Wilkes sheriff deputies are not releasing the name of the Moravian Falls man they arrested following a shooting last night in his home. According to a crime report, the shooting was prompted by an argument between the 45-year old man and Joseph Smithey Senior, who also lives at the house on Dixie Rock Road. When deputies arrived last night just after 7, they found the alleged shooter in the front yard, and he told them he’s shot Smithey because he wouldn’t leave the man alone. He said Smithey told him to shoot him, so he did. The single gunshot hit Smithey in the head, a severe enough wound that he was taken by ambulance to Wilkes Regional and then airlifted to Baptist Medical Center. Officials there have not released his current condition. The unidentified shooter was taken to jail and charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill, Inflicting Serious Injury. The gun was recovered from a sofa cushion at the house.

The case of a dog allegedly stolen several months ago his headed to court, after charges were filed against the accused thief. The story is the kind of he said-she said it may take a jury to sort out. According to deputies, The dog, belonging to Tammy Reavis, had been taken from a neighbor’s home by Cynthia Watson, who was working along with a friend to help demolish a mobile home. Watson tells deputies she took a liking to the dog as they were working, and the person she was working for, Mary Jane Royal, told her the dog needed a good home, had been well cared-for, had its shots and was housebroken. She says Royal told her she could have the dog. Royal tells deputies she’d said the dog wasn’t heres to give away, and that she did not give Watson permission to take the dog. She says she went into the house for a while and when she came out as Watson was leaving, the dog was no longer there. She didn’t think anything of it at the time. It was more than three weeks before the theft of the dog was reported, and after an investigation that has spanned the summer, deputies have filed a charge of larceny of a dog against Watson at the instruction of the DA’s office. She has been served a warrant for the crime.

A Wilkes woman saw a couple of boys in her front yard playing with a puppy on Saturday, then watched in horror as they kids hopped on an ATV and sped off with the puppy in their arms. Maria Meza called deputies Saturday afternoon, and although they searched the area near her house, they did not locate the boys, the ATV, or the puppy. Meza tells deputies the boys appeared to be between 9 and 11 years old and both had black hair. The ATV was blue. That’s the only description she was able to offer. The puppy was about 10 weeks old and is a bulldog mix. Deputies are still investigating the case.