13 arrested in Waynesville,
charged with sex offenses

WAYNESVILLE ó† A three-month undercover investigation into alleged sex offenses at a public park led to the arrests of seven people, including an Episcopal priest, police announced Sept. 5.
Futhermore, officials said, a second phase of the investigation called Operation Summer Heat led to the arrests of five other men and one woman on charges of prostitution, soliciting prostitution and prostitution with a minor.

Those arrests came after suspects allegedly responded to a posting on the popular Web site Craigslist.

The operation began after police received numerous complaints from parents about people soliciting for sex in the restrooms at the Waynesville Recreation Park on Vance Street.

Police also had received information about offers for sex in Waynesville on the Web site.
During the bathroom sting, undercover officers waited in and around park restrooms on East Marshall and Vance streets.

The suspects allegedly approached the officers and either exposed themselves or asked for sex, officials said.

Announcement of the arrests came on the heels of national news coverage of the arrest of Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who allegedly solicited for gay sex in a Minnesota airport restroom.

Those charged in the park restroom sting include:

ï Michael Royce Penland, 46, an Episcopal priest and director of youth ministry at St. Gregoryís Church in Boca Raton, Fla.

Penland was charged with solicitation for crimes against nature.

He has since been suspended from his position at the church, where he has worked since early this year, church officials said.

A spokesman for St. Gregoryís said that Penland was a popular parishoner and that the church is hopeful Penland will be cleared of all charges.

The Rev. Andrew Sherman, rector at St. Gregoryís, said that the diocese will conduct its own investigation into the allegations against Penland.

At the time of his arrest, Penland listed a Fennel Dun Circle address in the Biltmore Lake subdivision in Candler. According to an Episcopal Diocese newsletter, Penland worked for Holy Cross in Tryon before moving to Florida.

Bishop Porter Taylor, leader of the 20-county Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, said that he knew Penland when he was working in Tryon and that the Episcopal Church has a fair and thorough process for dealing with such allegations against clergy members.

Penland reportedly told police that he was in the area to give his aunt last rites.

ï Max L. Surrett, 64, charged with solicitation for crimes against nature.

ï Michael Edward Jenkins, 53, charged with indecent exposure.

ï Kenneth Darrell Ricker, 47, charged with solicitation for crimes against nature.

ï Dane Henry Burr, 81, charged with indecent exposure.

ï Bruce Warren Stough Jr., 36, charged with solicitation for crimes against nature.
ï Maxwell ìMaxî Davis, charged with sexual battery.

Davis was the only one charged with a felony. Police said he groped an undercover officer, prompting the battery charge.

Most of the other suspects were photographed, issued citations on the spot and allowed to leave, police said.

In the Web site sting, police posted an ad for a massage on Craigslist, specifying that the massage was ìlegitimate.î

However, a number of responses came back asking for more than a massage.
Police said as many as 70 people responded seeking sex with children.

Those arrested in the Web sting include:

ï Drew Houston Cave, 49, a Tennessee resident.

Cave allegedly offered to pay $200 to have sex with 12-year-old and 14-year-old girls.

When he arrived at the house that had been arranged for the transaction, police arrested him and

charged him with participating in prostitution of a minor.

ï Robert Scott Powell, 34, who was charged with solicitation for prostitution.

ï Terry Lee Coggins, 39, charged with prostitution and drug possesion.

ï Kristi Kae Ward, 38, charged with prostitution.

ï Heath Anthony Lindall, 26, charged with prostitution.

ï Dewayne Jeffery Mills, 41, charged with solicitaiton for prostitution.

Craigslist has come under national public scrutiny lately after Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin sent a letter to the company urging the classified service to take responsibility for child-prostitution offenders who use its site.

Suspect in video poker case
agrees to testify in plea deal

A man charged with helping run an illegal video poker ring in Western North Carolina has agreed to testify for the government in exchange for a reduced sentence, according to court papers.

Under the deal, Marvin Marty Babb pleaded guilty last Monday to grand jury perjury and conspiracy to run an illegal gambling operation.

