A plane crash and a brewery's collapse (12-18-2025--Hour1)

What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to dpeakclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support. So I will start here and update you throughout the course of the day as we get more information. But there was a plane crash at the Statesville Regional Airport that's in Iredell County. According to the sheriff, multiple deaths occurred when a Sesna See five point fifty airplane crashed at around ten to fifteen am, so a little over an hour and a half ago. It was not a me imediately known exactly how many people were on board the plane nor who they were. A picture from the airport shows the plane and a massive ball of flames after it crashed. WBTV reports that business record show the plane was affiliated with retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. It was not clear if he was on the plane when it crashed. According to Well, that's just the city's website and the city owned airports or some details about the airport there. Assessina C five fifty business jet crashed while landing this morning. This is according to WSOCTV. The tail number N twenty five seven BW which is owned by GB Greg Biffel GB Aviation Leasing, which has the same address as Greg Biffle. Again, we don't know who was on board the plane. Biffle is a well known NASCAR driver. He had over five hundred cups starts and nineteen wins, and you may remember he made a lot of headlines. A little over a year ago after Hurricane Helene, he and a bunch of volunteers got together and began running emergency relief supply flights to the mountains of western North Carolina, and more recently, he was running relief efforts down to Jamaica when Hurricane Melissa moved through the area. Biffle is himself a registered pilot AC. According to motorsport dot Com, he led several daring expeditions by helicopter into the mountains of western North Carolina and East Tennessee following Hurricane Helene aimed, aiming to help stranded people and deliver aid to those that were cut off from the rest of the world by the historic floods. There was we saw a report, but I don't have it confirmed that there's going to be some sort of a press conference. I think it was initially reported that there may it may occur at noon, but obviously that's not happening at this point. If they do hold a news conference and we were able to grab it, I will I will bring it to you, you know, live as it occurs. Hang on a second. So that's okay. So now to Channel nine is now looks like doing some other crash or something. Hang on, hang on, we have the TVs on up here and looking at Channel nine. Oh, they're talking about an emergency landing at Statesville Airport last year, So okay, So I don't know if they're trying to fill time before the news conference begins or not. Again, w BTV reporting that fatalities are confirmed. The area was very foggy, it still is. Traffic around the airport roads have been blocked, so there we don't know if whether played a factor in the crash or not. But it's I mean, looking at the the images from you know, witnesses and people who saw it happened. Uh, it's it's horrific. It's just catastrophic. If anybody walked away, it would be a miracle. So again, we'll give you more details as we as we get them. But if you are of the praying kind, say a prayer for the families and the victims in this crash. A story that I have not yet covered, but I've been building sort of my my stack of prep about it is. And it's there's no reason why I haven't gotten to it. Just accept my poor time management skills. It's been the story of the Sycamore Brewing founder, co founder, Justin Brigham. And when the story first broke, you know, a couple of days ago, you know, I've printed out some various reports and I've just kept adding to them as we get more and more details because the original story, I think led a lot of people to believe and we still don't know exactly what occurred. When this man, Justin Brigham, who's I want to say, forty four years old or so, yeah, forty four, he was arrested and charged with breaking and entering and child rape. And when people hear those two charges, I think it it paints an image of like a maniac kicking in a door, you know, and assaulting some child. But as more details have emerged, it seems like he met this girl on Snapchat. She's thirteen years old. She's not been identified due to her age. There's a report also that she had sent him in inappropriate picture on Snapchat and when her parents discovered that he was in her bedroom naked. It seems to me like a fight ensued of some kind because the other day, when I think a day two days ago, another charge, well, multiple more charges were thrown at Brigham, and one of the charges included an assault. But the victim in that charge is a male and shares the same last name as the victim. And I'm going to put some context clues together here and submit that that's probably the father. So this guy justin Brigham, according to the charge, grabbed the I believe the father grabbed him by his groin and squeezed and twisted, causing severe pain, which would explain how he was able to escape the house. Right, he assaulted the dad and then he flees the house. He's completely naked. He gets into his car, which I guess he left unlocked, or maybe it's a fingerprint open door lock or something, because he fled without any of his clothing. That's what it seems like. Again, we don't have all these details, but police found him in his car completely naked, which would make sense if he got caught in the act with the thirteen year old. So this was from wbtv's report. The Charlotte man accused of raping a teenage girl last week allegedly used the social media app snapchat to contact the girl. According to the Stanley County Sheriff's Office, Justin Brigham the former owner. He's being referred to as that based on statements from his wife and co owner of Sycamore Brewing. But confirming that is more difficult because well, there are reasons and the Charlotte Ledger gets into some of this, but and I'm going to get to