FROM STAFF REPORTS

Three men face charges as a result of an Iredell County Sheriff’s Office investigation of a drug-related shooting that occurred outside a home near Mooresville last month.

ICSO deputies were dispatched to a home at 159 Tennessee Circle around midnight on Wednesday, September 14, following a 911 call about a shooting at that location.

When the deputies arrived, they located a 20-year-old male inside the residence with apparent gunshot wounds to his leg and arm, Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a news release. The shooting victim, Yash Vaidya, was conscious and alert and provided the deputies with information about the shooting before being transported by Iredell County EMS personnel to a medical facility.

Vaidya told the deputies the shooting had occurred at the end of his driveway, and he did not know the shooters, according to the news release.

After the shooting, the suspects fled the scene in a vehicle, and Vaidya’s family members called 911.

ICSO detectives and crime scene investigators responded to the residence to process the crime scene and conducted interviews with witnesses and neighbors.

After an extensive investigation, ICSO narcotics investigators identified the two suspects involved in the shooting as Cecil Tyler Smith of Gastonia and Sage Perry Wright, of Cherryville.

These two suspects were located and interviewed by detectives. Detectives gained information about the entire incident and interviewed Vaidya again after he was released from the medical facility.

After compiling all of the evidence and statements, a clearer picture of the incident was made by the detectives.

Vaidya met the suspects through a website where marijuana users chat with each other. Meetings to buy and sell marijuana are also made on this site.

Vaidya made arrangements online with the suspects to purchase a felony amount of marijuana from them and have it delivered to his home on Tennessee Circle, the sheriff said. When the two suspects arrived to deliver the marijuana, Vaidya met them at the end of his driveway and a disagreement took place over money owed.

Vaidya then pulled a knife from his pocket during the disagreement and threatened Smith with the knife, according to the news release.

When Wright saw Vaidya approaching Smith in a threatening manner with the knife, he pulled a firearm and fired multiple rounds at Vaidya, striking him in the leg and arm, Campbell said.

After the shots were fired, Wright and Smith fled the scene in their vehicle.

As a result of this investigation, all three individuals were arrested.

Vaidya was arrested on October 7 and charged with Felony Attempted Armed Robbery and Felony Conspiracy to Sell or Deliver a Schedule VI Controlled Substance. He was given a $10,000 secured bond by Magistrate Russell.

Smith, 22, of East Hudson Boulevard, Gastonia, was arrested on September 20 and charged with Felony Conspiracy to Sell or Deliver Schedule a VI Controlled Substance, Felony Possess with Intent to Sell and Deliver a Schedule VI Controlled Substance, and Misdemeanor Maintaining a Vehicle for the Sale or Use of a Controlled Substance. Smith was also found to have outstanding warrants for probation violations in Lincoln County. He was issued a secured bond of $13,500 by Magistrate T. Thompson.

Wright, 20, of Whiteside Street, Cherryville, was arrested on October 12 in Gaston County and served with a warrant for Felony Conspiracy to Sell or Deliver a Schedule VI Controlled Substance. He was given a $10,000 secured bond by Magistrate Brantley.