N.C. OFFICIAL ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

Assistant Attorney General Charged After His Car Ran Off I-85 Near
Lexington And Hit A Tree

An assistant state attorney general was arrested on drug charges yesterday
after the 1991 Ford Explorer that he was driving swerved across three lanes
of Interstate 85, ran off the road and hit a tree.

Authorities charged William Dennis Worley, 33, of Raleigh with misdemeanor
of possession of ketamine, a general anesthetic; misdemeanor possession of
drug paraphernalia; and a felony charge of maintaining a vehicle for a
controlled substance after finding the drugs in his car.

Worley was released from the Davidson County Jail. His unsecured bond was
set at $10,000.

Worley works in the justice department's Department of Correction section.
He has worked as an assistant attorney general since September 1994. Before
that, he worked as a clerk with the N.C. Supreme Court.

Worley was suspended with pay pending the outcome of an investigation, a
spokesman for the attorney general's office said last night.

Worley was about three miles from Lexington when the accident happened
about 9:30 a.m., said Trooper Eric Smith of the N.C. Highway Patrol. He was
not speeding and suffered only minor scrapes across his chest and neck from
his seat belt.

Detectives with the Davidson County Sheriff's Office, who came across
Worley soon after the accident, saw Worley try to stick a blue vial between
the car seats, said Sheriff Gerald Hege. The vial contained a white powder
that tested positive as ketamine, Hege said.

Ketamine is used in hospitals and some veterinary offices, Smith said.
Worley did not have a prescription for the drug. It can be snorted, smoked
or mixed into drinks.

It can cause users to hallucinate, according to a Drug Enforcement
Administration Web site. Worley, who told authorities that he was reaching
for his cellular phone when the accident happened, appeared coherent and
showed no signs of impairment, Smith said. He was not tested for drug use.
"He stated he hadn't used it today or yesterday," Smith said.

Worley was returning from Charlotte at the time of the accident. He was not
working.

The Highway Patrol is still investigating. Charges are pending, Smith said.

A spokeswoman for the justice department said that her office is looking
into the matter. "Once we have a clear picture of what happened, our office
will take appropriate actions, including any disciplinary measures that may
be warranted based on the facts," Ashley Westbrook said. Worley is to
appear in Davidson District Court on May 3.