Some charges dismissed against NC man accused of putting drugs in granddaughters' ice cream

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Several charges have been dismissed against a North Carolina man who was accused in August 2025 of putting illegal drugs in his granddaughter's ice cream.

James Yokeley Jr. was facing charges of 2 counts of contaminating food with a controlled substance, felony child abuse and possession of a Schedule I narcotic.

Documents obtained by ABC11 state that the two charges of contaminating food with a controlled substance and the felony possession of a schedule I narcotic charge were dismissed on December 22, 2025.

The New Hanover County court said the dismissal was due to insufficient evidence and that lab testing confirms the substance was not a controlled substance under a NC general statute.

The child abuse charge wasn't listed in the document.

At the time of his arrest, Yokeley was serving as chair of the Surry County Board of Elections and later resigned. He was appointed chair by State Auditor Dave Boliek in 2023 and submitted his resignation before a special-called State Board of Elections meeting after the charges came to light.

This all unfolded after Yokeley was charged on Aug. 8 with contaminating food or drink with a controlled substance and felony child abuse. According to the Wilmington Police Department (WPD), Yokeley flagged down officers at a gas station and told them his two granddaughters had found two hard objects in their ice cream. Yokeley told the officer the ice cream was purchased at the Dairy Queen on Oleander Drive.

Police said the objects were pills, and the girls hadn't ingested them. Officers collected them for evidence, and a preliminary field test showed the pills were illegal drugs. The WPD also says they viewed surveillance video as part of the investigation, and Yokeley was seen putting the pills into both girls' ice cream himself.

He was then arrested and charged.

Read Yokeley Jr's full resignation letter here

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