My husband and I left our home in Glade Valley, N.C. one sunny day in Sept.09 to go and visit his mom, who was hospitalized in a town outside of High Point, N.C. On our way there, we decided to stop in a small town that was off Interstate 40, called Yadkinville, and go in a chain drugstore to purchase a card for her. We were dressed appropriately for a hospital visit, and were friendly to the clerks in the drugstore. We purchased our card, some make-up and a soda , then preceded back out to the parking lot to my 1992 Ford F150. We got in the truck and lit up a cigarette and opened our soda. We wanted to relax a bit before we journied onto High Point. After resting for a bit, I cranked up the truck and was headed toward High Point. Just as we pulled out of the parking lot, a blue light came on behind us. I pulled over at a neigboring gas station, and an officer immediately got out of his patrol car, came up to my window, and ask "What were you people doing in that drugstore?" He gave us no reason for pulling us, and before we knew it, there were three city police and a deputy sheriff surrounding us. The policeman that pulled me ,asked me to get out of the vehicle and took me around back and had me empty my pockets. He then asked me what I had in that truck, and stated "For all I know , you could have a million dollars in there" The officer kept me behind the vehicle while some of the other officers started searching the truck, The remaining officers questioned and searched my husband, who is disabled from a traumatic brain injury , is blind in one eye, and has had five strokes. I tried to explain to the officer that had me at the back of the truck that my husband was not well, but he refused to listen. He told me that I had a fictious tag, altered registration and title and no insurance. I submitted evidence to him that I did not, and he laughed and told me that my title, insurance card and registration meant nothing. He took my tag, the other officers left my truck in a mess, as well as my pocketbook and the card we had purchased for my mother in law. After recieving tickets for something I was not guilty of, they left us stranded miles from home, and miles from the hospital. We ask them if they would give us a ride to the DMV to purchase another tag, They refused , so we walked to the DMV in the hot sun. The clerk at the DMV was very hateful refusing to let me sign my truck over to my husband ,so we could get a tag. I ended up having to call Raleigh from a cell phone , and they had to make her let us purchase another tag.That woman treated us as badly if not worse than the officers who pulled and searched us.
When I returned to my home in Glade Valley, I contacted the DA’s office in Yadkinville, and was assured if I faxed all the info to his assistant pertaining to my innocence ,that all charges would be dismissed. That did not happen. I sent several faxes, hand delivered letters and statements from my insurance etc, and even sent in an old driver’s license to which I never recieved back. I ended up having to contact the Attorney General’s office, the FBI and WBTV -CBS in Charlotte N.C. ( I used to work for an affiliate of that station, and assumed they may help me get matters solved.) Finally when I had my day in court, I was told I would get to question the officers as to why we were treated that way. However, when I got to court, no officers showed up, and the DA was very arrogant and mean to me, but had no choice but to dismiss all the charges as I sat in front of him with proof of my innocence that he had sitting in his office all along. This case went on for three months, and not only at the beginning were we told by the officers that pulled us, that we looked suspicious, but the DA told us we must have looked that way too. What is suspicious.? I was wearing a long blue jean skirt, a nice shirt and high heel shoes, with my hair fixed nicely, as well as my make up. My husband was also dressed nicely and clean shaven with short hair. I was so tormented by this incident that I ended up sick for a month,and my husband lost thirty pounds. We were never apologized too, nor compensated for the transfer of the tag to my husband.
I am a human services/counseling student with less than a year before graduation. I am Phi Theta Kappa, Who’s Who in American Junior Colleges, and maintain a 4.0. I try to stay as far away from trouble as possible and lead a moral life. The only reason I feel that we may have been stopped is that we drive an older vehicle and were a target for them, because they figured they would give us tickets and we would not have the money to retain an attorney to fight the charges. Little did they no, that I do not give up easily.
I have written this article to warn others about driving through Yadkinville, N.C. I have found out during the course of this incident, and afterward that others have been unjustly charged too. This is politics clear and simple. The town is small and needs some money backing it, and one way to get it is from unsuspecting poor people. I hope this article keeps someone else from going through the "torment" that my husband and I endured over this. I have warned all my family and locals to stay away from that town, and now they are all vowing they will bypass it when traveling. Any smart person reading this will do the same. Had I not contacted all the people I did, I am not sure what the outcome would have been for me.