A North Carolina elections official is accused of spiking his granddaughters’ ice cream with cocaine and the club drug MDMA, according to local police.
Surry County Board of Elections Chairman James Yokeley Jr. was arrested after he initially told police he found the pills in the ice cream they had purchased from a Dairy Queen in Wilmington earlier this month.
Investigators later found video footage that showed “Yokeley had been the one who placed the two pills into both victims’ ice cream,” police said on Wednesday. Dairy Queen is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Subsequent testing confirmed the pills contained a combination of cocaine and MDMA, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Raleigh’s WRAL. Both of the drugs are powerful stimulants, while MDMA is also known to have hallucinogenic properties.
Authorities did not speculate on Yokeley’s motivation for allegedly attempting to drug his granddaughters. Neither of the girls, whose ages are unclear, ingested any of the substances.
Yokeley was taken into custody and charged with felony child abuse, possession of narcotics and contaminating food with a controlled substance, according to Wilmington police. He was transported to the New Hanover County Detention Center but released after posting a $100,000 secured bond.
On Thursday, a day after the charges were announced, the Surry County Board of Elections confirmed Yokeley’s resignation.
The Republican said he did nothing wrong, but “after much prayer, thoughtful reflection and consultation,” felt his immediate departure best served the election board he was appointed to in 2023. Yokeley became the group’s chairman in July and planned to serve until 2027.
His LinkedIn page describes him as a parcel company CEO who once served as a North Carolina Ports vice president specializing in distribution services and economic development.
