†

Dmitry Simonovich†

Man allegedly confesses
after beating wife to death

City police are investigating what appears to be the beating death of an immigrant from eastern Europe that took place about 2 a.m. last Sunday at the Ledgewood Village Apartments in Asheville.

The Asheville Police Department was reportedly alerted to the killing by Dmitry Simonovich when he stopped an officer outside the police department and told the officer that he had killed his wife.

When officers arrived at Simonovichís home, they found Inna Simonovich dead in the apartment she shared with her husband.

Police believe she was killed by bodily force, as no evidence of weapons was found. The final determination of the cause of death will be made by the North Carolina Medical Examinerís office.

An autopsy was scheduled for last Tuesday in Winston-Salem.

Inna Simonovich was a legal permanent resident of the United States, who had been living here for at least a year.

The couple is originally from Belarus. Between 50 and 60 percent of the 180 residents at Ledgewood Village are from eastern Europe.

Dmitry Simonovich has been in the United States for several months. He is apparently in the U.S. legally on a visa that is set to expire in 2008.

Inna Simonovich has immediate and extended family in Asheville, according to police reports. She was enrolled at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, where she was studying English as a second language, according to school records.

Dmitry Simonovich was charged with second-degree murder and is being held in the Buncombe County Detention Facility on a $ 1 million bond.

Police said they consulted with the Buncombe County District Attorneyís Office before charging him with second-degree murder.

The main difference between first- and second-degree murder is that first-degree murder involves deliberation and planning.

If convicted, Simonovich could be sentenced to between 125 and 157 months in prison.

Police report sharp decline
in 2007 Bele Chere arrests

City police arrested far fewer people at Bele Chere last weekend than they have in years past.
This year, police arrested 26 people and took them to jail from Bele Chere, according to a spokesman for the Asheville Police Department.

This was a marked decrease from last year, when 56 people were arrested at the festival.
A total of 89 charges were filed by the department citywide from Friday through Sunday, including 10 for intoxicated and disruptive behavior and six for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Man charged with burglary, attempted sexual abuse

Buncombe County Sheriffís Deputies charged a man with several offenses, including burglary and sexual abuse, on July 23.

William Everett Hopson, 25, was charged with attempted second-degree sexual abuse and first-degree burglary related to a Jan. 8, 2004 incident, according to warrants.

He is also charged with writing bad checks to several area businesses, most of which were dated from July 2003, warrants said.

His bond for the sex-abuse and burglary charges was set at $80,000.

Warrants show addresses for Hopson in both Chuckey, Tenn., and Leicester.

Candler resident accused
of sexually abusing child

Buncombe County Sheriffís deputies last week charged Daniel James Arnold Jr., 36, with committing a lewd and lascivious act on a child under age 16.

The resident of North Luther Road in Candler was being held in lieu of a $45,000 bond.

3 men accused of burglary,
beating of man in his home

Asheville police officers arrested three men July 24 on charges that they broke into a manís home and beat him.

Police say Stephen Ralph Carbera, Randy Lee Harvey and David Ryan Surrett broke into a home on Oakcrest Street and assaulted one of its residents, inflicting facial injuries and broken teeth.

All three men are charged with first-degree burglary and assault inflicting serious injury.

Cabrera and Harvey also are charged with larceny of a 1998 Nissan and Cabrera was charged with driving while impaired.

Cabrera, 21, of Hendersonville, was being held in lieu of a $31,000 bond.

Harvey, 41, of Tampa, Fla., was being held on $25,000 in bonds.

Surrett, 20, whose address is unknown, was being held in lieu of a $20,000 bond.

Fatal crash at funeral home
under investigation by APD

City police are investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that took place about 2:30 a.m. last Wednesday.

The crash took place near Groce Funeral Home at 1401 Patton Ave.

Upon arrival, patrol officers discovered that a single motorcycle, a 2006 Harley Davidson, had collided with a brick wall at the business, resulting in the death of the single rider.

The victim was identified as Bradley William Davis, 26, a resident of Asheville.

Police believe that Davis lost control of his motorcycle, ran off the road to the right and crashed into the wall.

He was wearing a helmet, but sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the wreck is ongoing.

Man gets 2-year sentence
for shaking baby to death

BREVARD ó A man was sentenced to a minimum two years in prison July 24 after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse.

DíAndre Anthony Curry pleaded guilty to the charges as part of a plea bargain in which the more serious charges of second-degree murder and a more aggravated form of child abuse were dropped.
The charges stemmed from the death last December of 2 1/2-month-old Aundrea Tashae Hunter, who died of shaken-baby syndrome.

In a statement outlining the terms of the agreement, District Attorney Jeff Hunt said that Curry, who was 18 at the time, was baby-

sitting the infant when he shook her in an attempt to silence her crying.

Doctors at Mission Hospitals found that the infant had a fractured skull and traces of marijuana and antidepressents in her blood. She also had bleeding of the retina, a common symptom of shaken-baby syndrome.

Curry had no prior criminal record and the baby showed no other signs of abuse, prompting Hunt to conclude that he would be unable to convict Curry on the more serious charges, the statement said.
However, a case summary released by the Transylvania County Department of Social Services said that the babyís mother, Stacey Hunter, had anger-management issues and had been investigated by a social worker a month before the childís death. The report also said that she frequently fought with Curry.

Hunter is the sixth child to die from head and brain injuries in Western North Carolina since 2005.

City police charge 4 teens
in shootout at car wash

Asheville police arrested four teenagers on July 24 in relation to a shooting that occurred July 15 in the side parking lot of Chammies car wash at 720 Hendersonville Rd., which was closed at the time.
Two people were injured in the incident.

Police arrested Deangelo Marquis Clark, 16; and Dalton Andrew Morris, 16. Both were charged with two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury; two counts each of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon; and two counts each of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Clark is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Center under a $125,000 secured bond.
Morris is being held at the detention facility under a $110,000 secured bond.

Two juveniles, both age 15, were also arrested and charged by juvenile petition with the same crimes.

Both were placed under secured detention at the Lees Creek Juvenile Detention Facility.
The investigation into an illegal drug transaction at the time of the shooting is continuing.

Hendersonville police chief
retires after 30 yrs. on force

HENDERSONVILLE ó After 30 years of service with the department, Hendersonville Police Chief Donnie Parks worked his last day last Friday.

Parks, 51, had served with the police force since September 1977, when he began his career as a patrol officer. He moved his way up the ranks, as second and first lieutenant and then as a captain.
In August 1987, he became acting chief. One year later, Parks became Hendersonvilleís first African-American police chief.

Though Parksí official last day is Sept. 14, he relinquished his duties last Friday to enjoy accumulated annual leave time.

During his tenure, Hendersonville underwent significant growth, from 7,000 people in 1988 to 12,500 in 2006. During that time, the number oif officers on the force also has swelled from 24 to 37.

Meanwhile, the townís Assistant Police Chief John Nicholson has been named interim police chief.
Hendersonville is accepting applications for the job of chief until August. 15. Officials say they hope to hire a replacement for parks around the beginning of October.