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Domestic violence case
dropped; deputy quits force
Two days after prosecutors dropped a domestic violence case against a Buncombe County deputy on Sept. 30, the deputy for the Buncombe Sheriff’s Office resigned his patrol deputy post on Oct. 2.
The case was dropped after the victim declined to pursue the charges in court.
The deputy, Darrell Lynn Saucier, 45, had been suspended without pay, pending the sheriff’s review of an internal affairs investigation.
Saucier, a resident of Embler Road in Alexander, was arrested by deputies on Aug. 26 on charges of pushing a nightstand into the victim, knocking her down and grabbing her arm and pushing it down, warrants stated. Saucier faced up to 150 days in jail on the charge of assault on a female.
District Attorney Ron Moore said the victim, who now apparently is
living separately and apart from Saucier, did not want to go forward
with the case.
The woman received counseling by a domestic violence witness
coordinator to ensure she was not being pressured into dropping the
case and to make her aware of services available to her, Moore noted.
The victim is a sworn enforcement officers whose certification is held
by the Sheriff’s Office. However, she is not employed by the Sheriff’s
Office or any other law enforcement agency.
The dropping of the case did not change Saucier’s suspended status with the force, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Nonetheless, Saucier resigned two days after the case was dropped. He has worked for the Sheriff’s Office since July 2002.
Eight face charges, including
soliciting, in massage sting
Asheville police arrested eight people following an investigation of
area escort services, accusing some of using on-line advertisements for
massages as a front for prostitution.
Asheville police vice officers over the past several months conducted
sting operations targeting these services, which have been advertised
on Web site like Craigslist and Cityvibe.com, officials said.
During a Sept. 29 sting, an undercover officer answered a Craigslist ad
and arranged to have a woman meet him at a motel on Brevard Road for a
massage and sexual favors, according to reports. The woman arrived at
the motel and was arrested.
Police noted that they normally do at least one escort operation per
quarter, noting that the increased popularity of the Internet for
posting such ads has resulted in “a severe problem.”
Several more cases are under investigation and additional charges are expected, police said.
The following were charged in the sting:
• Lee Derus, 61, of Asheville, massage without a license.
• Lauren Barta, 22, of Asheville, massage without a license.
• Laura Burris, 21, of Weaverville, massage without a license, adult entertainer violation and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Tammy Miller Ballard, 36, of Hendersonville, massage without a
license, solicit for prostitution, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Misty Rollins, 22, of Swannanoa, massage without a license.
• Whitney Dills, 23, of Clyde, massage without a license.
• Patricia Kaye Reed, 35, of Asheville, who police said operated Kaye’s
Massage Service, was charged with promoting prostitution and operating
a massage service without a license.
• Catherine Barbara Clarke, of Swannanoa, who police said operated
Massage 2 U, was charged with two counts of operating a massage service
without a license. Police on Oct. 2 executed a search warrant at
Clarke’s home, seizing ledgers, a checkbook and bank deposit tickets
for the company, a notebook, job applications and employee paychecks.
State law requires all massage therapists to be fully certified and licensed.
Woman charged in sting
involving precious metals
A Weaverville woman was charged by Asheville police on Oct. 16 with trying to buy scrap precious metals online without a permit.
Posing as jewelry sellers, Asheville police responded to a Craigslist
ad in which the woman had posted that she was “looking to purchase any
unwanted or broken jewelry you may have and I pay a decent price,”
according to police.
Crystal Wiggins Laws, 35, was charged with fraud.
She was charged with violation of N.C. General Statute 66-165, which
states that “it shall be unlawful for any person to engage as a dealer
in the business of purchasing precious metals either as a separate
business or in connection with other business operations without first
obtaining a permit for the business from the local law enforcement
agency....”
If an individual or business acquires the necessary state permit,
costing $180, then the business must pass a detailed background check,
police stated. A $10,000 surety bond also must be obtained
The statute was designed to prevent stolen property from being sold
into the black market, according to the report. Laws has a court date
scheduled for early December.
