|
Tuesday, 24 October 2006 17:12 |
A-B Tech student, 19, dies
in Woodfin hit-run Saturday
WOODFIN ÇƒÓ A 19-year-old Weaverville student was killed on the 72nd block of Weaverville Highway early Saturday morning after she got out of her motherës car and was struck by a passing vehicle.
Karen Elizabeth Herndon, a student at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, was arguing with another passenger when she got out of the car about 2:30 a.m., police said. The driver of the vehicle that hit her continued without stopping.
The graduate of North Buncombe High School was living at home while attending A-B Tech after having briefly attended UNC Charlotte, according to her father, Charlie Herndon.
Karen
Herndon leaves behind her father; her mother, Gwendolynn; a sister,
Lindsey Cheryl Herndon, 21; a foster brother, Micah Herndon, 17; and
her paternal grandparents, Clifford and Dorothy Perkins Herndon.
She was a member
of the New Bridge Baptist Church, having joined on her own, despite not
having been raised in a churchgoing family, her father said. An active
member of the congregation, Herndon had participated in mission trips
to West Virginia, Oklahoma and Honduras.
Woodfin police,
who were not able to get a description of the vehicle that hit Herndon,
are investigating and ask that anyone with any information call
253-4889.
Hit-and-run driver kills child
at busy Oteen intersection
OTEEN ÇƒÓ A
2-year-old child was found dead Oct. 14 at a busy intersection in
Mountain View Mobile Home Park, off Lower Grassy Branch Road.
Joshua Nahuel
Barrera was discovered about 5 p.m. by motorist Jennifer Twitty, who
reportedly thought the boy was sleeping at the intersection of hilly
narrow streets where children often play. Twitty was driving with her
children on a shopping trip at the time.
Police say that
the child was killed by a driver who fled the scene. While a vehicle
was subsequently confiscated that had been driving in the neighborhood,
police did not confirm whether the woman who was operating it had been
involved in the accident.
No charges have
been filed yet in the case. Police noted that the driver may not have
even realized that he or she had hit the child, who was only 3 feet
tall.
After Twitty discovered the body, the boyës parents, Jorge and Stella Berrera ran to the scene from their nearby home.
The
intersection, where four streets converge, has a speed limit of 15
miles per hour. Nonetheless, Twitty said, it is still dangerous for the
neighborhood children.
12-year-old girl killed
in accident involving horse
FAIRVIEW ǃÓ
Volunteer firefighters on Oct. 15 declared Tiffany Rose Owenby, 12,
dead at the scene of an accident involving a horse.
The
seventh-grader had just walked away from hitching her horse after
riding most of the day with friends when the horse reared and pulled
out a board near the hitching post that hit Owenby in the head, causing
her to fall and hit her head on a rock.
The
middle-school student was an experienced rider and loved horses, her
mother said. The girl spent most of her time outside and on the farm of
Will and Susie Hamilton, where she learned to ride and where the
accident occured.
An active
student, Owenby was a member of Cane Creek Middle Schoolës chorus and
track team and attended Fairview Christian Fellowship Church, where she
was a member of the youth group.
Her parents,
Brenda Owenby and Russell Harper of Fairview, have set up a memorial
fund in their daughterës name to help pay for funeral expenses and to
start a college fund for her little sister, Britney.
Man arrested after bust
of methamphetamine lab
Drug enforcement
agents with the Metropolitan Enforcement Group last Wednesday arrested
Douglas Bruce Frady, 32, on charges of operating a methamphetamine lab
at his home on Pinners Cove Road.
Frady was
charged with three counts, including possession of the ingredients
reequired to make meth, manufacturing meth and maintaining a building
as a meth lab.
He was being held at the Buncombe County Detention Center in lieu of a $5,000 bond.
UNCA student arrested,
charged with dealing pot
UNC Asheville campus police charged Jensel Andres Garcia, 19, with possession of marijuana with intent to sell last Sunday.
