SURRY COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — The chair of the Surry County Board of Elections was arrested and accused of putting pills in ice cream purchased for his granddaughters, according to the Wilmington Police Department.
On Aug. 8, while on patrol, a Wilmington officer was flagged down by 66-year-old James Edwin Yokeley of Wilmington, at a Sheetz gas station.
Yokeley told the officer that his two juvenile granddaughters had found two hard objects in the ice cream they had recently bought at a Dairy Queen.
Medical personnel checked the two juveniles and determined that they had not ingested any of the substances.
The two pills were collected, and preliminary field tests conducted indicated the pills were illegal narcotics. Those pills have since been sent to the state lab for further conclusive testing.
WPD detectives determined by video footage that Yokeley had been the one who placed the two pills into both victims’ ice cream.
He was charged with:
- contaminating food with a controlled substance
- possession of a Schedule I narcotic
- felony child abuse
He was taken to the New Hanover County Detention Center and posted a $100,000 secured bond.
The investigation is ongoing.
The Surry County Board of Elections released the following statement on Wednesday:
“The State Board of Elections and Surry County Board of Elections are aware of the charges against Mr. Yokeley, the chair of the Surry County Board of Elections. We will continue to collect information about the situation and will provide support to the Surry County board, as needed, to ensure it is able to continue serving the county’s voters.”
Dolan Reynolds
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