Buncombe County Sheriffís Department announced last Monday that it had arrested two men who officials say were involved in a fatal shooting at a Swannanoa mobile home.

Embra Alvin Tucker, 48, of Alpine Way, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Vincenzo Salnino Noah Luther last Thursday.

Luther, 23, was found dead from gunshot wounds at a Swannanoa mobile home at 100 Grovemont Ave., just off Old U.S. 70.

Tucker turned himself in to authorities Saturday and has been held at the Buncombe County Detention Center since then on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon. The murder charge was added on Monday.

Tucker is being held without bond.

Michael Ray Guzman, 48, a tenant of the home, was charged with obstruction of justice.

According to warrants, Guzman ìwillfully and feloniously did obstruct justice by purposely deceiving officers by giving fictitious information.î

His bond was set at $100,000.

Police received a call at 3:52 p.m. about the discovery of† Lutherís body.

Officials believe that a group of people may have been at the home at the time of the shooting.

Jaquona Kilgo, the mother of Lutherís two young children, told investigators that she and her current boyfriend were on their way to pick Luther up and take him home to Asheville.

A spokesman for the department said the call came in as a gunshot wound, and the man was found on the floor when emergency workers arrived.

Neighbors had complained that the residence was used for selling drugs.

Landlord Jim Thomas reportedly called the residence ìa drive-through crack house.î

Erica Dawn Watkins, of Canton, said that her sister, Samantha Watkins, had dated Luther for two years.

In August, Erica Watkins filed a threatening- phone-call charge against Luther, accusing him of threatening to inflict bodily harm on Watkins and her family. However, she soon dropped the charge.

Ex-Red Cross accountant
accused of stealing $165K

A former employee of Mountain Area Red Cross was arrested Sept. 18 on charges of embezzlement after officials accused her of stealing more than $165,000 from the nonprofit.

Ellen Saxon, 45, of Black Mountain had been employed as the organizationís accounting director for about 15 months when, police say, she took the money.

The missing money was traced back to Saxon during an annual audit in July.

Red Cross officials did not find any alarms in a background check of her when she was hired, even though she and her husband were being sued by the Cape Fear Academy in Wilmington at the time.

The private school accused her in a civil suit of stealing $250,000 from it in 2005. However, because school officials did not file criminal charges against her, the theft allegation was not noted in her background check.

Businesses often do not push for criminal charges in such cases, allowing those accused of embezzlement to move easily from one organization to another, according to Capt. Tim Splain of the Asheville Police Department.

A spokesman for the Red Cross said the organization does not anticipate any disruption of operations and that it expects to recover the money.

Saxon was released from the Buncombe County Detention Center after posting a $10,000 bond.

Man charged with stealing
3 vehicles from dealership

Officials announced last Wednesday that Buncombe County Sheriffís deputies have arrested a man suspected of stealing three cars from a local car dealership.

Deputies charged Micah Lawson Huffman, 34, of Ascension Drive with three counts of larceny of an automobile.

He is accused of taking a 2006 Mercedes Benz ML350, valued at $45,000; a 2007 Mercedes Benz 550, valued at $111,000; and a 2006 Ford F150 truck, valued at $25,000 earlier this year.

All three vehicles were taken from Skyland Automotive on Smokey Park Highway.

Huffman also was charged with two counts of forgery and other failure-to-appear charges from separate incidents.

The automobiles all were recovered in May 2007.

These warrants were served by the Buncombe County Sheriffís Department.

Huffman was being held in lieu of a $42,500 bond at the Buncombe County Detention Center.

Man waves knife in shop;
store owner pulls out gun

WAYNESVILLE ó A man brought a knife into a Waynesville pawn shop last Wednesday and threatened to kill employees of the store, but eventually left when the shopís owner pulled out a pistol.

Employees of Valley Pawn reportedly called police after a man walked in and threatened to kill them.

At first, he did not say anything, but paced around the store, sweating and acting strangely, according to witnesses.

When an employee asked if he needed help, the man allegedly said, ìYeah, I want to talk to the one who cussed my momma,î according to police reports.

He then threatened to kill the workers, police say.

At that point, the owner came out and told him to leave. The man walked outside and pulled a T-shirt out of his gold older-model Grand Am and used it to cover the carís license plate.

The owner came out and again told the man to leave. The man responded by pulling out a large folding-blade knife and pointing it at the pawnshop owner.

The owner then pulled a pistol out of his pocket and pointed it at the man, who promptly got into the car and left. A woman was driving the vehicle.

A Haywood County Sheriffís deputy arrived as the car was leaving and followed it briefly, but lost sight of the suspect in heavy motorcycle traffic from a rally that weekend.

Police say they do not know why the man was in the shop, but that they do not believe it had anything to do with someone cussing his mother.

The suspect is described as white, in his late 40s, with salt-and-pepper hair and a long, gray beard. Anyone with information about the incident can call police at 356-1175.

Arden man faces charges
of drugs, aiding prostitution

Asheville police charged Michael Kevin Burnette, 37, last week with possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver, as well as aiding and abettting prostitution.

The resident of West Haven Drive in Arden was being held on $5,500 bond.

