James Edwin Yokeley Jr., the Republican chairman of the Surry County, North Carolina, Board of Elections, is facing felony charges after police say he laced his own granddaughters’ ice cream with MDMA and cocaine—then tried to blame it on a Dairy Queen.
According to WRAL News, the 66-year-old approached a Wilmington police officer on August 8 and claimed his two juvenile granddaughters had discovered “two suspicious pills” in their ice cream after a stop at the Dairy Queen on Oleander Drive.
But investigators say Yokeley was lying—and that surveillance video tells a very different story.
Authorities say the footage shows Yokeley himself placing the pills into the girls’ ice cream. An arrest warrant states the substances later tested positive for MDMA and cocaine.
Police confirmed that neither child ingested the drugs, and the pills were sent to a state lab for confirmation. Even so, Yokeley now faces multiple serious charges, including: contaminating food or drink with a controlled substance, possession of schedule I narcotics, and child abuse.
He was booked at the New Hanover County Detention Center and released after posting a $100,000 secured bond, according to the report.
Yokeley had only been appointed to his election leadership role in June—just two months before the incident—by State Auditor Dave Boliek. His arrest has sparked outrage and concern across North Carolina, where the role of elections officials has already been under heightened scrutiny.
As of now, there’s been no public statement from Yokeley or his legal team. The investigation remains ongoing.
