Overview
- A New Hanover County grand jury on Jan. 20 indicted James Edwin Yokeley Jr., 66, on two counts of unlawful distribution of food or beverage and one count of intentional child abuse involving serious physical injury.
- Wilmington police allege he placed pills in ice cream for his 16-year-old step-granddaughter and her 15-year-old friend at a Dairy Queen in August 2025, with surveillance video cited by investigators.
- The teenagers spotted the pills before eating, reported the discovery, and officials say Yokeley flagged down an officer shortly afterward.
- Preliminary field tests pointed to MDMA and cocaine, but a state lab later found no controlled substance under North Carolina law; the indictment identifies the tablets as trazodone, a prescription antidepressant.
- Yokeley resigned as Surry County Board of Elections chair following the allegations, and an administrative hearing is scheduled for March 9 in New Hanover County.