Officers make drug arrests, track down escaped inmate

By Lisa Majors-Duff

John Dustin Hall, 26, and Heather Buchanan, 17, both of Leatherwood Road, Sylva, were charged March 30 with numerous drug violations after officers executed a search warrant at their home, Sheriff Jimmy Ashe said.

Charges against the two include possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana, possession with intent to manufacture marijuana, felony possession of Schedule II crystal methamphetamine and maintaining a dwelling for controlled substances.

Both were being held in the Jackson County Jail Tuesday under $30,000 secured bond.

Two suspects are being sought in an armed home invasion in Addie community on Vintage Lane, Ashe said. When officers responded to the call at about 11:30 p.m. March 26, the suspects had fled the scene, he said.

The two men being sought are described as being about 6 feet tall with medium builds. One man has red hair and a goatee; details about the other are unknown because he wore a mask, the sheriff reported.

The victim, who Ashe said suffered a minor knife cut to his neck during the incident, may know the suspects and believes they forced their way into his home in an effort to steal money from the residence.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at 586-8901.

Finally on Tuesday, a jail inmate at the Justice Center for a bond hearing managed to escape custody but was captured a short time later, Ashe said.

Toby Lewis McClenithan, 30, of Cullowhee, was to have appeared before a judge Tuesday for a bond hearing on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment, which resulted from a March domestic violence incident, said Ashe.

During transport between the jail at the old courthouse and a courtroom at the Justice Center, McClenithan, who was dressed in a jail uniform with his hands cuffed behind his back, fled to the rear of the Justice Center and down a wooded bank to Old Dillsboro Road.

Officers with the Sheriff's Office, Sylva Police Department and N.C. Highway Patrol conducted a search of the area and located McClenithan hiding in a bush near St. Mary's Catholic Church, Ashe said.

McClenithan, who Ashe said is a registered sex offender in Florida, where he served 12 years for sex-related crimes, will face a charge of escape, with an additional bond to be established.

Back to Archive: 04/03/03.