Rutherford County Arrests After Fleeing Deputies

Rutherford County -- December 14, 2022: In the early morning hours of Saturday, December 10th, 2022, Deputy Dylan Chapman, Deputy Jonathan Clayton,

and Deputy Caleb Buitron of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office were conducting a routine patrol in the Harris Community. Deputy Chapman, while on patrol on US 221 South, attempted to pull over a motorcycle operated by Joshua Freeman, 31, of Forest City, for a number of registration and traffic offenses. The driver ignored the Deputies' orders to pull over and instead led them on a chase. The motorist proceeded south on 221 into South Carolina and eventually stopped at Dove Ridge Lane. The driver abandoned the vehicle and ran away. The driver was captured by the sheriff's deputies. When he was finally apprehended, deputies from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office took him to the detention facility. After Joshua Freeman is extradited back to North Carolina, he will be served with the following warrants:

Felony Flee to Elude Arrest W/MV
Order for Arrest for FTA (X2

No photo of Joshua Freeman available at this time.

On Friday, December 9, 2022, Rutherford County Sheriff's Office Deputies Hunter Haynes and Joseph McComas were on patrol along Piney Mountain Church Road in the Ellenboro neighborhood. The deputy was out on patrol when he tried to pull over Robert Daniel Wintle, 44, of Bositc. The driver ignored the deputies' orders to pull over and led them on a brief chase. The vehicle was halted by deputies on Owens Street in Ellenboro. During the investigation that followed the vehicle's stop, deputies found Fentanyl and associated paraphernalia.

Both the driver and the passenger, Abby Humphries, 21, of Ellenboro, were arrested and charged with the following:
Robert Daniel Wintle:
Felony Flee to Elude Arrest
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
In addition to the above charges, he was served with two outstanding orders for arrest.
Abby Humphries:
Felony Possession of Schedule II
Both subjects received a secured bond.

Robert Daniel Wintle

Abby Humphries

Editor's Note:* A criminal charge is an accusation, by law, a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven in a court of law.

WNCTIMES by Marjorie Farrington