| Photo: Don Davis Jr./High Point Enterprise |
| In happier times: Thomasville City Manager Kelly Craver rocks out with his Street Party Band |
A rock and roll-playing city manager was arrested for marijuana possession in North Carolina on Saturday.
Thomasville City Manager William Kelly Craver, 54, of Greensboro, was arrested in Davidson County late Saturday night, reports MyFox8. Craver was charged with one count of misdemeanor possession of up to a half-ounce of marijuana and one count of possession of “drug paraphernalia,” according to court records.
Craver was taken before a magistrate and given a $2,500 secured bond, although he was not in jail, the spokesperson said Sunday morning.
The city manager was charged after he was found with marijuana, a plastic bag containing traces of marijuana, and a pipe with marijuana residue, according to court documents from the Magistrate’s Office in Lexington.
| Photo: MyFox8 |
Craver was one of three people cited — and the only one arrested — at a home on High Rock Lake (yes, that’s really the name), according to Davidson County Sheriff David Grice, reports Paul Garber at the Winston-Salem Journal
Sheriff Grice claimed deputies had gone to the 100 block of Sunset Boulevard responding to another call. The houses in the area are poorly marked, and the deputies claimed they were trying to find the right house when they knocked on the door at 196 Sunset Boulevard.
That’s when the deputies found people — gasp! — smoking pot, according to the sheriff. OMG, what’s this country coming to?
Also cited on the same charges as Craver were Lisa Lackey Menius, 47, of Greensboro, N.C., and Karen Annette Hamilton, 52, of Thomasville. The house is owned by Menius, according to Sheriff Grice.
When asked why Craver was arrested and the two women were cited and released, Sheriff Grice claimed Craver was “uncooperative” and “wouldn’t answer the officer’s questions.”
Thomasville Mayor Joe Bennet said he knew about the charges, but added he believes that anyone accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty.
“I’m not going to make a statement until it goes before a judge, a court or the city council,” Bennett said, reports Melissa Hall at the Winston-Salem Journal. “It’s a personnel matter.”
City managers are appointed by city officials; it is not an elected position.
Craver, who also plays guitar with the Street Party Band, has been city manager of Thomasville since 2006. He was assistant city manager for several years before that. He released a solo music CD in the mid 1990s and is still an active musician, having played since the age of 15, reports Darrick Ignasiak at The High Point Enterprise.
Interestingly, in 1981, he was a member of the Street Talk Band along with current Davidson County Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Rabon.
The Thomasville City Council called an “emergency meeting” at 6 p.m. on Monday to discuss a “personnel matter” in “closed session,” reports the Greensboro News & Record.
According to state law, specific actions that might be taken by the council would have to be done in open session after a closed session.
Craver is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 25, at the Davidson County Courthouse.
