Former Election Official Charged with Allegedly Drugging Girls’ Ice Cream

Indictment of Former Elections Director in North Carolina

A grand jury in North Carolina has charged a former county elections director with a felony for allegedly adding pills to the ice cream of two teenage girls.

On January 20th, a New Hanover County grand jury indicted James Edwin Yokeley Jr., 66, on two counts of unlawfully distributing food or beverages and one count of intentionally abusing a child, resulting in serious bodily injury. This was reported by WBTV3.

According to Wilmington police, Yokeley put pills in the ice cream cones of his 16-year-old step-grandson and a 15-year-old friend at a Dairy Queen in August 2025. Thankfully, the girls discovered the pills before consuming them. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage, which allegedly captures Yokeley placing the pills into the desserts.

The substance in question has been identified as trazodone, a prescription antidepressant often used for insomnia, as reported by Port City Daily. Initial tests suggested the pills contained MDMA and cocaine, but official results indicated they weren’t controlled substances under North Carolina law.

Yokeley reportedly contacted police after his granddaughters found the pills in their ice cream. However, video evidence seems to contradict his claims.

Initially, prosecutors dismissed the first set of charges on December 22 before referring the matter to a grand jury.

At the time of his arrest, Yokeley was the chairman of the Surry County Board of Elections and was appointed to the role in June 2025. Following his arrest, State Auditor Dave Bolique called for his resignation, which Yokeley promptly submitted. In his resignation letter, he mentioned the circumstances surrounding his own wrongful conviction and stated that it was in the best interest of both the State Board of Elections and the Surry County Board of Elections for him to resign.