Man killed in hit-and-run
crossing Merrimon Avenue

Police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run accident on Merrimon Avenue early last Saturday.
Travis Allen Bryant, 28, was crossing the street between Staples and Greenlife Grocery about 2:20 a.m. when he was struck by a northbound vehicle that failed to stop and then by a second vehicle whose driver stopped and called police.

Police said Bryant, who was originally from Surry County, was homeless. He reportedly came to Asheville in April.

An autopsy was performed in Winston-Salem last Monday.

Police are using surveillance footage from several nearby businesses to track down the vehicle that hit the man. Videos show a small white Chrysler, possibly a four-door Sebring model, officials said.
One video shows two men nearby about the time of the accident, but police say the men have been interviewed and cleared of any involvement.

Anyone with information about the incident can call the Asheville Police Department at 252-1110.

Candler woman arrested,
charged with intent to kill

CANDLER ó Police arrested a Candler woman July 28 on charges that include assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

Police say Caifana Vanessa Buzzitta, 19, fired several rounds at a man with a .380-caliber pistol. Warrants do not indicate whether the man was hit.

She also was charged with three counts of misdemeanor larceny and three counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle.

Buzzitta, a resident of Pisgah Highway, was being held in the Buncombe County jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.

Man charged with burglary,
rape of Asheville woman

Police arrested a man Saturday morning on allegations that he broke into a womanís house and raped her.

Authorities charged Jesse Virgil Patton, 47, of Fayetteville Street, with first-degree burglary, second-degree rape, common-law robbery and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He also was arrested on an outstanding warrant of communicating threats.

A woman called police about 4:45 a.m. and reported that a man had broken into her home in the Burton Street neighborhood and raped her.

An Asheville police officer who arrived at the scene found Patton, who matched the suspectís description.

Patton has a previous criminal record that includes assault on a female and rape, warrants show.
He was being held on a $550,000 bond.

Two teen inmates escape
from youth detention center

SWANNANOA ó Two youths escaped from the Swannanoa Valley Youth Development Center Aug. 20.

The escape marks the third time this year that inmates have escaped the prison, according to Karen McDonald, western area administrator for the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Juvenile-justice officials would not release any details about the inmates, citing state laws that prevent them from releasing information about juvenile offenders.

The center was holding 39 inmates.

Witnesses described the boys as older teens, wearing uniforms of blue shirts and khaki pants. They allegedly jumped over the fence, ran across the street, and jumped over a neighborís fence, disappearing. A third youth reportedly tried to jump the fence, but did not make it.

Three prisoners escaped in May, according to prison officials. Two were later found hiding on the facility grounds, while a third was located later in Gaston County.

In February, a 15-year-old escapee ran from an off-campus work program in Black Mountain and stole a car to get away.

The state General Assembly passed new rules earlier this year that will require the release of names and photos of escapees. That law will go into effect Oct. 1.

Raymond Howell

City police arrest two in
unrelated armed robberies

City police arrested two suspects in unrelated armed robberies last week.

In the first incident, police charged an Asheville man on Aug. 21 with armed robbery of the meat manager at the Ingles Supermarket at 669 Haywood Road.

Raymond Eugene Howell, 57, is charged with stealing several bags of shrimp from the store and pulling a pocketknife on the storeís meat manager, who confronted him.

Howell reportedly fled the store in a vehicle whose description the manager got and gave to police, officials said.

When an Ashe- ville police officer stopped the vehicle, Howell was found to have taken seven bags of frozen, cooked shrimp, police said.

Jeremiah Jernigan

He was charged with misdemeanor larceny and common-law robbery.

Howell was taken to the Buncombe County Detention Center and held in lieu of a $10,000 bond, because of eight outstanding warrants for shoplifting and misdemeanor larceny.

In the second, unrelated incident, a Knoxville, Tenn., man was arrested in Asheville on Aug. 22 and charged in the armed robberies of the Super 8 Motel at 8 Crowell Road and the Sleep Inn at 117 Hendersonville Road.

Officer Michael Allen was running radar in the Haywood Road area when he reportedly clocked a white Ford truck speeding about 2 a.m.

When Allen tried to pull the truck over, the driver sped off, eventually hitting a utility pole at Haywood Road and Michigan Avenue.

The driver, Jeremiah Jernigan, 18, fit the description of the suspect reported to be involved in the motel armed robberies on Aug. 21.

Jernigan was transported to Mission Hospitals.

He is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest and reckless driving.

He also was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle after the truck he was driving allegedly came up as having been stolen from Knoxville, Tenn.

Jernigan was being held at the Buncombe County Detention Center.

Two passengers in the vehicle also were arrested, including Damon Smith, 25, who was arrested on an open warrant on a misdemeanor probation violation; and Shawntee Twitty, 25, on open warrants on a felony probation violation and assault on a female.

The investigation is still ongoing and additional charges are possible, police said.

Man loses section of leg
in wreck with DWI suspect

BREVARD ó A motorcyclist lost part of his leg in a crash last week that involved a suspected drunken driver.

