What’s news in Ashvegas, WLOSer style: A murder investigation, chicken guts and more

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Wednesday’s news from WLOSers was the old “copper topper” style. Here we go:

Murder investigation
Cherub Charu Khumaria told us that Asheville Police Department is investigating the beating death of a homeless man. The beating happened about 9 p.m. on July 9 around Hilliard Avenue, but the guy just died Tuesday night. The police want to know if anybody saw anything around that time at the Hot Spot on South French Broad, or maybe in Aston Park.

The dead guy, 36, actually told police that he thought he was hit with a lead pipe, and that three men beat him and were trying to rob him. The cops say they don’t know why somebody would try to rob a homeless guy. Charu said the death was Asheville’s fifth homicide of the year.

In other cop news…
A man and a woman were charged in connection with a police chase that started in Canton Tuesday night and ended up in a pasture… And pizza delivery guys from Papa John’s and Pizza Hut in Hendersonville say they’ve been robbed recently. The robbers got $30 from one and $500 from another guy they forced to go to an ATM.

Two dead in Robbinsville fire
That’s about the extent of Terrie Foster’s story from Graham County. The couple lived in a 100-year-old house and died early Wednesday.

Guilty guy speaks
Timothy Ballard, the Henderson County dude found guilty of second-degree murder the other day, was sentenced to serve at least 18 years in prison. He apologized to the victim’s family, but said it was self-defense. Ballard has yet to get a haircut, but maybe that will happen in the state pen.

Chicken guts all over the highway
Diva Darcel Grimes and Larry Blunt told us the disgusting story about a truck wreck on Highway 74 in Jackson County that sent chicken guts all over the highway. That’s rigth – the truck was carrying chicken guts. The diva didn’t say why, or where the truck was going. The road was shut down most of the afternoon. WLOSers brought us video of a haz mat team shoveling up the chicken guts.

Mountain bike accident
Some 13-year-old kid riding a mountain bike with his mother on trails in Bent Creek fell and broke his collar bone and rescue crews used their cell phone to locate them off the Hard Times trail.

New mountain top community gets water line
The Grand Highlands at Bearwallow Mountain will have city water lines extended to it. The decision was controversial, because people in the area fear that the water line will spur even more development. The line was approved after the developer of Grand Highlands agreed to build only 250 homes instead of 325 homes on the mountain.

In assorted news from Tuesday…

Gordon Myers sentenced
Gordon Myers, a long-time community leader who has been an Asheville City Council member, head of AdvantageWest and an Ingles grocery store bigwig, got setenced for driving while impaired. But charges of reckless driving and hit-and-run were dropped. This, after a four-car pileup earlier in the year. Myers has to pay a fine, do community service and got a 120-day suspended sentence and unsupervised probation.

Girl recovering from mosquito bite
A 3-year-old girl is recovering from lacrosse encephalitis after a mosquito bite. She’s been hospitalized.

In still other old news…
State lawmakers want tougher landfill regulations… A flatbed truck overturned on I-40, blocking both eastbound lanes for most of the afternoon… Three local families got new Habitat for Humanity homes in the Enka Hills subdivision, including a guy in a wheelchair… And the Royal Inn on Tunnel Road is being demolished. It used to be the Ramada Inn. Plans are to build a new hotel on the site.