Buncombe County jail officer arrested, charged with DWI, fired by sheriff
ASHEVILLE - A Buncombe County detention officer was fired from the sheriff's office after police arrested her June 13 for allegedly driving while impaired.
Tauqullia King, 39, a detention officer with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, was charged with driving while impaired and possession of an open container, according to court records. On June 13, King drove on State Street in West Asheville while impaired and with an open alcoholic beverage in the car's passenger area, according to her arrest warrant.
She was released later that morning from the Buncombe County Detention Facility — her former place of employment — on a written promise to appear in court, records show.
The sheriff's office was made aware of the charges the same day she was arrested, according to a June 17 news release from the agency.
After reviewing what happened, the sheriff's office "has chosen to no longer allow" King to serve as a detention officer, the release said. Due to personnel laws, the release said the sheriff's office is unable to "discuss this any further."
The Citizen Times requested her hire date and the public version of her personnel file from the sheriff's office.
More: Buncombe County sheriff disputes immigration 'sanctuary' label; Tillis' office doubles down
This story will be updated.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe County NC jail officer fired, charged with DUI
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wabasha County Commissioners testify in appeals case regarding county attorney's salary
Jun. 17—WABASHA, Minn. — Testimony for the appeal case regarding the Wabasha County Attorney's salary was heard on Tuesday, June 17 in Wabasha County Court. The appeal case was filed in December after the Wabasha County Board of Commissioners passed a motion to reduce County Attorney Matt Stinson's salary by $20,000. During his opening statement, Stinson argued that the board's decision to cut his salary violated the Minnesota statute that says a county attorney's salary cannot be reduced during his term. Stinson's salary was set at $130,000 for 2024. The board of commissioners rescinded its motion to reduce his salary to $110,000 in January and set his 2025 salary at $119,000, which was the salary set for the county attorney position in 2022 when he was elected. Ann Goering, who represented the county board of commissioners, said the board did not violate the statute because they rescinded the motion to set his salary at $110,000. While the $119,000 salary is less than Stinson's 2024 salary, it does not dip below the amount set for the term, Goering said. She continued to argue that commissioners received reports of poor job performance. Stinson did not call any witnesses to the stand and rested his case. Goering first called commissioner Don Springer to the stand. Springer was the first commissioner to make a motion to reduce Stinson's salary in November 2024. During the November board of commissioners meeting, Springer said he spoke with nearly all department heads in the county and received complaints about the county attorney's office. Many complaints involved Stinson's lack of responsiveness to phone calls and emails, a "sense of superiority over other offices," truancy reports not being filed and complaints about sexual assault cases, Springer testified. Springer told the court he made a motion to reset Stinson's salary because he felt $119,000 was more appropriate. Commissioners Mike Wobbe and Bob Walkes were also called to the stand. Both echoed that they spoke with county department heads who complained to them about responsiveness from the Wabasha County Attorney's Office. Walkes said he agreed with the motion to reduce Stinson's salary to $110,000 because he knew they would have the opportunity to raise it to $119,000 during a January meeting when commissioners officially set the salaries of elected officials. Goering finally called Wabasha County Administrator Michael Plante to the stand. Plante, who speaks to all department heads as part of his position, said he was informed that county departments spent over $180,000 on outside legal assistance in 2024. The amount was $100,000 more than the previous year, he testified. The case was rested Tuesday afternoon, June 17. Closing arguments will be heard on July 14.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
RPD responding to shots fired at northwest Rochester apartment complex
Jun. 17—ROCHESTER — The Rochester Police Department was dispatched to the Gates of Rochester on a report of gunshots on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Officers were dispatched to the apartment complex in the 2000 block of 42st Street Northwest around 2 p.m. Tuesday. As of 2:45 p.m., no victims have been identified, and there are no known injuries, according to a statement from RPD. A shell casing was recovered from the scene. This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Loretto hospital CFO hit with new charges alleging massive $290 million COVID testing fraud scheme
