After accused of putting illegal drugs in granddaughters' ice cream, Surry Co. BOE head resigns

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The chair of the Surry County Board of Elections resigned from the position on Thursday.

James Yokeley Jr., who was appointed chair by State Auditor Dave Boliek, submitted his resignation before a special-called State Board of Elections meeting was to take place at 1 p.m. in Raleigh, and after Boliek called for his resignation.

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. He was given a $100,000 secured bond at the New Hanover County Detention Center.

Yokeley was first appointed to the Surry County Board of Elections as a member in July 2023. He was appointed chair of the county board in May, according to the SBOE.

Amid the investigation, Boliek released a statement.

"The arrest and investigation of the Surry County Board of Elections Chair is very disturbing," Boliek said. "This matter distracts from election management in Surry County and must be addressed quickly and directly. "Our office is built on holding individuals accountable. He needs to resign, and Surry County needs a new Board of Elections Chair. If he doesn't resign, I'll be requesting the State Board take action today to remove him as Chair."

Not long after that, Yokeley resigned, and the SBOE confirmed the resignation in a news release.

"This morning, at approximately 11:44 a.m., James Yokeley submitted his resignation as Chair of the Surry County Board of Elections," the board said.

Boliek then issued the following statement:

"As I had called for, the Chair of the Surry County Board of Elections has resigned. With his resignation, the Surry County Board and State Board can now, without distraction, move forward with the process of appointing a replacement."

Read Yokeley Jr's full resignation letter here

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