MURPHY
Man accused 
of sex assault
Charles Anthony “CJ” Payne, 29, of Murphy, was arrested March 10 on charges of sexually assaulting a minor child, Sheriff Derrick Palmer said in a release.
In September 2020 the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into a missing juvenile female. During the investigation, Payne became a person of interest in the investigation and was subsequently arrested for felonious restraint. Payne later made a secure bond.
As the investigation continued, sheriff’s investigators were able to obtain sufficient evidence to present the case on March 8 to the Cherokee County Grand Jury, which handed down a two-count indictment on Payne. Payne was arrested two days later at his residence after a brief struggle with deputies.
Payne is charged with statutory rape of a child by adult greater than 6 years older and statutory sex offense of a a child by adult greater than 6 years older. The magistrate set a $1 million secure bond. Payne is scheduled to appear in Cherokee County Superior Court on May 3.
MURPHY
Police stats for February
Below are the number of calls received or initiated by the Murphy Police Department from Jan. 29 through Feb. 25.
Alarms: 12.
Accidents: 27.
Arrests: 8.
Business checks: 583.
Citations: 4.
Community policing: 10.
Driving while impaired: 4.
Extra patrols: 62.
Follow-ups: 33.
Homeless shelter check-ins: 3.
Investigations: 54.
Special assignments: 1.
Suspicious person: 21.
Various calls: 230.
Vehicle stops: 9.
Psychiatric/suicide: 2.
HAYESVILLE
No charges in accident
No charges have been filed in the Feb. 26 hit-and-run accident believed to have caused the death of Angelica “Angel” Marie Grant. However, the investigation continues and will likely go before a grand jury to determine whether there is cause for an indictment.
Grant, 50, of Dahlonega, Ga., and formerly of Murphy, was found on the right shoulder of U.S. 64 near Fort Hembree Road around 7 a.m. Feb. 27. She is believed to have died while walking in the rain the night before. Autopsy results revealed she had sustained fatal injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle, Clay County Sheriff Bobby Deese said.
Deese confirmed that a local person turned himself into law enforcement officials March 6 and was interviewed by the N.C. Highway Patrol, which is in charge of the investigation. The person listed on the accident report is local resident Jared Lee Shook.
According to Trooper A.J. Gordon’s Feb. 27 accident report, Shook was driving a 2013 GMC at an estimated speed of 40 mph heading east toward Hayesville. Grant was walking with traffic at the time of the crash around 7:45 p.m.
The accident report says Shook struck Grant with the right front of the vehicle, then traveled onto the right shoulder of the roadway. Shook continued traveling east on U.S. 64 without stopping after the collision. Grant came to rest on the right shoulder of U.S. 64.
Grant had been released from custody at the Clay County Detention Center at 7:05 p.m. Feb. 26. She had been charged with misdemeanor non-impaired revoked license. She was found dead about a mile from the jail.
ANDREWS
Laundry ends with an arrest
An Andrews woman was arrested after allegedly breaking into a gambling device and stealing money from a local laundromat.
Court documents show that 22-year-old Elizabeth Mae Lansdale allegedly broke into a gambling device in the game room at The Washboard laundromat in Robbinsville, using a pocket knife. Once in the machine, she was able to steal about $248.
The incident occurred on Feb. 20, with the warrant being issued on March 4 and served on March 6. Lansdale bonded out on March 7.
She was charged with breaking of coin/currency machine, damaging coin/currency machine, misdemeanor larceny, possession of stolen goods, two counts of breaking and entering, two counts of larceny after breaking and entering, injury to real property and injury to personal property.
ROBBINSVILLE
Phone scams across county
The Graham County Sheriff’s Office reported last week that citizens have been receiving calls reportedly from the Social Security Administration and Publisher’s Clearing House, but both possessing different techniques to scam the recipient.
Those who see what appear to be local numbers pop up on their phones are likely to answer a call from the “Social Security Administration,” while the calls from “Publisher’s Clearing House” are coming from an 876 area code. Technology being used by the scammers disallows the opportunity to trace the calls.
From staff reports.