Moonshine found during search for armed felon, NC cops say

A moonshine operation was inadvertently uncovered when a North Carolina man summoned deputies to report he was being targeted by a gunman, according to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.

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No shooter was not found during a safety sweep of the property, officials said.

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However, deputies did find an “active” moonshine still, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

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It happened Friday, March 10, at a home on Kings Mill Road in Valdese, about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte, officials said.

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“Deputies responded to a call where a passerby had been flagged down by (a man) advising he had been shot at and he was being chased,” the sheriff’s office reported.

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“Deputies arrived on Messer Road and … escorted him home. At (his) request, deputies checked his residence and in the process of performing a safety sweep of the home located firearms and a barrel of an active manufacturing of non-taxed alcohol, to include raw materials and a fermentation barrel containing materials for brewing called mash.”

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They discovered “several holes in the wall” that appeared to show the man “had discharged his firearm inside the home,” officials said.

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Deputies obtained a search warrant, which revealed two guns at the home, including “a shotgun with a barrel length less than 18 inches,” officials said.

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Deputies also alerted N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement, which seized the “moonshine still,” officials said.

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The 52-year-old man was arrested and charged with possession of weapon by a felon and possession of a weapon of mass destruction, officials said. Bond was set at $30,000.

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This story was originally published March 19, 2023 07:15 AM.