| March 28,
2005 |
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| Explorer
Accused of Stealing, Wrecking Patrol Car |
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A 16-year-old
youngster involved with the Burke County Sheriff's Office's "Explorer" program
has been charged with vehicle larceny after a Saturday night wreck involving a
Burke County patrol car.
The wreck involving Evan Leroy Williams (left), of 303 Kela Drive, Morganton, and three other
occupants could have been much worse "except for the grace of God," said Burke
County Sheriff John T. McDevitt. |
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| The wreck occurred around 8:45 PM near Table
Rock Middle School, according to reports. Williams and his three
passengers, whose names were not disclosed by investigators, were reportedly
uninjured in the crash. |
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| McDevitt said he was notified at his home that a
wrecked patrol car had been found off Watermill Road, and he drove to the
accident scene. The patrol car, a 1997 Crown Victoria, was found mangled
against a tree with no one inside. |
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| The sheriff said he spoke with a witness who had
reportedly allowed the driver to use his cell phone to call for help. A check
of the number called from the cell phone belonged to a member of Williams'
family, McDevitt said. |
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| The family member reportedly had picked Williams
and the three others up from a house near Table Rock Middle School shortly
after the call, unaware that an accident had occurred. |
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| "After putting two and two together, Evan was
brought to the Sheriff's Office and interviewed, and he was subsequently
charged with vehicle theft," McDevitt said. |
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| Detectives believe that Williams had stolen a
set of keys to the patrol vehicle last week while he was at the Sheriff's
Office. The patrol car was being used as a spare vehicle and had over 176,000
miles on it, according to one investigator. |
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| "We believe he came back Saturday night and took
the vehicle from the Sheriff's Office parking lot," said the
investigator. |
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| Williams was an active member of the Sheriff's
Office "Explorers" program, which McDevitt said takes youth and teaches them
moral standards as well as the laws of society. The program also is geared to
peak youth's interest in a possible law enforcement career. |
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| "Any dreams he had of pursuing a law enforcement
career crashed with him on Saturday night," said McDevitt. |
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| Sheriff's investigators said Williams had been
running the blue lights and driving at a high rate of speed during the joy
ride. Trooper D.B. Brown with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol
investigated the accident and estimated Williams speed to be around 100 miles
per hour at the time of the wreck. |
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| Brown's report stated that the patrol car lost
control in a curve and ran off the road, then re-entered the roadway out of
control and crossed the center line before again running off the road. The
vehicle reportedly traveled over an embankment and struck a tree, spun around,
and struck another tree before coming to a rest. |
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| "I'm extremely disappointed, because Evan seemed
to be one of our most dedicated Explorers," McDevitt stated. "We recently gave
him a certificate of merit after he raised several hundred dollars for one of
our jailers who has a child undergoing treatment for leukemia." |
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| Although disappointed, McDevitt said Williams is
extremely lucky to be facing criminal charges rather than a funeral. After
seeing how badly the patrol car was damaged, the sheriff said he felt the four
were lucky to be alive. |
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| "The car is a total loss and probably would have
caught fire if the gas tank had been full," he said. "It's by the grace of God
that one or all four of them weren't killed. I would much rather tell Evan's
family that he was under arrest, rather than he's never going to come home
again." |
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| In addition to the auto larceny charge, Williams
was charged by the N.C. State Highway Patrol with reckless driving and failure
to report an accident. He was released into the custody of his family.
Additional charges may be pending in the case, detectives said. |
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