Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Wanted man has ties to Buncombe
The story of the Clemson student who, in WLOS-speak, was strangled with her own bikini top, took an interesting turn last night as Cherub Charu told us that arrest warrants have been issued for a sex offender who had a criminal conviction in Buncombe County back in 1988.
Chaur said the wanted man lives in the Pigeon Forge area, works construction and may have been in Clemson on a job. Police said they found Jerry Inman’s DNA in the room where Clemson student Tiffany Souers was found dead more than a week ago. Let the manhunt begin.
Motorcylcist recovering
In perhaps one of the more sensational stories of late, a 19-year-old motorcyclist who went missing last week survived four days in a ditch with a broken back before friends found him Monday. Chung Nguyen had a new motorcycle and was following someone who knew home last week. But then he didn’t make it home and the family filed a missing person’s report.
On Tuesday, Carolyn “Little Red” Ryan talked to Nguyen’s sister, who said Asheville police didn’t do enough to find her brother. Ashvegas Police Chief Bill Hogan responded by saying that many officers worked overtime in trying to find Nguyen.
More parking created
Construction crews knocked down an old building that we believe used to house Catholic Social Services right there in downtown Ashvegas. The building was on a little corner right in front of the Basilica of St. Lawrence and the Ashvegas Civic Center. The rubble will be cleared and that space will be used for parking.
In other news…
Buncombe County voters will use optical scan voting machines after county commissioners decided that was the technology to buy… A house on DeBruhl Road off Flint Hill Road went up in flames. The homeowner said the car she had just parked in her garage exploded and caused the fire… Buncombe County will have the sheriff’s department take over animal control duties from the Humane Society. That’s because animal control calls are often so dangerous, the county manager said. The sheriff will need to hire six more deputies for the job… Haywood County schools will start doing random drug testing of students…. and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College got a $250,000 grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation for something.
