Order seals Cherokee County Sheriff’s evidence room amid missing items
An order filed in Cherokee County Superior Court April 10 sealed all areas where there may be any evidence related to criminal cases, critically hampering the agency’s ability to serve taxpayers. This comes only about a week after District Attorney Ashley Welch issued a Giglio order against Milton “Sport” Teasdale, who heads up the sheriff’s office’s criminal investigative division.
DA rebukes Cherokee County deputy after new filings in 2022 shooting
New filings in the civil suit Jason Harley Kloepfer filed seven months after he was shot by police in the doorway of his own home cast a new shadow over the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
Man sentenced to 15 years for extreme child abuse
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced that a Cherokee County man pleaded guilty to intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
Vecinos receives SECU Foundation grant
SECU Foundation recently awarded a $1.6 million grant to Vecinos for a new medical center and human services hub in Macon County.
New Building Outdoor Communities cohort named
Six new recipients in Western North Carolina have been awarded grants to participate in the MADE X MTNS Partnership’s Building Outdoor Communities Program.
Officers in Kloepfer shooting won’t face charges
A special prosecutor tasked with examining the investigation into a 2022 police shooting that severely injured Jason Harley Kloepfer at his home in Cherokee County has concluded that no criminal charges are warranted against any of the officers involved.
Filling the vacancy: Unique process plays out to replace retiring Superior Court judge
When Superior Court Judge William Coward announced his retirement late last year, it caught many in the Western North Carolina legal community off guard and set in motion a process with little precedent.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office answers police shooting lawsuit
In a 65-page answer to an extensive lawsuit filed in response to the December 2022 police shooting of Jason Harley Kloepfer in Cherokee County, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office emphasized that it was officers with the Cherokee Indian Police Department, not CCSO deputies, who fired the shots, and denied allegations that its deputies and supervisors mishandled the case from the beginning.
SBI report on police shooting heads to special prosecutor
Nearly 11 months after a Cherokee County man was shot by police officers in the doorway of his own home, a State Bureau of Investigation probe into the shooting is complete.
Prescribed burns planned in Cherokee National Forest
Residents in the furthest west counties may see smoke over the coming months as the Cherokee National Forest carries out prescribed burns on an estimated 18,500 acres in Monroe and Polk counties, Tennessee, which abut Graham and Cherokee counties in North Carolina.