In exchange for his testimony against others, federal prosecutors will drop charges including conspiracy to commmit witness tampering and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Babb could still face up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Investigators say Babb sought new locations for Henderson Amusement Co.ís video poker machines. The company made at least $5 million in seven years of operating in North Carolina, with hundreds of machines that lured players with promises of illegal cash payouts, prosecutors said in court documents.

The companyís owners also are accused of hiring a private investigator to teach storeowners how to lie to a federal grand jury investigating its activities.

Twenty-one people were arrested in July and August, including two former Buncombe County Sheriffís deputies who are accused of providing protection and assistance to the operation.

The arrests followed a two-year investigation by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement and local law enforcement in three counties.

North Carolina had banned cash payouts from video poker machines in 2000, but temporarily had allowed them to pay winners up to $10 in store credits. On July 1, a law banning all video poker machines went into effect.

Officials said a video poker machine could take in as much as $30,000 a year.

The two former deputies that have been charged are Lt. Ronnie ìButchî Davis, 60, and reserve Capt. Kenneth Penland, 75. They were each charged with conspiracy to run an illegal gambling operation and running an illegal gambling operation.

They worked under former Sheriff Bobby Medford, who was defeated by Van Duncan in November.†
Prosecutors say the deputies served to give the appearance of authenticity to the operation.

Police looking for suspect
in Hendersonville stabbing

HENDERSONVILLE ó Police are on the lookout for a suspect in a stabbing last Friday that caused a man to be airlifted to Mission Hospitals.

Diego Luna Giron was in critical condition after the attack at 555 Old Spartanburg Hwy., police said.
They described his attacker as a Hispanic man in his mid-20s about 5 feet 4 inches tall with close-cropped dark hair and multiple earrings in each year.

Anyone with information about the attack can call the Hendersonville Police Department at 697-3025 or Henderson County CrimeStoppers at 697-STOP (7867).

S. Carolina couple charged
in fatal Asheville accident

Police charged a South Carolina couple Sept. 5 in connection wiht a fatal car accident last month.
Police charged Douglas Paul Ziegler, 57, of Bluffton, S.C., with resisting public officers,

misdemeanor death by vehicle and unsafe movement.

Police say Ziegler is responsible for the death of Robert Craig Harwood in an Aug. 3 accident.

He is accused of giving false information to officers and not re-contacting police as he was instructed to do.

Zieglerís wife, Dianne Cone Ziegler, 64, also was charged with resisting public officers for allegedly giving false information and not calling police back.

The couple were released from jail without bond.

Woman injured on mo-ped;
other driver speeds away

A driver took off after hitting a woman on a mo-ped Sept. 5 on Interstate 240 westbound near the Montford Avenue exit, police and witnesses said.

The woman, whose identity was not released, was treated at Mission Hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

The vehicle suspected of hitting the moped around 9:30 p.m. was a red Isuzu Trooper with a loud muffler, according to witnesses.

The woman was reportedly traveling in the left lane when she was thrown off the mo-ped into the middle of the street.

The drivers and passengers of four vehicles stopped to help the woman, police said.

Party at UNCA dorm room
leads to 2 studentsí arrests

UNC Asheville campus police charged two students with possession of alcohol under age 21 on Sept. 1.

Patrick Ryan Conant, 20, and John Conor McPartland, 19, were both issued state citations. They are originally from Charles Town, W. Va.

Campus police had responded to a complaint about noise coming from Conantís dorm room, 522 Founders Hall.

When Officer Robbie Craig knocked on the door, Conant opened it, revealing a large bottle of alcohol and several people inside the room, according to reports.

Craig said he could see several cans of beer and other types of alcohol in the room.

He then ordered Conant to put all the alcohol bottles into the trash cans, because no one in the room was 21 or older.

After Conant filled the trash cans with bottles and placed them outside, one of the female students told Craig that she needed to get her driverís license and other belongings from the bathroom area.

While she was in there, Craig said, he heard noises coming from the bathroom and asked her to step outside.

She said the room was empty, but did not open the door all the way, according to the report.

Craig then opened the door all the way and found McPartland and another female student hiding behind the door.

McPartland, who was there visiting Conant, reportedly admitted to having consumed five beers. Conant said he had consumed three, according to the police report.

None of the other partygoers were charged.