Indecent exposure reported, but prosecution declined
UNC Asheville police recently reported the following activity:
• An indecent exposure incident in which Princess Ashari Dimera
reported a man dropped his trousers and exposed his privates to her as
she was jogging along Founders Drive behind Founders Hall on campus.
Dimera, 43, a West Asheville resident, reported the incident, which occurred along University Heights, at 8:10 p.m. Sept. 30.
The man, whose name was not released, is from Hendersonville and is not
a UNCA student, police told the Daily Planet. He was apprehended and
detained by police, but was released when, as the report noted,
“prosecution (was) declined.” The report also showed that the case was
“closed/cleared.”
• A larceny was reported from Lipinsky Music
Department at 2:09 p.m. Oct. 19. Taken were two units of JBL/EON
radio-TV-VCR-stereo equipment valued at $1,000, police noted.
• A criminal damage to property was reported at Scott Hall at 10:39 a.m. Oct. 19. A street sign valued at $100 was vandalized.
• A charge of being 19 years old and consuming an alcoholic beverage
was filed against Marc-Antoine P. Davoust, a non-resident from Atlanta
at 517 Founders Hall at 7:02 a.m. Oct. 18.
• A charge of being 19 years old and consuming an alcoholic beverage
was filed against Edwin John Leskin, a UNCA student from Durham, at 517
Founders Hall at 6:52 a.m. Oct. 18.
• Charges of being drunk and disruptive and “all other liquor law
violations” were filed against Emily Maud Munroe, a UNCA student from
Atlanta, at 7:31 a.m. Oct. 18.
• A charge of drunk and disruptive against Ryan Patrick Hoag of 158 Chatham Road, Asheville.
Hoag, 21, a UNCA student, was arrested at 2:05 a.m. Oct. 4 in the lobby of Mills Hall on University Heights.
• A charge of operating a motor vehicle while knowingly displaying an
expired registration plate on the vehicle was lodged against Jessica
Elizabeth Stouder of 5 Moss Lane, Arden.
Stouder, 22, was charged at the UNCA main entrance near W.T. Weaver
Boulevard at 1 p.m. Oct. 1. Her vehicle’s registration had expired in
November 2007, according to the police report.
• A charge of operating a motor vehicle while knowingly displaying an
expired registration plate on the vehicle was lodged against Chadwick
Neal Willis of 1014 New Stock Road, Weaverville. His registration
expired in August, police noted.
Willis, 37, was charged on University Heights near Edgewood Road at 5:45 p.m. Oct. 11.
• Criminal damage to property was reported by Linda Rice, an employee of UNCA.
Rice reported the vandalism of the structure of Zeis Hall at 7:23 a.m.
Sept. 28. Police estimated the damage at $20. An investigation is
continuing.
• A larceny was reported from a 2001 Ford Focus owned by Kristoffer Mayol Ylanan.
Ylanan, 19, reported at 9:15 p.m. Sept. 27 that a Nexstar Global
Positioning System, valued at $150, was stolen from his vehicle, which
was parked in a lot on Founders Drive on campus. The vehicle was last
known secure at 2 p.m. Sept. 24.
• Charges of driving while license revoked and driving with a
fictitious registration plate and with no insurance were filed against
Chartwell cook Vernon Tobias Hailey, who lives in North Asheville.
Hailey, 48, reportedly had driven and then parked a white 1994 Mazda DX
in front of UNCA Dining Hall. It was “backed into shrubbery,” the
reported noted, thereby catching the attention of campus police. After
questioning, Hailey was charged at 11:20 p.m. Sept. 27.
• A larceny — from a desk — of an item belonging to Danny Francis Szemple, a UNA student from Kernersville.
Szemple, 19, reported the theft of an Apple iPod Nano, valued at $250,
from 708 Founders Hall, where he lives on campus, at 9:51 p.m. Sept.
23. He told police he had last seen his iPod at 5:30 that evening.
• A larceny of items from a wallet belonging to Jared Stevenson Russell, a UNCA student.
Russell, 21, reported that someone pried open a locker door at the
Health & Fitness Center and stole about $60 in cash and a Wachovia
debit card out of his wallet about 5:05 p.m. Sept. 21. He told police
he has last known his wallet to be secure at 2:55 that afternoon.
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