Frank McKee, 55, lost his right leg from the knee down after being struck by Nelson Concepcion of Taylors, S.C. on Aug. 21.

Concepcion, 46, was charged with driving while impaired, careless and reckless driving and speeding. He was being held in the Transylvania County jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond.

Police say Concepcion was driving 55 mph in a 35 mph zone when he hit McKee, who was stopped at a stoplight.

Concepcionís blood alcohol content was reportedly measured at 0.16 ó twice the legal amount.
Police say that a probation officer called them about 8 p.m. to report a man urinating in the street.

When officers arrived, the found Concepcion parked at the Mary C. Jenkins Community Center on Carver Street in an older model Acura.

When they approached the vehicle, Concepcion reportedly sped off, running through stop signs and red lights, going about 60 mph.

He made his way nearly nine blocks before hitting McKee on the motorcycle less than a mile from the community center, according to police.

Officials said that the nearest police car at that time was more than a block and a half away, and that they were not chasing Concepcion, but trying to find him at that point.

The found him again at the intersection of Broad and Caldwell streets, at the scene of the accident.
The motorcycle had been knocked into two other vehicles at the intersection. Concepcion hit a second vehicle before running onto the sidewalk and striking a utility pole, police said.

Though Concepcion did not suffer any injuries, his passenger, Starnell Taylor, was hospitalized briefly. Taylor, 28, also of Taylors, S.C., owned the vehicle and was charged with aiding and abetting.
Police noted that Concepcion has prior convictions for DWI.

Firearms from old cases
destroyed by city police

An excess of evidence collected by the Asheville Police Department prompted officials last Friday to clear some room in the departmentís lockup by destroying 469 guns.

The rifles and handguns were taken to Biltmore Iron and Metal Co., where workers chopped them to pieces using a hydraulic alligator shear.

Though a few of the guns were voluntarily turned in or found, the majority were used in crimes. The weapons were connected to cases that had already been through the criminal justice system, police said.

Officials said they destroyed the guns, rather than selling them, to ensure that they would not end up used in criminal activities again. That policy is in keeping with the position of the International Association of Police Chiefs, which has argued that fewer weapons in the hands of criminals will keep officers and citizens safer.

However, the American Firearms trade association, an advocacy group for gun dealers, has said the guns should be sold and the money used for police equipment.

A spokesman for the group noted that the weapons chopped up on Friday represent only a fraction of the 12 million guns federally licensed dealers will sell this year.

There is no federal or state regulation that would prevent police departments from selling the weapons.

Evidence handling has increasingly become a problem for city police departments throughout the U.S., as more scientific investigations have prompted officers to collect more evidence like DNA.
This issue was brought to light earlier this year when the evidence room of former Sheriff Bobby Medford was found to be missing guns, money, drugs and rape-evidence kits.

Meanwhile, another 800 guns are currently being held in the APD lockup, pending court cases.
The Biltmore Iron and Metal Co. donated its time and the machine used to chop up the weapons.

More charges could come
for ëhighway bloggerí man

Police Chief Bill Hogan announced on Aug. 21 that the department might file additional charges against a man accused of obstructing a sidewalk while displaying a sign calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

Jonas Phillips, 35, was charged Aug. 15 with violating a city law by hanging a sign iver an Interstate 240 overpass.

The West Asheville resident said he was ìhighway bloggingî by displaying a 5-foot-by-1-foot sign that read ìImpeach Bush, Cheney.î

However, police said the sign was a traffic hazard.

Hogan said the department would consult with the district attorneyís office about the possibility of charging Phillips with violating an N.C. Department of Transportation law prohibiting hanging signs on overpasses that pose dangers for motorists below.

Homework program office
vandalized, supplies stolen

Staff at the Project MARCH homework club say they will still operate starting in September, despite a vandalism and burglary of the groupís offices earlier this month.

Someone threw a rock through a window of the three-bedroom apartment which houses the after-school program at Pisgah View Apartments and stole supplies, including food, board games and sporting equipment.

Project Making A Right Choice operates three after-school homework clubs for elementary school students in the Pisgah View, Deaverview and Woodbridge apartment complexes. It also holds a seven-week summer program for children from Pisgah View and Deaverview.

The program serves 20 students Monday through Friday until 5:30 p.m. at each site.

Since its inception in 2005, the program has focused on helping students with academics and encouraging their parents to take a more active role in their childrenís education.

Though the program is free, participating parents are required to volunteer at the club for three hours each school quarter and take part in one parental activity, such as volunteering at their childís school.
Authorities suspect the center was vandalized by children, because of the items that were taken.

Juice boxes and toilet paper were stolen, while expensive computers and televisions were left behind.
The neighborhood also was covered in toilet paper.

Anyone wishing to make donations to replace the stolen items can call 259-9717. Among the items needed are board games, Legos, folding tables and chairs, walkie-talkies and a cordless phone and answering machine.