that, but he's being identified as the former owner of Sycamore Brewing. He was accused of breaking into a home in Stanfield in Stanley County, outside of Albemarle and raping a thirteen year old girl. So this was what it seems like to me, is that they were talking. This was arranged and because of her age, it's statutory rate because she cannot legally consent because she's only thirteen. The Sheriff's office said that the social media app was Snapchat. Officials also charged him with more child sex crimes in connection with the rape. The Stanley County Sheriff's Office announced the following new charges, three counts of statue toy sex offense with a child under the age of fifteen, one count of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of soliciting a child by computer, and one count of assault inflicting serious bodily injury. And that was the assault that was on apparently the father. Again, I'm like, this is just my reading sort of between the lines and compiling all the information, like that's what this, that's what it sounds like. I don't know. Maybe there was somebody else, maybe it was her brother or something that he assaulted. I don't know. But one of the questions that people have been asking is like, wait, the parents caught him, how did he make it out of the house? Right, So it seems like there may have been a fight that ensued. I would imagine it's also pretty startling, right, and if you know, maybe jumped out a window or something. So don't know. Now, with the other charges that they threw at Brigham, I believe now they have revoked his bond with the addition of the new charges. He was initially given a ten million dollar bond, but he was being held because he couldn't afford it, and so he was being held in the county jail. And now with the new charges, I think the last report was that he had his bond completely revoked. So what to make of Sycamore Brewing Now it's kind of a Dickensian name for all of this story as well. You know, stories are powerful. 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They are your life told through the eyes of everyone around you and all who came before you, and they will tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video dot com seven oh four five, seven oh one oh seven nine. That's the call in number. It's also the text line driven by Liberty Buick GMC. So this is from a listener MacLean who says, uh, the male victim was the girl's older brother. The father died over a month ago, so that's interesting. And then that also, I like, when did when did this guy Brigham, the Sycamore Brewing co founder, when did he start communicating with this girl? How long has that been going on? If her father had recently died, then that that offers a window for a predator right to take advantage. So this is thank you for the for the information. Like I said, I'm just trying to piece together what limited information is available. The Stanley County uh Sheriff's Office has not been providing a lot of details. I'm not and I'm not dragging them for that. I'm just saying they haven't been providing a lot of details about, you know, how they met and everything else, and so maybe we find out more as they work through the court system at some point, obviously they have to. Before his arrest, he was listed as co founder of Sycamore Brewing. According to Business Record, Sycamore Brewing is the largest brewery in Charlotte in one of the city's most popular spots see and this is see. Here's the problem is that, according to all of the reports that I have seen, all of the officials say that the parents found him. That and so like that. I don't understand her. If this girl's father had passed away a month ago, I'm not sure why this information would be in the official narrative coming out of the sheriff's office. Sounds like they would know if there were two parents there, right, and if there weren't two parents, they would say the mother found them. But this was the initial reporting, and it's remained consistent that they found him the parent. The victim's parents found Brigham in their daughter's bedroom. Brigham was ultimately found completely undress in a vehicle near the victim's home, which I assume is his vehicle, But that's just an assumption. I don't know, again, limited information. I'm assuming he rented a car or drove his own car parked somewhere, maybe not on the property, but maybe nearby in order to you know, have this rendezvous with the girl that I'm assuming he had lined up outside obviously of the parent's knowledge. The breaking and entering people think that that that requires some sort of you know, like kicking in a door or busting out a window. It does not necessarily mean that though, like I've heard people refer to it with the breaking is breaking the threshold. If you open a door that's closed, that could be considered breaking and entering and stuff. So again, like the nature of the charges paint a pick sure of something that might not actually be the case. It might be I don't know. I'm just these are the questions that I have that I would be asking at these press conferences. How did he gain entry? Like start like I start with basic fundamental questions, simple questions whose car was he driving, whose car did you find him in? Stuff like that, How did he gain entry into the house? Were both parents there that found him? Were there any other people in the home at the time. Right, So he was initially held on a ten million dollar bond and banned from social media. Now after this story. So this story broke about what five days ago, and the initial statement that came from Sycamore Brewing they posted it on their Instagram. Nobody from the brewery has done any interview, is they have and give a press conference that they're not talking and like, look, I cannot imagine what this guy with the attackers family has to be going through, right, I mean, like, I'm very sympathetic here to the wife who you find out that your husband did what right, and now you are in the midst of complete wreckage of your your family, right, the life that you have