A Republican election official from North Carolina is accused of spiking his granddaughters’ ice cream with pills, according to officials.
Sixty-six-year-old James Edwin Yokeley Jr. has been charged with contaminating food or drink with a controlled substance and felony child abuse, according to a recent press release from the Wilmington Police Department. On August 8, Yokeley Jr. informed a police officer he flagged down at a Sheetz gas station that his two granddaughters found hard objects in ice cream they’d purchased from Dairy Queen, the release stated.
Medical personnel checked the two girls and determined they had not ingested any harmful substances. The pills were then tested, and results indicated they were illegal narcotics, the same release states. (RELATED: Bodycam Footage Captures Deadly Confrontation Between Cops And Machete-Wielding Suspect)
The police department opened an investigation, and using security footage, they alleged Yokeley Jr. spiked the girls’ ice cream, according to the release. The pills tested positive for cocaine and MDMA, according to USA Today, citing Yokeley Jr’s. arrest warrant.
Yokeley Jr., who served as the Board Chair with the Surry County Board of Elections, issued a resignation letter following the alleged incident.
“This decision has not been made lightly. After much prayer, thoughtful reflection, and consultation, I have concluded that it’s in the best interest of the State Board of Elections and Surry County Board of Elections, regarding my own falsely accused circumstances, to step down at this time,” he stated.
“Based on the truth and facts, I remain prayerfully confident that I will be exonerated of all accusations levied against me,” Yokeley Jr. wrote in the same letter.
The State Board of Elections reacted to Yokeley Jr.’s resignation, saying it will “appoint a new Surry County chair as soon as possible after receiving two nominations from the North Carolina Republican Party.”
Yokeley Jr. was transported to the New Hanover County Detention Center following the allegations, the Wilmington Police Department indicated.
A $100,000 secured bond was posted, police said.