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Man charged with murder in shooting death of his father in Wilkes County
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Published: September 16, 2008
MORAVIAN FALLS – A Wilkes County man shot his father in the head at the kitchen table yesterday night, and the shooting victim died this morning, authorities said .
Joseph Wesley Smithey, Sr., 79, of 126 Dixie Rock Road, died at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Wilkes County Sheriff Dane Mastin said.
Smithey's son, Jeffrey Allen Smithey, 45, of the same address, was charged with murder and is being held in the Wilkes County jail under no bond.
The shooting occured about 7 p.m. Monday in the Brushy Mountains. Dixie Rock Road is a dead-end road off Brushy Mountain Road.
When deputies arrived, they found Jeffrey Allen Smithey in the driveway of his father's home.
"He wouldn't leave me alone," Smithey told the deputies, according to their report. "He told me to shoot him and I did."
The father and son had been arguing, authorities said, although it's not clear what the argument was about. The investigation is continuing.
Authorities said it appeared that the son had been drinking.
Mastin said Joseph Smithey Sr. was hit in the forehead by a single shot from a .22-caliber pistol fired at a distance of less than 10 feet.
Authorities said they were not aware of previous problems between the father and son.
Jeffrey Smithey has a history of alcohol-related convictions.
He served a year in prison for DWI, from 1990 to 1991, according to records of the N.C. Dept. of Correction. He also served 60 days for a 1987 DWI conviction.
He was convicted of DWI in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1997, all in Wilkes County, according to records.
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