MURPHY
Area woman flashes family
A local woman is accused of flashing her private parts and waving a gun at a family of three.
Josephine Miller, 61, was charged with indecent exposure, three counts of assault by pointing a gun and related offenses following an incident on Aug. 23. One of the victims told police he and his family, which included a young girl, were driving on Liberty Road when Miller flashed her breasts and her buttocks before pointing a gun at them as they passed her house.
Officials say the victims filmed the incident and called police, who later recovered the gun when they searched Miller’s property. Police say the victims live in the same neighborhood as Miller, but the motive for the incident remains unclear.
MURPHY
Alleged box thief arrested
A man is accused of stealing personal items from area mailboxes.
Officials reportedly found 29-year-old Logan Sneed in possession of a debit card, a store credit card and two vehicle titles that had been mailed to three different homes in Cherokee County. Officials say Sneed tried to activate the debit card, to no avail.
Sneed, of McCaysville, Ga., is also accused of stealing about $7,000 worth of electronics and tools from a local home before trying to sell the items to a pawn shop.
CHEROKEE
Dealer gets 10-year term
Local resident Lillian Elaine Brady, 53, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday ands five years of supervised release for trafficking methamphetamine, fentanyl and other narcotics, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
In April 2020 law enforcement learned Brady was a major source of meth and other illegal drugs in and around Cherokee. According to court records and the sentencing hearing, officials executed a search warrant on her residence and seized a large quantity of narcotics, paraphernalia, cash, a loaded firearm and ammunition.
On Feb. 17, Brady pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
FRANKLIN
Car thief gets 4 years in jail
A man who sped in a stolen vehicle through Franklin last year in a botched attempt to evade law enforcement will spend 51-74 months in the N.C. Division of Adult Correction, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.
Joshua Faulk, 35, of Lakeland, Fla., pleaded last week in Macon County Superior Court to felony flee to elude arrest, two counts breaking and entering motor vehicle, two counts misdemeanor larceny and possession of a stolen vehicle. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Bill Coward handed down the judgement, with his sentence reflecting Faulk’s habitual-felon status.
After stealing a vehicle in Tennessee, Faulk on Aug. 20, 2020, drove into North Carolina and entered Macon County via U.S. 23/441. As Faulk topped Cowee Mountain in his vehicle and began to descend the steep grade, an N.C. Highway Patrol trooper clocked the vehicle at 105 mph along the 55-mph highway.
After the car chase ended, Faulk again attempted to escape, this time on foot. He broke into two vehicles, stealing money in the process, before being found and arrested.
RALEIGH
Bill enhances riot penalties
A bill that would harshen penalties for rioting and inciting a deadly riot in North Carolina is on its way to Gov. Roy Cooper.
The state House voted 63-41 to give House Bill 805 its final approval Aug. 31. If it becomes law, a person who incites or encourages someone to participate in a riot that leads to a death could face 17 years in prison.
“This bill simply enforces harsher penalties for the perpetrators of violence and looting, while explicitly preserving every North Carolinian’s right to protest peacefully,” said House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland). “I hope that Gov. Cooper will not hesitate to sign this bill into law and better protect our law enforcement, business owners, and citizens who are exercising their right to protest peacefully."
Lawmakers hotly debated the bill. Moore said it was filed in response to local and national demonstrations last summer after the police killings of unarmed black people and the U.S. Capitol riot in January. House opponents of the bill said it is unnecessary, as North Carolina already has laws that address violence and rioting.
ASHEVILLE
25 busted for drugs, guns
Acting U.S. Attorney William Stetzer has announced that a multi-agency investigation into methamphetamine trafficking and illegal firearm possession in western North Carolina has led to federal drug and gun charges filed against 25 individuals.
On Aug. 15, teams of federal, state and local law enforcement arrested 19 of those charged. Two additional defendants in state custody will be transferred to federal custody to face their charges. Four defendants have not been arrested yet.
The criminal indictments, which were returned by a grand jury on Aug. 3 and unsealed in federal court, are the result of a coordinated yearlong joint law enforcement investigation into drug trafficking activity and illegal firearm possession in and around Buncombe, Haywood and Jackson counties. Over the course of the investigation, which began in April 2020 and wrapped up in May 2021, law enforcement seized methamphetamine, more than a dozen illegally possessed firearms, various types of ammunition and more than $12,000 in drug proceeds.
From staff and The Center Square reports.