Sheriff’s K9 gets a vest
Bane, a K-9 with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, is equipped with body armor. Bane received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from Vested Interest in K9s Inc.
Bane’s vest was sponsored by Patricia Duponte of Murphy and embroidered with the sentiment “Born to Love-Trained to Serve-Loyal Always.”
Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s has provided more than 4,327 vests to K-9s in all 50 states at a value of $6.9 million, made possible by both private and corporate donations. There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K-9s throughout the United States.
For details or to learn about volunteer opportunities, call 508-824-6978.
Local faces drug charges
A local man was arrested after police found him asleep in a car with a hypodermic needle stuck in his arm. David Nathaniel Jones, 43, of Andrews, faces several drug offenses after police also found 4 grams of alleged meth.
Cherokee County sheriff’s officials say Jones was passed out on the passenger side of a vehicle that was parked outside a business on U.S. 64 West in Murphy around 6 p.m. Thursday. A citizen noticed a needle in his arm and called emergency 911.
Police found the alleged meth during a subsequent search.
Police calls during June
Below are the number of calls received or initiated by the Murphy Police Department from June 1-30:
Alarms: 17.
Accidents: 26.
Arrests: 16.
Business checks: 981.
Citations: 1.
Community policing: 5.
Driving while impaired: 7.
Extra patrols: 268.
Follow-up investigations: 49.
Homeless shelter check-ins: 12.
Investigations: 52.
Special assignments: 2.
Suspicious person: 43.
Various calls for service: 302.
Vehicle stops: 30.
Psychiatric/suicide: 5.
Former local pleads guilty
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said Kristen Lee Devecki pleaded guilty last week in Jackson County Superior Court to multiple drug-related charges as well as failure to return a rented vehicle.
For the purpose of sentencing, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Bradley B. Letts consolidated three judgements, ordering the 37-year-old woman to serve an active prison time of at least 16 months and up to 38 months.
Devecki has provided to authorities various addresses in Murphy, Sylva, Dillsboro, Cherokee and, most recently, in Whittier. She admitted to:
- One count possession of methamphetamine.
- Two counts possession of a controlled substance on jail premises.
- One count possess with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver methamphetamine.
- One count felony failure to return rental property.
On Jan. 28, an off-duty officer contacted the Sylva Police Department to let officers know that Devecki, who was wanted on outstanding warrants, was at a Sylva grocery store. When officers arrived, Devecki was leaving the parking lot in a car with three other women.
An officer’s dog trained to detect illegal drugs alerted on the vehicle. In the ensuing search, the officers found drug paraphernalia and narcotics. At the Jackson County Detention Center, an officer also discovered drugs in Devecki’s possession.
She was arrested similarly about four months later. On June 1, Cherokee police officers discovered Devecki – again with outstanding warrants – in a grocery store parking lot, this time on foot. They found heroin and drug paraphernalia.
The previous year – on Aug. 16, 2020, and Oct. 8, 2020 – Devecki faced similar charges of possession of illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia, as well as possession of a controlled substance on jail premises. She was also charged on Aug. 7, 2020, with failure to return a GMC U-Haul truck to a wrecker service.