Six Asheville-area Law Enforcement Officers Arrested in Past Nine Months

Tauqullia King — detention officer “Six law enforcement officers in Asheville and Buncombe County have been arrested in the past nine months under charges ranging from driving while impaired to perjury, records show.” Among those named in reporting is 39-year-old Tauqullia King, who “was a detention officer with the sheriff’s office at the time.” King “was arrested on June 13,” and a search warrant in the case shows that “a search warrant was issued at 3:20 a.m. on June 13 for two vials of King’s blood, according to a copy obtained by the Citizen Times.” The warrant further records that the arresting officer “detected a faint smell of alcohol at the scene, then detected a strong odor of alcohol on King’s breath while at the Buncombe County Detention Facility.” King faces charges of driving while impaired and possessing an open container, according to court records cited in the reporting; the case remains part of the cluster of prosecutions now moving through Buncombe County courts.

Beauregard “Beau” Baley — Asheville senior police officer Asheville Senior Police Officer Beauregard “Beau” Baley, 43, of Fairview was arrested on Feb. 8 by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office. Reporting lists his charges as “driving while impaired, misdemeanor child abuse, public urination, resisting public officer and reckless driving.” The Citizen‑Times coverage places Baley among the APD personnel involved in recent criminal matters but does not explicitly link him to specific internal personnel outcomes in the excerpts provided; his criminal case is one of the matters moving through district or superior court. Baley’s arrest underscores that the recent prosecutions span personnel from both the sheriff’s office and the city police department.

Plowucha — long‑time sheriff’s office deputy and detective One of the individuals referenced in the paper’s rundown appears only by last name: Plowucha. The public personnel record excerpt included in reporting states: “Plowucha was first hired as a patrol deputy in 2006 and rose through the ranks to become a detective in 2019, making $24.35 an hour, according to the public version of his personnel record. He was demoted in December 2022 from a detective investigating cases to a court enforcement deputy within the Buncombe County courthouse.” The Citizen‑Times places Plowucha within its compilation of law‑enforcement personnel who have faced arrests or disciplinary changes over the nine‑month span; the excerpts provided do not list the exact criminal charge tied to Plowucha in the roundup, leaving the personnel history as the clearest available detail.

Ex‑Buncombe bailiff — indictment after alleged trial testimony issues The newspaper’s reporting also included a related item headlined as coverage of a former court official: “More: Ex-Buncombe bailiff indicted after allegedly lying during murder trial.” That line links to an indictment alleging the ex‑bailiff lied during a murder trial, a development that sits at the more severe end of the range of allegations reported (the Citizen‑Times summary described charges stretching “from driving while impaired to perjury”). The excerpted coverage does not provide the bailiff’s name or clarify whether the indictment is one of the six arrests counted in the nine‑month total; what is explicit is the presence of an indictment for alleged false testimony in the court system alongside the other personnel prosecutions.

Unnamed Asheville Police Department senior officer — resignation following arrest Reporting notes that “Following the arrests, four Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office deputies were fired, an Asheville Police Department senior officer resigned and one APD officer remains suspended.” The paper’s compilation therefore identifies at least one senior APD official whose arrest was followed by resignation, though the excerpts do not attach a name or specific charge to that resignation. What is clear from the reporting is the personnel consequence: a senior-city police official stepped down in the wake of the criminal case referenced by the Citizen‑Times, and the matter is part of the broader set of prosecutions now largely pending in Buncombe County courts.

Unnamed Asheville Police Department officer — suspension after arrest Alongside the resignation, the Citizen‑Times summary records that “one APD officer remains suspended.” The excerpts do not publish that officer’s name or list the precise charges in the supplied material, but the suspension is cited as one of the immediate administrative outcomes tied to the recent arrests. As with the other cases, the office-level discipline sits against the reported legal backdrop that “All the criminal cases besides one are still pending in either Buncombe County District Court or Superior Court,” indicating that the suspension is part of ongoing personnel and criminal‑justice processes rather than a concluded disposition.

Conclusion — scope, courts and remaining gaps The six cases described in the Citizen‑Times compilation cover personnel across Asheville and Buncombe County law‑enforcement agencies and a range of alleged offenses—from DWI and open containers to allegations of lying in court. Reporting shows significant personnel fallout: “Following the arrests, four Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office deputies were fired, an Asheville Police Department senior officer resigned and one APD officer remains suspended.” For court status, the paper makes explicit that “All the criminal cases besides one are still pending in either Buncombe County District Court or Superior Court.” The excerpts provided name key figures and surface personnel records and a blood‑draw warrant, but they leave gaps in the full roster of names, precise charges, and case dispositions for several of the six people; the public record and court dockets remain the next steps for verification as these matters progress through the local justice system.