A former top executive of Loretto Hospital on Chicago's West Side has been charged in a massive $290 million fraud scheme that allegedly used stolen patient data to bill nearly a billion dollars worth of bogus COVID-19 tests for purportedly uninsured patients at the height of the pandemic. The 48-page indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday marked the latest — and largest — fraud scheme involving the small West Side safety-net hospital that became a lighting rod of controversy during the coronavirus pandemic for administering vaccinations to connected insiders and paying millions in contracts to companies with close ties to facility administrators. Anosh Ahmed, who was previously indicted in a related scheme to embezzle $15 million from Loretto itself, was charged in the new 24-count indictment with wire fraud, illegal kickbacks and other financial crimes. Also charged were Mohamed Sirajudeen, 53, an Ahmed associate who operated a clinic called Chicago Polyclinic LLC, as well as Mahmood Sami Khan, 36, and Suhaib Ahmad Chaudhry, 34, both former employees of Anosh Inc., a Houston-area company Ahmed formed after leaving Loretto in 2021. Ahmed, 41, fled to Dubai before he was first charged last year and has not returned, court records show. Over the past year, he's been using a public relations firm to produce news releases calling himself a 'billionaire agripreneur' dedicated to philanthropic causes, including donating millions of pounds of food to the needy in Lebanon. His lawyer, Dan Webb, could not immediately be reached. Chaudhry and Khan were arrested in the Houston area Tuesday and were expected to appear in court there on Wednesday, court records show. Sirajudeen has arranged to surrender through his attorney. It was not clear if any of the three defendants had hired attorneys. According to the indictment, from April 2021 to June 2022, Ahmed and his co-conspirators used laboratories they opened in Illinois and Texas to submit false claims to the Health Resources and Services Administration for COVID testing of specimens 'purportedly collected from uninsured individuals, knowing that such testing had not occurred.' In all, the false claims sought reimbursement for nearly $895 million, of which more than $293 million was actually paid, the indictment stated. To further the scheme, after Ahmed left Loretto Hospital in April 2021, he had a hospital executive identified as Individual F to obtain a spreadsheet containing personal identifiers — including names, dates of birth, gender and addresses — collected from more than 150,000 Loretto patient visits between July 2014 and June 2020, the indictment alleged. Similar personal information was collected from patients who ordered COVID-19 antigen at-home test kits from an internet site run by Khan, as well as individuals who provided it 'for the purpose of receiving further information about COVID-19,' the indictment stated. The indictment alleged Ahmed used a variety of methods to try to conceal the scheme, including by having Individual F create a new email address with Loretto's domain name to 'create the false appearance that Ahmed was working on behalf of (Loretto)' and that the hospital was reporting test results to patients, the indictment alleged. Ahmed also created a number of false and backdated invoices to minimize his involvement with the various labs, communicated in encrypted messaging apps and ordered co-schemers to replace phones and destroy communications and other documents relating to the scheme, the indictment stated. The indictment sought forfeiture in more than $100 million in cash and securities in various accounts controlled by Ahmed, as well as seizure of four luxury properties in Texas, and vehicles including two Rolls-Royces, a Lamborghini Huracan and a Mercedes Benz. The indictment is the latest in a federal investigation initiated after Loretto came under fire for improperly doling out COVID-19 vaccinations soon after the shots became available. In 2021, following reporting by Block Club Chicago and WBEZ, Loretto admitted it had improperly vaccinated workers at Trump Tower in downtown Chicago and had also improperly given shots to Cook County judges at a time when the vaccines were still scarce. Ahmed resigned from his position as chief financial officer in 2021 after the hospital's board voted to terminate him. Last year, Ahmed was charged in a separate embezzlement case along with former Loretto CEO George Miller; Heather Bergdahl, a friend of Ahmed's from Houston whom he hired in 2020 to serve as Loretto's chief transformation officer; and Sameer Suhail, 47, of Chicago, a doctor and medical supply company owner accused of serving as a front for millions of dollars in bogus payments by Loretto for invoices that were never fulfilled. Miller, who left the hospital amid the fallout in 2022, is cooperating and is expected to plead guilty. Suhail is also believed to be living in Dubai, where he traveled before his indictment. Bergdahl, meanwhile, was arrested after boarding a private jet in Houston that was bound for Dubai. She has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. jmeisner@
