BURKE COUNTY, NC (January 31, 2019) — An 18-year-old East Burke High School student is dead, and two adults are in custody after an alcohol-related accident on January 23, 2019.
Myles Bradley Davis, 18, of Hildebran was killed in a single-occupant, single-vehicle crash on Highway 70A shortly after he left home Wednesday night. Davis was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.
North Carolina State Highway Patrol suspected Davis was impaired prior to the accident after alcohol was found near the vehicle. Troopers notified North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement who began a joint investigation into how Davis obtained the alcohol.
That investigation led SHP troopers to Davis’ residence, at 102 2nd Street Place in Hildebran, where they found three, unconscious underage individuals. ALE special agents later interviewed the individuals to find out more about the events which led to Davis’ death. The investigation led ALE special agents to the Run In 114, a convenience store, located at 400 South Center Street in Hildebran, NC.
Cody Childress, 37, and Amanda Mullins, 37, of Rhodhiss, deliberately overrode the cash register’s age-verification system in order to sell alcoholic beverages to Davis, who was under the age of 21 and intoxicated.
ALE and SHP arrested Childress and Mullins at the Run In convenience store earlier today. Both were charged with the sale of alcoholic beverages to a person under the age of 21, and the sale of alcoholic beverages to an intoxicated person.
“These arrests underscore the importance of checking identifications before selling alcoholic beverages to anyone who may be underage,” said ALE Assistant Special Agent in Charge M. Shoaf “Additionally, clerks have a responsibility to ensure they never sell alcoholic beverages to a person who is intoxicated.”
Childress and Mullins were taken before a Burke County Magistrate and each given a $20,000 secured bond. They are due in court May 1, 2019.
ALE’s 109 specially trained agents have the authority to arrest and take investigatory action for any criminal offense. Their primary responsibility is the enforcement of Alcoholic Beverage Control laws and state lottery laws. ALE is a branch of the State Bureau of Investigation.