Burn delayed for area near fugitive’s armed camp
BREVARD, NC – A Henderson County fugitive had equipment to make booby traps in a camp where federal investigators allegedly found gunpowder and guns, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman said Tuesday.
John Joseph Hiles’ camp in the Pink Beds area of Pisgah National Forest was a quarter-mile from Yellow Gap Road. The area is one of the most popular in the region for hiking and mountain biking. It is also popular with hunters this time of year.
The government had planned to burn hundreds of acres in the area on Tuesday to clear underbrush to aid in searching for more ammunition and explosives.
The Forest Service postponed the burn because of the rain.
Hiles, 45, was camping in the woods after failing to appear in court on charges of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, felony manufacturing marijuana and maintaining a vehicle for selling drugs.
Investigators charged him with growing 15 marijuana plans in his 1984 Ford Ranger pickup truck in May, according to an arrest warrant. He had potting soil, cups and fertilizer in the truck to use in the growing operation, according to the court papers.
Hiles was being held in Henderson County with bond set at $20,500.
He is scheduled for a court appearance on Friday. The court papers listed his address as “general delivery,” which is often used by law enforcement when a person doesn’t have a home address.
Officials with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office did not return messages Tuesday seeking more details.
U.S. Forest Service agents and deputies from the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office captured Hiles on Nov. 21. He had placed a classified advertisement looking for a ride out of the state.
A Forest Service agent responded to the ad and met Hiles in the forest, where he was arrested.
The Forest Service closed the area and posted signs warning the public about the possibility of explosives in the woods after finding the camp, Forest Service spokesman Terry Seyden said.