WILMINGTON — On Friday the Wilmington Police Department held a press conference updating the public on their investigation into a former GOP elections leader charged with allegedly drugging two teenagers.
READ MORE: Man arrested for allegedly drugging granddaughters’ Dairy Queen
According to WPD, the case began Aug. 3 — not Aug. 8 as originally reported by the department — and involved a 15-year-old and 16-year-old female who found illicit substances in their Dairy Queen Blizzards. The police arrested the 16-year-old’s step-grandad, James Yokeley Jr., who also has served on the Surry County elections board since 2023 and was appointed its chair in June; he stepped down last week.
Police have charged Yokeley with contaminating food or drink with a controlled substance, felony child abuse and felony possession of schedule I narcotics.
“The girls were very upset, very concerned — panicked,” Lt. Greg Willett described at the press conference, which can be viewed in full here.
Neither girl ingested the substances and the Department of Health and Human Services were called in per protocol. The families have been contacted by detectives as well, according to police.
The story picked up statewide and national coverage and has had officers fielding questions since last week, prompting the media gathering.
Police first reported both girls were Yokeley’s granddaughters in an Aug. 27 release, though Willett clarified Friday that the 16-year-old only was the step-granddaughter of Yokeley. She was driving his vehicle, with her 15-year-old friend and Yokeley also in the car, when the minors discovered the melting blue pills — one placed in each ice cream.
Paramedics were at a Sheetz on Shipyard Boulevard, which the police believe led the driver to pull over there. The EMS crew then flagged down an on-patrol officer, not Yokeley as originally indicated in the press release from WPD.
Police said they didn’t think the two girls had any inclination Yokeley put the pills in their ice creams. Willett added, while law enforcement has investigated cases of people getting roofied before, the dynamic involving a family member is “not an everyday occurrence.”
Surveillance video from Dairy Queen was obtained by a WPD detective, including multiple angles of the incident which happened near closing time, Willett described. The video has Yokeley putting something on a counter.
“There was an effort by Mr. Yokeley to conceal his behavior,” the lieutenant said. “It’s pretty apparent when the employees are making the drinks, he is observing whether someone is observing him. That’s when the items were placed in the Blizzards.”
The employees and management of Dairy Queen have been helpful with the investigation, turning over footage. DQ management told WECT last week its employees would never have contaminated their products. Lt. Kevin Tulley, a WPD detective, called the business “collateral damage based on someone else’s behavior.”
The video footage will not be released at this time, as the investigation is ongoing.
“No one has been tried, let alone been convicted,” Willett said. “So therefore we do have to protect the integrity of the case for the court system.”
A field test was conducted on the drugs, which remain “presumptive in nature” rather than conclusive, he added. Arrest records indicate MDMA and cocaine were found, though field tests only point to potential chemical compound makeups, according to Willett.
“It’s not a lab test; that is in progress,” Willett said, noting the pills are being tested at the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office crime lab.
Their source is also unknown at this time, as there were no visible markings due to being submerged in liquid.
The local lab will return quicker results than the state lab, he added, which has a larger caseload due to the nature of being available for all of North Carolina. As of Tuesday, results haven’t returned on the pills and it’s unknown, according to Willett, when it is expected.
On Aug. 26, police served Yokeley and took him into custody to the New Hanover County Detention Center. He made his $100,000 secured bond that day.
Yokeley lives in Surry County, though also has a residence in New Hanover County, police divulged. He served as the chair of the Surry County Board of Elections but resigned last week and claimed his innocence in his resignation letter, which can be read in full here.
Willett told Port City Daily Tuesday additional charges haven’t been brought forth against Yokeley and it’s unknown currently if more could be: “It depends on whether anything else is uncovered as the investigation continues.”
Yokeley’s next court appearance is Sept. 11.
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