Police: Raleigh man flees two crime scenes in RV

William Dixon Wellons, 65, of 7105-B Woodbend Drive, was charged with felony possession of stolen goods, felony contaminating of food or drink with a controlled substance, misdemeanor larceny and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. He also was served with an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court on an earlier shoplifting charge in Durham.

Police said a customer at Winston's Grille, at 6401 Falls of Neuse Road, used phony gift cards to pay for dinner Monday and walked out on a $67.91 bill. Witnesses told police the man headed south in an RV.

While an officer was handling that case, a call came in from the Carolina Ale House, at 512 Creekside Drive, about a man trying to drug a woman. Police said the man put some diazepam, the chemical name for Valium, into her drink.

The man fled the Carolina Ale House in an RV, police said, and the officer at Winston's Grille spotted the vehicle headed north on Falls of Neuse and determined the same person was involved in both crimes. The officer stopped the RV a couple of miles later on Falls of Neuse Road, just south of Interstate 540, police said.

Police determined that the Dodge Sprinter RV had been stolen in Durham.

Wellons, who was being held Tuesday in the Wake County jail under a $155,000 bond, had 14 diazepam tablets with him when he was arrested, police said.

He has a lengthy arrest record, dating to 1965. Charges against him include larceny, indecent exposure and second-degree kidnapping. According to the state Department of Correction, he was convicted in 2003 of two counts of assault on a female.