An ice cream cone covered in sprinkles at Dairy Queen in Morton, Illinois.

A North Carolina county official was arrested after being accused of putting drugs in his two granddaughters' Dairy Queen ice cream.

James Yokeley Jr., 66, was charged with felony child abuse, possession of a Schedule I narcotic and contaminating food or drink with a controlled substance in connection with the Aug. 8 incident, according to a news release from the Wilmington Police Department.

Police say Yokeley waved down an officer at a local gas station, telling them that his granddaughters discovered "two hard objects in the ice cream" they bought from a local Dairy Queen.

The children were evaluated, and it was determined that they did not ingest the objects, described by police as "pills".

Pills were illegal narcotics, police say

According to Wilmington police, a field test concluded that the pills were illegal narcotics, which were then collected and sent to a lab for further investigation.

The drugs were positive for cocaine and MDMA, according to an arrest warrant obtained by USA TODAY.

Video footage obtained by the department showed that Yokeley placed the substances in their treats, the news release states. He was taken to New Hanover County Detention Center and posted a $100,000 secured bond, police said.

USA TODAY contacted the firm that Yokeley's attorney works for on Thursday, Aug. 28. The attorney has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Yokeley was a local official

Yokeley, a Republican, served as chairman of the Surry County Board of Elections. The board released a statement on its Facebook page.

"The State Board of Elections and Surry County Board of Elections are aware of the charges against Mr. Yokeley, the chair of the Surry County Board of Elections," the post reads. "We will continue to collect information about the situation and will provide support to the Surry County board, as needed, to ensure it is able to continue serving the county’s voters."

State Auditor Dave Boliek, who selected Yokeley for the position in June, announced Yokeley's resignation on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 28. It comes after Boliek called for him to step down.

“With his resignation, the Surry County Board and State Board can now, without distraction, move forward with the process of appointing a replacement," Boliek said in a news release.

Surry County is in the Blue Ridge foothills of northwestern North Carolina, about 40 miles from Winston-Salem.

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Grandfather accused of putting drugs in grandkids' Dairy Queen ice cream

Reporting by Taylor Ardrey, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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