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A Clay County man driving a pickup truck near Qualla and Piney Road is accused of attempting to run down another man operating a motorcycle, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
In addition to assault with a deadly weapon in reference to the pickup he was driving, William Vincent Cody, 43, of Hayesville, faces a felony charge of possession of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia in the June 15 incident.
Clay County Sheriff’s Officer Donovan Burke responded to an area near the intersection at 7:55 p.m. after receiving a report that Cody allegedly hit someone with his truck.
At the scene, Burke found Dustin Henderson’s blue Harley Davidson lying in the grass.
A witness told Burke that he had seen a red truck, later identified as Cody’s, chasing the motorcycle when it wrecked.
The officer reported that as he was talking to the witness, Cody drove up in the truck and according to the release, had a bottle of pills in his pocket and admitted to drinking at a bar. Cody was secured in the back seat of Burke’s patrol vehicle.
Dustin and his wife, Nicole Henderson reported that they had seen Cody at the Local Market and observed that he had been drinking. They said they tried to get his truck keys away from him. After a brief altercation, Dustin and Nicole left.
Dustin was riding his motorcycle and Nicole was driving her white truck with her children inside when Cody began following them while allegedly aggressively driving his red truck, according to the sheriff’s office.
Cody is accused of hitting Nicole’s truck while passing her. and he allegedly ran into Dustin on his motorcycle causing him to wreck, according to the sheriff’s office. After wrecking the motorcycle and reportedly “fearing for his life,” Dustin jumped into Nicole’s truck and left the scene to call 911 for help.
After Burke arrested Cody and transported him to the Clay County Detention Center the officer conducted a routine search of the back seat of his patrol vehicle. Burke reported finding a metal smoking pipe and a tin foil packet containing a purple compressed powder that field tested positive for fentanyl which led to the drug charges.
No bond was issued for Cody’s release.