What started with a fight with his brother at a downtown Blue Ridge bar ended with a Fannin County man going to jail on multiple charges.
Jesse Joseph Dillon, 31, of 964 Hidden Valley Drive in Morganton, was arrested Tuesday morning, June 16, and charged by both Blue Ridge and Fannin County authorities.
Corporal Sam Rosiles of the Blue Ridge Police Department charged Dillon with theft by taking auto, enter auto with intent to commit theft, and driving without a license.
Deputy Richard Gazaway of the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office charged Dillon with criminal damage to property in the second degree.
Events began for Dillon when he and his brother got in a fight at the Blue Coyote Bar in Blue Ridge. That fight left Dillon with blood on his face and shirt.
Rosiles’ report said he made contact with Dillon shortly before midnight June 15, and he had blood on his face and shirt then. Rosiles said Dillon and his brother left the scene with a female friend.
The next morning, Fannin County deputies caught up with Dillon at the Lakewood Exxon.
The clerk there had called 911 to report a possible fight in the parking lot.
There, he told Deputy Richard Gazaway about the fight the night before and said he remembered waking up in the passenger seat of the 2018 Jaguar F-Pace SUV he was driving.
A check of the car’s license tag revealed it belonged to a resident of 116 West Main Street, Blue Ridge Station, in Blue Ridge.
The resident was contacted and arrived on the scene. They told officers they did not know the car had been stolen, but had left it unlocked with the keys inside.
Dillon had left in the vehicle sometime around 4 a.m. June 16 and drove to his residence on Hidden Valley Drive.
There he had struck the rear of a Mazda truck parked in the driveway.
Deputy Brendan Jourdan responded to the residence to the report of someone who was drunk and breaking things. The resident identified Dillon.
Dillon told authorities when he had gone home, his dad had not let him inside so he left and drove to the Exxon to get cigarettes.
Fannin County deputies called Rosiles to the scene because of the stolen vehicle.
Rosiles then called Sergeant Joe Patterson and Dillon was arrested.
Dillon was released June 17 after posting a $15,500 bond.