Also arrested Sept. 16 and 17 were:

ï Edgar Arambula, 18, on two counts of communicating threats.

The Bear Creek resident is accused of threatening to kill a man and rape a 14-year-old girl. He was being held on $800 bond.

ï Charles Brandon Candler, 22, on charges of cruelty to animals.

Woodfin police say Candler tortured and maimed a small dog and terrorized people with a rifle.
Candler, a resident of Snyder Drive, was being held on $3,000 bond.

ï Edward Bernard Freyer, 41, on charges of breaking or entering a motor vehicle and larceny after breaking and entering.
Buncombe County Sheriffís deputies say Freyer stole a laptop computer from the vehicle. He was eing held on $3,000 bond.

ï Allen Lee Honeycutt, 27, charged by Woodfin police with possession of crack cocaine, giving fictitious information to an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Honeycutt, who lives on Laurel Street in Burnsville, was being held on $3,000 bond.

ï Robert James Willetts, 42, on charges of breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering.

Willetts, who lives on Walnut Cove Road in Swannanoa, is accused of stealing $2,130 worth of jewelry and lawn equipment on July 13.

He also was charged with obtaining property by false pretense after he allegedly pawned the stolen goods.
He was being held on $2,000 bond.

Former WCU staff member accused
of solicitation for prostitution online

WAYNESVILLE ó A man who was charged with solicitng for prostitution online after police say he responded to an classified ad posted by undercover police officers worked as a computer programmer at Western Carolina Universityís information technology department.

Robert Scott Powell, 34, left his job at the college on Aug. 31, WCU officials announced last Thursday. They did not state a reason for his departure.

Powell pleaded guilty on Sept. 5 to a charge of solicitation of prostitution.

A WCU spokesman said there is no indication that Powell used university computers to communicate with undercover officers.

The school does not block access to Web sites. However, it does prohibit use of university computers for commercial purposes or for illegal activities.

Powellís arrest was part of an undercover operation in which police posted a listing for a ìlegitimate massageî on Craigslist, a popular classified ad Web site.

According to police reports, Powell offered to pay $150 for sex using the name Chris during an e-mail exchange with an undercover officer. When he came to a house set up for the sting, he gave an officer money and was arrested.

Enka MIddle School girl suspended
for possessing gun-shaped lighter

CANDLER ó A female student at Enka Middle School will be suspended for bringing a lighter shaped like a gun to school.
One of the schoolís social workers saw the seventh-grader with the toy lighter about 11:30 a.m. last Wednesday and notified Principal Pam Fourtenbary.

Though officials have not decided how long she will be suspended, Fourtenbary said it be for at least 10 days.

4 charged by UNCA campus police
with marijuana, alcohol possession

UNC Asheville campus police charged four people with possession of less than 1/2 ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia following a raid of a party in one of the schoolís dormitory rooms last Thursday.

Those charged include James Steven Dawkins, 22, of 991 Hwy. 210 E. in Hampstead; Daniel Ramon Suber, 18, of 100 Atkinson St. Apt. 29D; Lauren Rae Shofety, 18, of 108 6th Ave. N.E. in Hickory; and Patrick Ryan Conant, 20, of 1027 W. 34th St., Apt. 303A in Los Angeles, Calif.

Conant also was charged with drinking an alcoholic beverage under age 21.

The incident began about 5:13 a.m., when Officer Shannon Green was approached by a resident assistant at the Founders Hall dormitory, who said that loud noises were coming from two adjoining rooms, 522 and 524.

Green first knocked at 524, whose occupants answered and were issued a verbal warning about noise.

However, the occupants of room 522, which shares a bathroom with 524, refused to answer when Green knocked, according to police reports.

Green then told the occupants that they could be written up by housing staff if they didnít answer, prompting Dawkins to open the door.

When Green told Dawkins to have everyone step into the hall, Conant stepped out. Green told the two men that he had heard a female voice as well and asked to search the room.

Conant and Dawkins reportedly agreed and Green searched the room. He allegedly found numerous beer cans and bottles and some marijuana sitting on a desk in plain view, according to the police report.

He also reportedly found Suber and Showfety hiding in the bathroom.

When he asked who the marijuana belonged to, no one answered, so Green cited all of them with possession of the drug and of paraphernalia.

He requested Conant to submit to an Alco-sensor test, which he refused, police said. Showfety and Suber reportedly consented to the test, both of which came back negative.

Green said that he smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from Conant and that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, prompting Green to issue him with an underage-drinking citation.

In other UNCA police action, Maureen Virginia Cronley, 18, was charged with possession of alcohol under age 21 last Sunday morning.

Officer David Shelton responded to a report of an intoxicated female inside the Mills Hall dormitory just after 2 a.m.
A resident assistant directed him to room 200b, where he found Cronley ìlaying in the floor vomiting and not very coherent,î according to the police report.

She said she had just left a party at 62 Rosewood Ave. where she had been drinking alcoholic beverages, the report noted.
Cronley was transported to Mission Hospitals by Buncombe County Emergency Medical Services. Shelton then went to the hospital, where he met with Conleyís mother and advised her that he was citing Conley for underrage drinking.