The Burke County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for help finding William Ernest Smith Jr., a 53-year-old man wanted on a warrant for fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle. Deputies say Smith has outstanding warrants in Burke County and has not yet been located by law enforcement officers, despite the sheriff's office publicizing his case this week.
According to the Burke County Sheriff's Office, Smith, born December 18, 1972, was last known to live at 3021 Bonnie Ln. in Hildebran, a municipality in eastern Burke County that sits along Interstate 40 near the Catawba County border, according to Realtor.com. The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information about his whereabouts to call 828-438-5500 or email [email protected].
Smith's flee-to-elude warrant arrives just two months after he was already facing serious felony drug charges. On June 6, he was arrested by Burke County Sheriff's deputies during a traffic stop in Hickory, where deputies seized roughly 201.74 grams of methamphetamine, 16.42 grams of fentanyl, and 1.26 grams of crack cocaine from the vehicle, per WHKY. Following that arrest, Smith was charged with felony trafficking in methamphetamine, felony trafficking in fentanyl, and felony maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for controlled substances, and he was held under a $250,000 secured bond, the station's report notes.
A Shared Address Tied to the Same Drug Case
A co-defendant arrested in that same June drug operation, Lisa Renee Greene, shared Smith's residence on Bonnie Ln. in Hildebran and was charged with identical felony trafficking counts, according to the Burke County Sheriff's Office. It remains unclear whether the new flee-to-elude warrant stems directly from an attempt by law enforcement to serve or execute a warrant tied to that drug case or to any bond conditions Smith was under, and the dossier does not resolve that connection.
Fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer with a motor vehicle is ordinarily a Class 1 misdemeanor in North Carolina, but the offense escalates to a Class H felony when two or more statutory aggravating factors are present, such as speeding more than 15 mph over the limit, reckless driving, gross impairment, or driving on a revoked license, per the UNC School of Government. A conviction on the felony version of the charge also renders the vehicle driven during the offense subject to mandatory administrative seizure and forfeiture under state law, according to FindLaw.
What Smith Could Face If Convicted
Under North Carolina's structured sentencing guidelines, a Class H felony conviction carries a potential active prison sentence ranging from 4 to 25 months, depending on the offender's prior criminal record level, according to the Sparrow Law Firm. All of the charges against Smith, both the pending flee-to-elude warrant and the June drug trafficking counts, remain allegations at this stage and have not been adjudicated in court.
The Burke County Sheriff's Office is led by Sheriff Banks Hinceman, a 33-year law enforcement veteran who was elected to the post in 2022, according to the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association. The department oversees a jurisdiction spanning 511 square miles around the county seat of Morganton and serving roughly 92,000 residents in western North Carolina.
Public Tips Have Helped Before
The sheriff's office regularly turns to public Most Wanted advisories to track down fugitives with outstanding felony warrants, and that approach has paid off before. In July, featured suspect Jessica Allman was apprehended through community leads generated by a similar public notice.
Smith's case adds to a string of recent Burke County criminal matters that Hoodline has covered, including a Nebo felony sex case and a homicide arrest tied to River Rock Road. For now, deputies say Smith remains at large, and anyone with information on his location is urged to contact the sheriff's office.
