There has been plenty of discussion recently in the Mountain Xpress about the Asheville Police Department's recent changes, allegations of corruption and mismanagement. The truth is that local police forces recruit and maintain exactly whom the system will tolerate. By system, I mean the two-class system that runs the Western world. Sit through a couple […]
Tag: law enforcement
Showing 22-42 of 46 results
Police arrest gun-carrying man outside airport as Obama departs
Asheville Airport Police arrested Joseph S. McVey, of Coshocton, Ohio, yesterday afternoon after President Barack Obama had just departed the area. According to police, McVey said he wanted to see the President and was found listening to local law enforcement channels while carrying a pistol, with “rifle scope formulas” in his car.
***UPDATED Jan. 15: Lewis Kyle Wilson to be released from jail May 12***
Lewis Kyle Wilson, an Asheville man charged with kidnapping and brutally assaulting a prostitute, has plead guilty to lesser assault and drug charges.
APD, Buncombe and Henderson sheriffs create joint gang task force
The Asheville Police Department and the Henderson and Buncombe County sheriff’s offices will create a joint task force to “combat the rise of gang-related activity” in the area, according to an agreement signed Feb. 18. “This agreement is something we’ve been working on now for four to six months,” APD Capt. Tim Splain explained at […]
Lewis Kyle Wilson: “I’m innocent of the charges”
Speaking to Xpress at the Buncombe County Detention Facility on Feb. 27, Lewis Kyle Wilson asserted his innocence against charges of brutally assaulting and kidnapping a prostitute last November. Wilson has also been named a “person of interest” in an unsolved 2006 murder and two other prostitute assaults in Asheville’s Riverside area.
New 911 dispatch center’s open, but city has yet to move in ***UPDATED***
A new $2.1 million center built to bring emergency dispatchers together under one roof has opened, but some seats are empty because city and county government officials are at loggerheads over a contract. The stalled move-in means a delay in a hoped-for reduction in emergency response times.
APD, Henderson and Buncombe sheriffs create gang task force
The Asheville Police Department and the Henderson and Buncombe county sheriff’s offices will create a joint task force to “combat the rise of gang-related activity” in the area, according to an agreement signed Feb. 18
CJIS puts computer power in hands of local law enforcement
Thanks to in-car computers, police officers on the streets of Asheville have an amazing array of information at their fingertips. Officers can call up the criminal history at a particular address, update a traffic-accident report from the field, look at mug shots of suspects and more. What makes all this possible is the Criminal Justice […]
Judge blocks crackdown on gambling machines, sheriff says
A restraining order issued by a Guilford County judge is preventing Buncombe County law enforcement from cracking down on new electronic-gambling machines that offer cash payouts, Sheriff Van Duncan and District Attorney Ron Moore said at a Feb. 13 press conference. “The Legislature passed a law at the end of last year that outlawed the […]
Complete mayhem
Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of grisly crimes. Mountain Xpress doesn’t generally report such stories, but we felt that the brutal nature of the crimes, the depth of community concern and the larger issues raised justified doing so in this case. Although much of the material quoted here is public record, we’ve also […]
Asheville man charged with assault and kidnapping also “person of interest” in prostitute murder
Asheville resident Lewis Kyle Wilson, charged with the brutal assault and kidnapping of a prostitute, has been dubbed a “person of interest” in a 2006 murder and several similar attacks. Search warrants reveal details about this case, while people who know him shine light on community reactions. Warning: this material is extremely graphic.
SBI investigates tasering of Polk County woman
The State Bureau of Investigation is examining the claims of a Polk County woman that police tasered her 16 times while she was handcuffed to a chair, according to a report from WLOS.
Fake cops stage robbery in Asheville
Police warn of pair of law-enforcement impersonators
Is downtown safe?
Is downtown Asheville becoming more dangerous? The answer seems to depend on whom you ask. Holding steady: Violent crime downtown is not on the rise, Patrol Lt. Wally Welch asserts. photo by Jonathan Welch Downtown resident Naydeehn Messier has no doubt about it. “I definitely feel as though it’s getting worse,” says Messier, co-founder of […]
Bier Garden fight defendant pleads guilty to lesser charges
Former Bier Garden employee Michael Plemmons, arrested after a controversial fracas with an Alcohol Law Enforcement agent, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15 to assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, resisting a public officer and simple assault, court documents show. Plemmons will serve 120 days supervised probation plus a year unsupervised. The charges […]
Former Bier Garden manager pleads guilty to lesser charge
Former Bier Garden manager Malcolm Knighten pleaded guilty on Sept. 22 to assault with a deadly weapon, selling an alcoholic beverage after hours and resisting a public officer — stemming from a fight with an ALE officer, according to his lawyer. He received a sentence of nonactive probation and will have to perform community service.
Medford sentenced to 15 years in prison ***UPDATED 6:45 P.M.***
A federal judge sentenced former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford to 15 years in prison on corruption and extortion charges this afternoon.
Asheville Police Department to take citizen call-ins, comments on Aug. 25
As part of the process of gaining re-accreditation, the Asheville Police Department will hold a call-in and an information session on Aug. 25 to find out how well it has met policing standards.
Trainees graduate Asheville Police Academy
With the pinning of badges and the recitation of an ethics pledge, a group of 14 cadets graduated from the Asheville Police Department’s police academy last week.
Former Medford deputy in rehab, sentencing again delayed
Former Buncombe County Sheriff’s Lt. Johnny Harrison, who is awaiting sentencing along with former Sheriff Bobby Medford, is currently in the hospital and has been granted more time before sentencing takes place, court documents reveal.
Law honchos: Gangs, drugs challenge Asheville and Buncombe
Gangs and drugs are spurring much of the crime in Asheville and Buncombe County, both Sheriff Van Duncan and Police Chief Bill Hogan said at a forum on April 17. At the “State of Law Enforcement” discussion, part of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s ongoing “Doughnuts and Dialogue” series, both Hogan and Duncan gave […]