Mother of
murdered man continues crusade
against restaurant Restaurant
owner: "we are now totally
compliant"
Photo courtesy Virginia Jerkins
21-year-old Richard Miles was gunned
down in the parking lot of Midtown
Sundries in August 2010.
BY JON
MAYHEW
January 11, 2012 (Stanley) –
A Stanley mother’s grief over
the loss of one of her sons in 2010
has turned into a crusade for
Virginia “Ginny” Jerkins.
In August 2010, Jerkins son,
21-year-old Richard Miles – was
gunned down in the parking lot of
Midtown Sundries restaurant off
Highway 73.
The grieving mother has turned her
sights on the restaurant and the fact
the restaurant opened with a
temporary certificate of occupancy.
Photo courtesy Lincoln
County Sheriff's Office
Jason Eastridge, 25, is accused of
shooting Richard Miles in the face
with a shotgun in the parking lot of
the restaurant. Eastridge was
arrested at his East Lincoln
residence.
According to
Jerkins, the restaurant is operating
illegally and hasn’t had a
temporary certificate of occupancy in
almost three years.
“They are not supposed to be
selling alcohol,” said Jerkins
by phone Monday.
The Carolina Scoop confirmed through
the Lincoln County Planning and
Inspections Department county
attorney Wes Deaton sent the owners
of the restaurant a letter.
In the letter, the restaurant is
given until today (Wednesday) to fix
several code violations within the
restaurant to obtain its certificate
of occupancy.
Planning and Inspections director
Kelly Adkins told “The
Scoop” the only code violation
was in the restaurant’s
bathrooms.
“They have to replace the
fixtures,” said Adkins.
Jason Eastridge has been in the
Lincoln County Jail since his arrest
in August 2010 on charges of First
Degree Murder and Assault with a
Deadly Weapon.
He is currently under bonds totaling
$265,000 and has a next court date
set for 2014.
Eastridge is accused of shooting
Miles in the face after firing into a
crowd of people. Jerkins said
Eastridge was “so drunk and
belligerent” over someone’s
North Carolina Tar Heel tee-shirt.
“When I got there, my son was
covered with blood and my other two
sons had blood on them from trying to
help (Richard),” said Jerkins,
adding Eastridge fired 17 shots on
the night of August 29, 2010. “I
also blame Midtown Sundries and
Lincoln County.”
Jerkins discovered the
restaurant’s temporary
certificate of occupancy ran out May
1, 2009.
“It ran out because of code
violations like the bathroom
countertops, which are too
high,” said Jerkins. “There
are other violations.”
Jerkins said she is trying to get the
ABC license of the business pulled.
“When I went to the planning and
inspections department, I asked why
the restaurant was getting special
treatment,” said Jerkins.
“I was told the county attorney
was handling the matter and that was
five months ago.”
She said county officials have known
about the issue since November 2010.
“Once your certificate of
occupancy expires, the North Carolina
state law says a restaurant has to
start over,” said Jerkins.
“The owners have to pull permits
all over again.”
Jerkins said the fines for letting a
temporary certificate of occupancy
expire is a fine of a $100 per day.
As of Tuesday, according to Jerkins,
the owners of the restaurant owe
Lincoln County $94,400.
“They have been operating for
944 days without a certificate of
occupancy,” said Jerkins.
“I miss my son and this never
should have happened. I’m not
going to stop.”
Ken Moore of Midtown Sundries said
“there is no story”
regarding the certificate of
occupancy.
“We got our certificate of
occupancy Tuesday morning,” said
Moore by phone Tuesday night. “I
never received a phone call or letter
from the county.”
Moore said the State of North
Carolina took three years to respond
to Moore’s appeal. Moore said
under the new state law, restaurant
bathrooms need to have automatic
(motion sensor or push button)
faucets.
Moore added he did not get fined by
the State of North Carolina regarding
the lapsed temporary certificate of
occupancy.
While Moore said Ginny Jerkins is
“a bitter mother who wants
someone to blame,” he apologized
for the incident which Moore said
happened after closing time.
“I’m terribly sorry for
their loss, but myself nor Midtown
didn’t have anything to do with
(the murder),” said Moore.
“I don't understand the vandetta
against my business because no matter
what you do, you can't bring anybody
back. We have 53 employees who are
depending on this restaurant,”
said Moore. "It was never our
intention to be non-compliant. As of
Tuesday we are totally
compliant."
Midtown Sundries opened off of
Highway 73 near Lowe's Hardware in
Cottonwood Commons in September 2,
2008.
