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Assault allegations lead to five drug-related arrests
By Lynn Hotaling
Assault allegations filed last Wednesday (Sept. 29) resulted in the arrest of five individuals that same day.
The arrests came in the wake of an assault on Cynthia Potts of Sutton Branch Road, Sylva. Potts reported the assault to officers with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, said Capt. Steve Lillard. Named in arrest warrants in connection with the assault were William Alvin Hall, 51, of the same Sutton Branch Road address, and Jessica Penny Tolley, 26, of 47 Anvil Road, Sylva.
A search of Hall's residence yielded controlled substances and resulted in a number of drug-related charges against him and three others present when the officers arrived – Anthony Harold White, 40, of Andrews; Christoper Scott Creasman, 27, of Clyde; and Lynn Degroff, 39, of Fantasia Drive, Sylva.
Potts, who told officers she had been assaulted by Hall and Tolley when she arrived home that day, filed a report at the Sheriff's Office at 12:50 p.m. on Sept. 29. She was taken to Harris Regional Hospital where she was treated and released, Lillard said.
Potts told deputies she had been beaten with a wooden stick; she was "battered up" when she arrived at the Sheriff's Office, Lillard said.
Because Potts and Hall share the same address, the case was treated as a domestic violence incident, and Hall was immediately jailed for 48 hours, Lillard said. Hall remained in jail Monday under a $35,000 bond, Lillard said.
Charges against Hall include assault with a deadly weapon; assault on a female; aiding and abetting a felony; maintaining a dwelling for controlled substance; possession of cocaine; manufacture of methamphetamine; possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver methamphetamine; manufacture of marijuana; possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver marijuana; possession of prescription drugs (muscle relaxer Clonazepan, depressant Xanax, pain-killer Hydrocodon); possession of non-tax paid alcohol; possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of stolen property and selling a controlled substance near a school campus.
According to Lillard, Sheriff's Office personnel have received numerous complaints about suspicious and possibly illegal activity at Hall's residence and had investigated domestic violence reports there before Wednesday's assault on Potts.
Tolley, who was not present at Hall's residence when officers arrived, was subsequently arrested and remained in jail Monday under a $5,000 bond. Charges against her include assault with a deadly weapon and inflicting serious injury, Lillard said.
White, who remained in jail Monday under a $7,000 bond. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a government official. According to Lillard, White failed to tell arresting officers he had a syringe in his pocket. The syringe was capped, and the officer who searched White was not injured, Lillard said.
White is also charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, Lillard said.
Creasman faces charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of prescription drugs. Degroff faces the same charges as well an additional charge of possession of marijuana. Both were released on unsecured bonds, Lillard said.
Officer Celeste Holloman was the investigating officer in the assault incident, and Lt. Jimmy Clawson led the search of Hall's residence that resulted in the drug charges, Lillard said.
In a Sept. 28 incident, officers with the Sheriff's Office arrested two in Cullowhee after a search at the Alpine Apartments netted one-half ounce of crack cocaine and $2,720 in cash, Lillard said.
Charged were Rebecca Jordan Layel, 32, of Old Cullowhee Road, and Millis Shakilya Bryson, 27, of Alpine Apartments.
Layel was charged with possession of crack cocaine and maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances. Bryson was charged with sale and delivery of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession with intent to sell, manufacture and deliver cocaine, and maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances.
Both were released on bond, Lillard said.
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