Tasering did not kill man,
medical examiner reports

A man who was repeatedly Tasered by deputies at the Henderson County jail did not die from the electrical shocks, but from cocaine and alcohol in his system, a state pathologist announced last Friday.

Stefan McMinn, 44, died Nov. 2 from a heart attack that started minutes after he was Tasered six times by two deputies attempting to subdue him.

But Chapel Hill pathologist Patrick Lantz, who conducted the autopsy on McMinn’s body, said the death was not caused by the Taser, but likely was connected to the level of cocaine in his blood stream and his blood-alcohol content, which was twice the legal driving limit.

The autopsy also found traits of sickle-cell disease. Lantz noted that cocaine and sickle-cell traits can contribute to heart attacks.

Lantz’ report also indicated that McMinn’s left lung had collapsed because of a buildup of mucus in his body.
Sheriff Rick Davis said that McMinn was being combative when deputies arrested him on charges of being drunk and disruptive and resisting arest.

He was arrested at the Caldwell Inn motel, where he was staying, after the owner called the sheriff’s office and reported that McMinn had jumped out of a second-story window and was out of control.

Henderson County District Attorney Jeff Hunt said last Wednesday  that criminal charges were not warranted against the deputies based on a report by the State Bureau of Investigation, which cleared them of wrongdoing.

Police search for suspect
in Wachovia bank robbery

Police are searching for a man who robbed the Wachovia bank branch at 900 Smoky Park Hwy. last Monday night.
The robber was wearing a black hooded sweat shirt, blue jeans, white latex gloves and a bandanna covering his face when he entered the bank about 4:17 p.m.

Though he did not show a weapon, the suspect demanded the teller give him cash and then drove away on
Asbury Road toward Enka Middle School in a beige Toyota pickup with a Wyoming license.

He was described as white, between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a medium build.

Police say the robbery may be connected to another robbery March 21 at the RBC Centura bank branch on U.S. 19-23 just past the highway’s intersection with Sand Hill and Asbury roads.

Arden man faces charges
of breaking and entering

ARDEN — Asheville police arrested an Arden man last Saturday on charges that he broke into a woman’s home and used a hammer to smash several items.

Robert Lee Shugars, 55, is charged with breaking and entering, resisting public officers, injury to real property, injury to personal property and two counts of violating a protective order.

He was being held without bond for 48 hours on the charge of violating a protective order. His bond on the other charges was $65,000.

Police investigate shooting
into occupied residence

City police are investigating a shooting into a home that was occupied by three people at the time.
The shooting, which resulted in no injuries, took place about 2:15 a.m. March 23.

Two people were sleeping in their bedroom at the Pine Grove Avenue residence when the bullet entered the room. It shattered a glass light fixture on a ceiling fan, travelled across the room and struck the opposite wall before landing at the foot of the bed.

A third person was asleep in an adjacent bedroom.

Police believe the bullet came from the area of Erskine Street Apartments.

UNCA police charge man
with damaging car’s tires

UNC Asheville campus police last Sunday arrested a man on charges of injury to personal property for allegedly damaging the tires of a woman who worked at the university.

Ronald Lee Whitley, 43, of Kirkpatrick Lane, was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Police say he inflicted $600 worth of damage to the tires of a 1992 Chevrolet Camaro owned by Rhonda Horton, an employee of Chartwells, the company that manages the school’s dining services. He was released on a written promise to appear.

In other action, UNCA campus police reported the following:

• An assault on a student March 24. Someone reportedly hit Austin Haltiwanger, 19, about the face and head about 10 p.m.

However, Haltiwanger declined to press charges against his attacker, and the investigation is ongoing.

• A larceny of a worker’s purse on March 25. Someone stole a purse, cash, bank cards and a check book belonging to UNCA employee Alive Weldon, 60, according to police reports.

No arrests have been made in the case.

• Damage to an emergency door alarm on March 26.

Someone kicked or hit the alarm in the Mills Hall dormitory about 9:45 a.m. No arrests have been made.
• Larceny of a wallet from the Justice Gym on March 26.

Canton police charge man
with breaking into grocery

CANTON — Canton police on March 18 arrested a man who they say broke into a grocery store on March 15.
Police arrested Jeremy Brian Riddle, 23, and accused him of breaking into Lankford’s Grocery at 120 N. Main St. Riddle was staying at the Days Inn off Interstate 40 at the time.

Police say he used a broken piece of pavement to smash the front door of the store and then stole cigarettes, magazines, lottery tickets and about $150 in cash.

Riddle faces charges of felony breaking and entering, felony larceny, felony possession of stolen property and misdemeanor damage to real property. He was being held under $5,000 bond.

Goodwill employee charged
with taking cash from store

Black Mountain police last Wednesday arrested a Goodwill employee on embezzlement charges for allegedly stealing cash from the business.

Laderrick Wilson, 31, of Ridgecrest is accused of taking $735. He was released under a written promise to appear in court.

Other Buncombe County arrests last week include:

• Seth Adam Coe, 21, of Upper Moffitt Road in Asheville on charges that include larceny of a motor vehicle, misdemeanor larceny and financial card fraud.