Garcia, a
student who lives at 608 Founders Hall, was arrested after police
discovered six plastic bags containing similar amounts of marijuana in
his room. In total, police found 0.66 ounces of the substance in the
bags.
Earlier that
evening, officers Shannon Green and Robbie Craig and Sgt. Bruce Martin
responded to a call from a campus housing staff member reporting that a
strong smell of marijuana had been detected wafting out of Garciaës
room, police reported.When they arrived at the room, the officers were
met by Garciaës roommate, Daniel Coleman.
Detecting a
strong smell of marijuana, the officers asked to search the room, but
Coleman informed them that while they were welcome to search his half
of the room, he could not give them consent to search the half
belonging to Garcia, who was not present at the time, according to
reports.
At that point, Martin observed a homemade pipe sitting in plain view of Garciaës side of the room, police said.
Craig and Green
then went back to the police station to submit an application for a
search warrant. While doing so, Martin contacted the other officers by
radio and informed them that Garcia had arrived at the room.
Upon their
return to the dorm room, the officers asked Garcia for permission to
search his belongings, to which he reportedly consented.
During the subsequent search, Martin discovered the six baggies, which were all held together with a rubber band, police noted.
Green and Craig
then escorted Garcia to their office for questioning. Garcia reportedly
consented to a search of his vehicle, but nothing illegal was
discovered.
Because the bags
all contained similar quantities of marijana, the officers charged
Garcia with felony possession with intent to sell.
Garcia was then transported to the Buncombe County Detention Center, where he was held in lieu of a $2,500 secured bond.
Green noted in the police report that Garcia was "respectful and cooperative" throughout the incident.
In other action, campus police charged Alex Krebs, 18, with possesion of alcohol under age 21 early last Sunday morning.
Krebs, a student
who lives at 108 Mills Hall, was charged after Sgt. Bruce Martin
responded to a complaint about a loud disturbance coming from Krebsë
room just after midnight.
Krebs was in the room with several guests and two bottles of alcohol, police reported.
Martin issued Krebs a state citation and noted in the report that the student "was aware that alcohol was present in the room."
Bystanders rush to rescue
woman in burning vehicle
Witnesses
rescued a woman from a car that had been partially crushed in an
accident Oct. 15 in what police termed a "very heroic" effort.
The driver of
the vehicle, Deborah Baldwin, 57, of Weaverville, was trapped in her
Ford Fusion after it collided with a Ford F-150 driven by Clinton
Michael Shook.
Shookës car had turned left through a red light, hitting Baldwin, who was in the oncoming traffic lane, police noted.
Tart is a retired fire fighter who left the profession after a 10-day stint on the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
After passers-by
extinguished a small fire that was filling the car with smoke, tate
attempted unsuccessfully top open the door, according to reports.
When the door handle broke off in his hands, Tate managed to pry the door open, despite an old injury to his right hand.
Assisted by another former firefighter, Tate then pulled Baldwin from the car and laid her on the ground, wrapped in his coat.
Shook was later charged with running a red light.
Guard convicted of bribery
receives one-year sentence
A former jailer
at the Buncombe County Detention Center was sentenced Oct. 16 to nearly
a year in prison for having accepted a bribe from an inmate as part of
an escape plot.
Michael Dean
Parham was sentenced in Buncombe County Superior Court after having
plead guilty to
accepting $1,000 in exchange for providing a cell phone
to prisoner Jeramie Lee McSweeney.
Parhamës
attorney, Andrew Banzhoff, petitioned the court for a lenient sentence
on the grounds that his client was separated from his wife and under a
great deal of financial pressure at the time he accepted the bribe.
Furthermore,
Bill Stafford, a former administrator at the prison facility, testified
that Parham had been cooperative during the investigation and helped
apprehend others that were involved.
The cell phone
was discovered during a random search of McSweeneyës room on Dec. 22,
according to a Sheriffës Department spokesman. Cell phones are
prohibited within the jail.
