Missing persons cases aren’t always what they seem

Every so often — about 20 times a year — Western North Carolina’s social media networks flare up with impassioned pleas from friends and family members of a missing person, begging for any information that could help bring their loved one home. But the reasons for the disappearances, and the results of the investigations, are often as unique as the missing persons themselves.

Dillsboro break-ins prompt caution for Jackson County businesses

Sylva Police Chief Chris Hatton is urging local businesses to secure their buildings after multiple Dillsboro restaurants were broken into over the last two nights.
 
"We care about you, your organizations and your businesses and we don't want you to be a victim to thieves," Hatton said in an email to Sylva business owners. 
 
The suspects seem to be targeting cash, as they have gone after safes and cash registers, Hatton said. Nearby businesses are encouraged to ensure that their buildings are secure, with alarms and security camera systems activated.
Jackson County Emergency Communications Center, 828.586.1911

Jackson man to serve 18 months for EBCI embezzlement

A Jackson County man who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $95,000 from an enterprise of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will spend 18 months in prison and pay nearly $200,000 in restitution, according to a sentence U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger handed down Feb. 18. 

Sylva man arrested in connection with Capitol riots

The world watched with bated breath Jan. 6 as what is normally a perfunctory proceeding — the Senatorial certification of Electoral College results — turned violent. At the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., then-President Donald Trump was whipping attendees into a frenzy of anger over what he continues to claim was a stolen election, and as he spoke the roiling crowd made its raucous way to the U.S. Capitol a couple miles away.

Whittier man faces charges in wife’s death

Whittier resident Billy Hicks, 48, is being held without bond in the Jackson County Detention Center after his wife Danielle Hicks, 34, died as the result of a gunshot wound.

Flag burning suspect taken into custody

Quick police work coupled with private surveillance footage landed a Haywood County woman behind bars on several counts related to the partial burning of several American flags. 

Snow pleads guilty to killing mother and sister

Paul Snow pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Macon County courtroom to the Nov. 6, 2016, shooting deaths of his mother and sister, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.

Macon man charged with harboring a fugitive

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said a key figure in Operation Jawbreaker, a sweep two years ago of suspected local drug dealers acting in concert on a two-state level, was arrested Tuesday and charged with harboring a fugitive.

Women sentenced for stealing Lake Junaluska vehicle

A Waynesville woman must serve in prison a minimum of six months to a maximum of 17 months for stealing a Lake Junaluska security vehicle earlier this summer, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said.

Forced to Fight: Law enforcement grapples with opioids in Appalachia

After a routine surgery, Haywood County native Clayton Suggs ended up hooked on opioids until on the first day alone in his new apartment after a year of sobriety, his addiction eventually cost him his life. 

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