Sam Snyder of Granite Falls is an ex-drag racer whose car burned up in a garage fire two years ago.
His winning bid of $30,000 yesterday at a bankruptcy auction in Ashe County puts him in the driver's seat of a pro-modified 1992 Jerry Bickel Chevy Camaro.
"I want to race a little bit," said Snyder, who had just worked his way through a sea of people to tighten down the hood latches on his new car.
A dragster, a luxury SUV, power tools, haulers, furniture, toys, artwork, costume jewelry and more were among 381 items sold at an Ashe County bankruptcy auction connected to a life and career in shambles.
The property had belonged to former Ashe County real-estate lawyer Michelle Trivette Shepherd and her family. Shepherd is serving 15 to 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty in April to 16 counts of felony embezzlement and 10 counts of obtaining property by false pretense.
Investigators linked Shepherd to more than $5.2 million that was embezzled and swindled from 275 people.
Some of her property, such as the luxury log home where she and her family lived, as well as other real estate, is still on the market as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.
Shepherd is serving her sentence at the N.C. Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh. But if she had been in Ashe County yesterday, sitting on the front porch of that log home, she could have heard the live auction going on down the hill at a five-bay garage as her family's personal effects were auctioned away to the highest bidder.
More than 600 bidders registered. Vehicles lined both sides of the paved road for more than half a mile, and people walked up the dirt road where Shepherd lived on a six-acre spread.
The top-selling item was a 2008 fully loaded Lexus RX400H Hybrid SUV that went for $35,500, about what someone would expect to pay if buying it from a private seller.
Among the other items sold were a 2002 Pontiac Trans Am collector edition for $25,000 and a 1978 Chevy Corvette 25th anniversary edition coupe that went for $8,000.
Shepherd's son and stepson watched from among the crowd. People yelled out "Yo!" or threw up hands to make bids as auctioneers with Iron Horse Auction Co. of Rockingham took turns firing off rapid-fire chants over more than three hours. The atmosphere was festive, with people talking and smoking as lunch vendors offered sandwiches.
A pool table sold for $650. A group of "all toys in the basement" sold for $75, as did a group of five ficus trees. An art print titled The Old Home Place sold for $150, while a group of three art prints that included the Ten Commandments sold for $30.
The least expensive items went for $5, including costume jewelry and the fiberglass nose of a junior dragster body.
Final accounting is still being done, but an initial estimate shows the auction brought in nearly $266,000. The money will go to unsecured creditors, mostly banks and other institutions.
■ Monte Mitchell can be reached in Wilkesboro at 336-667-5691 or at mmitchell@wsjournal.com.
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