Investigators
discovered that Parham had given McSweeney in exchange for a payment
made by a friend of McSweeneyës from Statesville.
At the time, he
was in jail pending trial for an alleged plot to steal more than
$370,000 worth of jewelry from Kay Jewelers in the Asheville Mall, with
the assistance of an accomplice.
He allegedly helped the accomplice ÇƒÓ another Statesville resident ÇƒÓ get a job at the jewelry store under an assumed name.
The accomplice then stole the jewelry from a display case in September 2004, police noted.
McSweeney was
sentenced in March to 10 years in prison on multiple charges, including
offering a bribe, conspiracy to embezzle, embezzlement, attempting to
escape, aiding and abetting, financial identity fraud and being a
habitual felon.
Asheville Police Department
promotes five members
Five officers of the Asheville Police Department were promoted recently in a ceremony presided over by Mayor Terry Bellamy.
At the ceremony
at the Diana Wortham Theater, Lt. Daryl Fisher was promoted to the rank
of captain, making him responsible for support services, including
records, dispatch, seized property and animal services.
The position has been vacant for about a year, according to Chief Bill Hogan.
Chris Young was
promoted to the rank of lieutenantnant and will be taking over Fisherës
current position as head of the departmentës Drug Suppression Unit and
Tactical team.
In addition,
three other officers were promoted to the rank of Sergeant, including
Michael Garrison in investigations, Mike Yelton in drug suppression and
Rondell Lance in patrol.
Warning on common scams
issued to Asheville citizens
The Asheville
Police Department recently issued warnings regarding two common mail
and e-mail scams that have been circulating recently.
Many residents
of Asheville received letters in the mail about "European lottery
programs." Frequently these letters use the correct name and address
for the resident.
These scams inform the "winner" that they have won a specific amount of money, according to police spokesman John Dankel.
What looks like a legitimate check for a portion of the winnings is included with the notification letter.
Instructions
direct the "winner" to contact a lottery agent for instructions on how
to remit their "tax and clearance fees" so they can receive their
lottery winnings, he said.
Typically the
recipients are directed by the "agent" to wire money ÇƒÓ after they have
deposited the fake check into their personal account ÇƒÓ to someone
outside the country.
They are told they will then receive their portion of the prize money, less a percentage for the agent or sponsor commission.
A day or so
after it is deposited into the personës account the bank will discover
the check is fake and the account will be debited for that amount.
Unfortunately, the victim has frequently already wired the money to the
scam artist and there is no practical way to get it back, Dankel noted.
"Winners" also
are warned in the letter to keep their winnings "absolutely
confidential" to avoid unauthorized persons or organizations from
contacting them about their new-found wealth.
None of the
information in the letter is true, according to police. Persons
receiving these letters are urged to discard them immediately.
Regarding
another common fraudulent scheme, the APD noted on July 15 that the FBI
is receiving renewed complaints about an e-mail scam that first
surfaced sometime in 2004.
People are receiving official-looking e-mails, purportedly from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The e-mail
claims a personës bank accounts are no longer eligible for FDIC
insurance because suspected violations of the USA PATRIOT Act, Dankel
said.
The message also
says this issue can be resolved by clicking on a link provided in the
e-mail and providing a great deal of personal information. Supposedly,
after the information is verified, the accounts will once again be
eligible for FDIC insurance. There is also an implication that failure
to provide the "required" information will result in further
investigation and possibly a visit from federal agents.
These e-mails,
and all like them, are scams, Dankel said. Persons who respond and
provide the requested information risk having their identity stolen and
misused and they place funds in their banks accounts at risk for theft.
Government agencies and legitimate banks do not request this sort of information by e-mail, Dankel stressed.
All such
requests should be regarded as scams and the e-mails should be
immediately deleted without opening any attachments. Those with any
doubts or questions may contact the bank or government agency directly
by telephone, Dankel said.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
