I
John Henson and
the Tar Heels take
down Kentucky.
See Story, Page
THOMASVILLE
Tuesday, December 7,2010
Lifelong Health
Dr. David Lipschitz talks nutrition
in his weekly column.
See Column, Page 3
118th Year - No. 26 50 Cents
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TPD issues hundreds of charges in raid
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
Thomasville Police De
partment raided a local
club late Friday night,
resulting in more than a
dozen arrests and him-
dreds of charges.
According to a TPD
press release, officers ar
rested 18 individuals and
Issued 396 charges foUow-
nig a stmg at La EstraUas
Night Club, located at
802 Midland Ave., Friday
night, where police allege
numerous drug viola
tions were' taking place.
TPD has yet to release
the names of aU the sus
pects arrested, but police
reports state Eladio Or-
nelas-Mlranda, the club’s
49-year-old owner, is
charged with one count
of maintaining a dwell
ing for a controlled sub
stance. Alicia Pacheco
Munoz, 28, and Rosaura
Garcia Martinez, 47, also
are charged with main
taining a dwelling or ve
hicle for a controlled sub
stance. Corey Michael
Fain, 21, and Carmen
Gonzalez, 43, are charged
with possession of a con
trolled substance. Gonza
lez, Carla Denise Keiffer,
50, and Kevin Jermaine
Cooper, 21, are charged
with selling or delivering
a controlled substance.
“[The investigation]
had been going on since
September,” Capt. Dar
ren Smith said. “We got
information from people
who got arrested. They
would start telling us
about things going on at
that bar. When someone
gets arrested and they
want to aUeviate some
of their problems, they’ll
give Information. It kind
of originated that way.
This was solely based on
drug violations.”
Leading up to the raid,
TPD received numer
ous calls for service on
and around La EstraUas
Night Club for violations
such as vandalism, fight
ing, sale of alcohol to a
minor, shots fired and
warrants served, prompt
ing an investigation by
undercover officers, who
attempted to purchase
drugs inside the estab
lishment.
See RAID, Page 4
TIMES PHOTO/DAVID YEMM
Several suspects were held by the Thomasville Police
Department for questioning after the raid.
Driver charged
with hit and run
BYERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
ThomasvUle Police De
partment investigated
a hit-and-run accident
on National Highway
in which left a utility
pole split m half and an
outburst of smaU grass
fires.
ThomasvUle Fire De
partment, which was
already responding to a
fire nearby, received the
caU Monday afternoon.
A 30-foot truck clipped
a pole m front of the
ThomasvUle Inn, at 407
National Highway, ac
cording to passerby ac
counts.
“The driver was going
northbound and faUed to
see a utUlty pole,” said
TPD Sgt. J. Elgin. “The
driver struck the pole on
the right side.”
Elgin says the driver
didn’t stop, but contin
ued on to two other sites
before being spotted by a
patrol officer. The driver
was then brought back
to the scene.
“The driver is charged
with faUure to remain at
the scene, basicaUy a hit-
and-run,” Elgin said.
Elgin says the driver’s
name could not be re
leased due to a pend
ing investigation. Duke
Power came out to the
site to check the lines.
After being struck,
the utUlty pole tugged
on a power line across
the street, which set the
brush m an abandoned
lot on fire. ■
“We stUl have power
on this block, which
is good,” Elgin said.
“When the line hit the
ground, it ignited the
grass. That’s why the
fire department’s here.
But you have to cut the
power off before you can
put water on it.”
Elgin says the accident
caused about $4,000 in
damage and would take
about three hours to fix.
Police and firefighters
See RUN, Page 4
Watford to chair
County Board
TIMES PHOTO/DAVID YEMM
A chunk of a pole is missing on Monday after a truck
struck it and left the scene on National Highway.
Weekend wreck leaves Chair
INDEX
Weather
Health
Opinion
Obituaries
Sports
Comics
Classifieds
2
4
5
6
7
9
10
City man, Trinity woman dead
Today's Weather
BY ELIOT DUKE
Staff Writer
A traffic accident apparently caused
by Saturday’s snowstorm claimed the
life of a Thomasville man and a Trin
ity woman.
Greg Ingram, a traffic safety infor
mation officer with the North Caro
lina State Highway Patrol, said on
Monday that Joseph Beeson, 35, of
Thomasville, and Kimberly Dawn
Stanford, 38, of Trinity, died at the
scene Saturday afternoon when their
vehicle hit an ice patch in the road,
slid into oncoming traffic and was
struck by another car on East Fork
Road, west of Jamestown. Stanford’s
6-year-old daughter, Leigh, also was
Injured in the wreck and is listed in
critical condition at Wake Forest Bap
tist Medical Center. The driver of the
other vehicle was treated for non-life
threatening injuries.
“There were icy conditions, and it’s
no doubt it was part of the wreck.”
Ingram said. “There was a little bit
of ice or something m the roadway
and the vehicle went left of center
sideways and the other vehicle was
oncoming and hit them m the door.”
According to Ingram, Beeson was
traveling west on East Fork Road
around 3:30 p.m. Saturday m snowy
conditions when he drove across an
apparent ice patch, causing his truck
to swerve sideways in a curve. Vehicle
two, described as a Mazda, was trav
eling east on East Fork Road and at
tempted to move onto the right shoul
der in order to avoid Beeson. Ingram
said Beeson had lost control of his
truck and went left of the centerline
where the vehicle was struck in the
driver’s side door The cause of the
wreck m stUl under investigation.
See WRECK, Page 12
BYERINWILTGEN
Staff Writer
LEXINGTON — Da
vidson County Board of
Commissioners officially
kicked off its new regime
Monday as it swore in its
new members at an 8 a.m.
ceremony
Newcomer Todd Yates
took his oath separately
from incumbent winners
BUly Joe
Kepley, Sam
Watford
and Don
TrueU, who
swore In
as a group.
Register of
Deeds Da
vid Rickard
also took his
oath at the
meeting.
Commis-
s 1 0 n e r s
then voted
to appoint
a chair and
vice chair.
Kepley and Watford
were appointed for chair
— Watford won narrowly
with a 4-3 majority.
“We thought Max [Wals-
er, former chair,] had rim
off with the gavel,” Wat
ford joked. “Thank you
for your support.”
Commissioners Larry
Potts and Cathy Dunn
were nominated for vice
chair. Potts won, again by
a close 4-3 vote.
Watford has been nomi
nated-three or four times
before for commission
chan- and served as vice
chair during his last
term.
“This is the first op
portunity that I’ve ever
had to serve as chair,”
Watford said, adding that
while he knew he would
receive a nomination, the
chances of an actual ap
pointment
seemed up
in. the am
“You nev
er know,
you reaUy
don’t.”
Watford
says he will
follow the
trend of
previous
boards, fo
cusing on
job creation
as the local
and nation-
al economy
struggles to
recover.
“The whole tune I’ve
served on the board, that’s
been a No. 1 priority,”
said Watford, currently
beginning his third term.
“And it’s going to contin
ue to be.”
With the addition of
Yates, the board now
boasts five members who
daylight as small busi-
See BOARD, Page 4
'This is the first
opportunity that
I've ever had to
serve as chair...
You never know,
you really don't.'
Sam Watford
DC Board Chair
TIMES PHOTO/ERIN WILT
Commissioners (from left) Don Truell, Sam Watford
Billy Joe Kepley swear in for the new term.
NOW
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336-476-2444
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