A GOP North Carolina elections boss is out on bond and out of a job after police say he slipped drugs into his teenage granddaughter’s Dairy Queen Blizzard, then tried to pin it on the ice cream shop. James Edwin Yokeley Jr., 66, flagged down an officer and claimed the girls found “hard objects” in their treats.
Lab testing later identified the blue pills as MDMA and cocaine, and according to investigators, security video shows Yokeley himself putting the pills in the cups. Thankfully, the teens didn’t ingest the drugs.
NEW: A North Carolina county elections chair accused of putting cocaine and MDMA in his granddaughter’s Dairy Queen Blizzard.
James Yokeley Jr. was charged with child abuse, possession of a controlled substance, and contaminating food with a controlled substance.
The incident… pic.twitter.com/8rNqQexCAw
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 29, 2025
The scare unfolded near a Sheetz gas station after the Blizzards were bought at a Dairy Queen on Oleander Drive in Wilmington. Police say Yokeley approached an officer to report the “contamination,” prompting a quick sweep for evidence and a timeline reconstruction that soon led detectives to Dairy Queen’s cameras. That footage, authorities say, undercut his story.
Early reports said the incident happened on August 8 and involved two granddaughters. Police later clarified at a press conference that it occurred on August 3 and that the victims were Yokeley’s step-granddaughter and her friend. Either way, investigators say the pills tested positive for MDMA and cocaine, and medical staff confirmed the teens hadn’t consumed them.
Yokeley was arrested on multiple felonies, including contaminating food or drink with a controlled substance and felony child abuse, as well as possession of a Schedule I narcotic. He posted a $100,000 secured bond and was ordered to avoid contact with the teens, according to local reports. Police haven’t suggested a motive, and the investigation is ongoing.
James Edwin Yokeley Jr. — the 66-year-old Republican chairman of the Surry County, North Carolina, Board of Elections — faces serious criminal charges after authorities in Wilmington, North Carolina, revealed he allegedly slipped MDMA, cocaine into his granddaughters’ ice cream.… pic.twitter.com/eLBniNHZrb
— Ken Jones (@SkepticKen) August 28, 2025
The political fallout landed just as fast. Appointed to the Surry County Board of Elections in 2023 and elevated to chair this summer, Yokeley resigned after state officials publicly urged him to step down. In a letter released by the State Board of Elections, he insisted he’s “prayerfully confident” he’ll be exonerated.
Local outlets say Dairy Queen’s owner turned over video quickly and stressed her staff had nothing to do with the pills. “Thank goodness we had video,” she said, as investigators emphasized this was an atypical case that could have had far worse consequences.
As the case moves toward a September court date, one reality is already clear: the footage prosecutors say they have, combined with the lab tests, could be devastating in court. For the teens and their families, relief came from two small mercies: quick thinking at a gas station and a camera pointed at a counter.
In the meantime, a small-town elections board is scrambling to fill a suddenly vacant chair, and parents across Wilmington are shuddering at the idea that a sweet summer treat nearly became a crime scene. What began as a routine Blizzard run has turned into a courtroom drama with a political twist and a reminder that sometimes the most unsettling stories arrive with sprinkles on top.
