Murphy – A Candler couple was arrested and booked on vehicle theft and other charges in a strange case that kept getting stranger.
Patrol deputies received a call at 5:40 p.m. Nov. 28 about suspected stolen vehicles being spotted in the Scottie Mountain Circle area, according to Cherokee County sheriff’s Deputy Daniel Tucker.
As darkness set in near what was supposed to be the end of their shift, deputies Tucker and Hunter Burrell responded to the scene and searched the area for nearly a half hour. They were about to give up when they spotted two black Labrador retrievers running loose.
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While it might be common to see hunting dogs in the area this time of the year, two black Labs seemed unusual. The two deputies followed the two dogs, which led them to Pamela Smiley in a pickup registered in her name.
Together, the three walked a quarter-mile down a deeply rutted trail and found her husband, Kevin, with a pickup pulling a travel-trailer mired in the mud. Those two vehicles were registered to an elderly Candler woman and reported stolen.
Deputies arrested the couple and booked them on charges of possession of stolen automobile (two counts, one for the pickup and one for the travel trailer) as well as injury to personal property (the trailer had significant damage).
Pamela Smiley, 57, was also charged with failure to appear on a misdemeanor. Kevin Smiley, 58, was also charged with possession of a controlled substance on jail premisses.
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Tucker said Kevin Smiley was asked if he had anything illegal in his possession before he was brought to jail. Smiley said he didn’t, but when he was being processed at the jail, staff found a small amount of marijuana in his pocket.
They also found an object described as a methamphetamine pipe inserted so far inside a body orifice that it would require surgery – as well as Smiley’s consent or a search warrant – to remove.
As local law enforcement officials considered the liability if surgery proved complicated or unsuccessful, or if the pipe were left in place and became damaged while he was in custody, Smiley posted the $25,000 bond and was released. Pamela Smiley posted a $10,000 bond and was also released.
Later, Cherokee County officials received notification that Kevin Smiley was arrested in Haywood County after he was caught stealing another trailer from the same person who was a victim of the earlier vehicle thefts.