Police say Coe stole a 2003 Chevy Silverado pickup worth $10,000 as well as a woman’s cell phone and credit cards.
He also is accused of using one of the stolen cards to buy cigarettes from a convenience store.

Coe’s bond was set at $10,000.

• Kevin Wayne Saady, 44, of Spartanburg, S.C., on charges of fleeing/eluding arrest and drunken driving.
Police say his blood-alcohol content was 0.18. His bond was set at $5,000.

• Larry Wayne Parker, 73, of Charlotte, charged with possession of a stolen firearm and carrying a concealed .38-caliber pistol.

• Terrace Lamont Rumph, whose address was listed as the Buncombe County detention Center, charged with a felony fugitive warrant from Taylor County, Texas, for probation violations.

• Rebecca Jade Free, 24, of Shelburne Road in Asheville, on multiple charges, including assaulting a government officer, resisting a public officer, possession of marijuana, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle, malicious conduct by a prisoner and numerous orders for arrest for failure to appear in court.

Her total bond was set at $4,500.

Target employee arrested
on embezzlement charges

ARDEN — A Target employee recently  was arrested on multiple counts of embezzlement.

Buncombe County Sheriff’s deputies charged Matthew Aaron Colgrove, 32, of Yorktown Circle, Arden, with four counts of embezzlement for allegedly giving himself large discounts on items such as cameras.

According to warrants, Colgrove generated his own refund and then re-keyed the items at a 90 percent discount.
He was released under a written promise to appear in court.

‘Highway Blogger’ acquitted
of impeding-traffic charge

Jonas Phillips, the man who has been called the “Highway Blogger,” has been acquitted of charges that he created a safety hazard by hanging a sign from an overpass calling for the impeachment of President Bush.

Phillips, 36, of West Asheville, was accused of blocking a city sidewalk on the Haywood Road bridge over Interstate 240.

Phillips hung the sign, which read “Impeach Bush, Cheney,” over the bridge just before 8 a.m. Aug. 15.

Police arrested Phillips and said he was creating a safety hazard by blocking the sidewalk and distracting drivers.

However, his attorney, Bill Auman, told Judge James Calvin Hill that his client was targeted because of the content of the sign. Others who have displayed signs in a similar manner have not been charged, he said.

Though Officer Russell Crisp testified that he believed Phillips was distracting drivers, he admitted that he had not seen any pedestrians pass by Phillips on the sidewalk.

In acquitting Phillips, Hill said he saw no evidence that Phillips had endangered the public with his activities.

Man sentenced to 6-8 years
for shooting into residence

A Superior Court judge on March 19 sentenced a Macon County resident to six to eight years in prison for firing a gun into a home while a woman and a child were inside.

William Jerry Maxwell, 21, pleaded guilty to felony discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling.

Prosecutors say Maxwell fired a high-powered rifle into a Macon County home about 10 p.m. May 25.

The bullet entered the child’s room, went through the living room, where the woman was seated, and then exited the other side of the home.

Maxwell reportedly bought the rifle a few days earlier and then bragged about what he had done to friends.

Buncombe man sentenced
to 20 years for sex crimes

WAYNESVILLE — A Haywood County judge sentenced Bob Clay Gober Jr., 22, to a minimum of 20 years in prison March 3 after he pleaded guilty to felony sex crimes against a minor, including attempted statutory rape.

Gober, a Buncombe County resident, had prior convictions for felonious restraint and failing to register as a sex offender.

In February, Gober deceived a 13-year-old girl into thinking they would run away and get married, according to prosecutors.

Leicester man faces charge
of marrying two women

A Leicester man was arrested last week on a charge of bigamy after authorities say he married a woman while still being married to another woman.

Robert Eugene Goodman, 43, of Frisbee Road, was released under a written promise to appear in court.

Two men, 16-year-old boy
accused of stealing puppy

Two men and a 16-year-old were arrested March 20 after they allegedly broke into an Asheville home and stole a puppy and other items.

Police charged the trio with breaking and entering and larceny. The accused include Ty Joseph Giddings, 45, of Cherokee Road in Asheville; Jeremy Derrick Haney, 19, whose address was listed as the Buncombe County jail; and Jamie Dean Geddings, 16, of Grooms Road in Candler.

They are accused of breaking into an Emma Road residence and stealing a TV, a video game system, games and a Pit Bull puppy. The total value of the stolen items exceeded $10,000, according to warrants.

Giddings also was charged with 11 counts of obtaining property by false pretenses for allegedly writing bad checks to multiple businesses.

His bond was set at $10,500. Bonds for Geddings and Haney were set at $5,000 each.

Other arrests last Wednesday, include:

• Tony Lee Mashburn, 36, of Saw Branch Road in Candler. Mashburn was charged with making a threatening phone call and failure to appear on a charge of driving with a revoked license.

He was released on a written promise to appear in court.

• Steffon Quinton Montgomery, 20, of Second Street in Asheville, charged with assault inflicting serious injury.
Police say Montgomery struck a man in the head, causing the victim’s head to hit the ground and crushing his eye socket.

Montgomery was being held under a  $2,500 bond.

• Marquita D. Smith, 24, of Kings Mountain, charged with obtaining property by false pretenses after she allegedly used a false name and date of birth to obtain a state-issued ID card.

Her bond was set at $2,000.