built, your business, one hundred and twenty employees that are relying on you for their paychecks, all of the fans and customers that loved the brewery and the beer that they made, and all of it just detonated overnight. So how do you respond to something like this. There's no there's no rule book. You know, I'm not aware of you know of of a guide on how to get through something like this. But Sycamore Brewing put out a response, and it said that it was divesting, that he was going to divest all of his interests and will have no further involvement with the company. His wife, Sarah Taylor, said in the statement that she's taking full leadership of the company, effective immediately, and she is quote devastated by the charges against Justin and the pain this has inflicted on our family and others. They then put out another statement, But this first statement may have prompted the cancelation of an event that was set for today. Here's a great idea. How about making an escape to a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina. Just a quick drive up the mountain and cabins of Asheville is your connection. Whether you're celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get family and friends together for a big old reunion. If Asheville has the ideal spot for you where you can reconnect with your loved ones and the things that truly matter Nestled within the breath taking fourteen thousand acres of the Pisga National Forest. 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In the immediate aftermath of the arrests of the co founder of Sycamore Brewing, largest brewery in Charlotte, on charges of child rape, he drove out to Stanfield near Albemarle and apparently set up a meeting and was talking to a thirteen year old girl on Snapchat. Reports were that her parents came in and caught him in the child's bedroom. Apparently a fight ensued. He's also charged with assaulting some other male in the house. They added that charge along with a couple of others, and so they put out a statement in the immediate aftermath of the arrest. Sycamore Brewing did and I read to you that statement before the. Break that apparently is part of the reason why an event that was scheduled for tonight. I believe where Sycamore Brewing is located. It's called the Line Building. It's it's in South End, it's on the light rail line. And they had some big event tonight, like a little pop up market deal, and it got canceled. This is from WSOCTV. The fallout continues for Sycamore Brewing, as a Charlotte small business owner canceled a planned holiday event, citing concerns about holding a celebration in the wake of child sex crime charges against the breweries. Co founder Lydia Warns said she understands that the actions of one man don't represent the entire company. However, she doesn't feel comfortable holding an event about peace and love in the holiday season in light of the recent charges against the breweries co founder Justin Brigham. Warrens organizes pop up markets around Charlotte through her company Makers Market CLT. Earlier this week, she canceled the holiday market scheduled for today tonight at the Line Building in South End, which would have highlighted her vendors and other businesses that operate in the same building as Sycamore Brewing. She says, I was under the impression that they were going to try to open and sell beer, I guess during her event, and she said it was an immediate no in my head. I can't, she said, you know, as for Brigham's wife, who's the other co owner of the brewery, she said, I feel for her. She's going through something. I don't think there's a guidebook for that's true, But she also said that she was she did not She did not like the statement that came out from Sycamore Brewing. She said, even the initial press release they did, I think is what set my mind to be like, Okay, we're done, because it felt like it wasn't about the community, it wasn't about the victim. It felt a little to me a little selfish again. No guidebook here. Channel nine learned that several Charlotte bars have been unable to order Sycamore products all week through Adams Distributing, one of the distributors of the beers. It's one of the biggest distributors in the Charlotte area. They did not respond to requests for comments from Channel nine. Comer Distributing also stopped selling Sycamore beers. They said, our responsibility goes beyond the products we sell. Even though the vile person responsible has not been involved in the day to day operations of the brewery for a couple years. He resided outside the US prior to this happening. What that's new information that he hasn't even been involved in the company for years and he doesn't live in America anymore? Curious? All right, if you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events, and I know you do too. And you've probably heard me say get your news from multiple sources. Why. Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is why I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app and it's a website, and it combines news from around the world in one place so you can compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out at check dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link in the podcast description too. I started using ground News a few months ago and more recently chose to work with them as an affiliate because it lets me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the left and the right. See for yourself check dot ground, dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. Sycamore Brewing released a second statement. They did this on Saturday, and it says we wanted to speak directly to our friends and the community about events from the past few days. On Thursday, our co founder and former owner, Justin Brigham was charged by the Stanley County Sheriff's Office with statutory rape of a child, first degree burglary, and indecent liberties with a child. These charges are horrifying and Justin's acts are despicable. We are heartbroken for the victim. No person should have to endure what she did. We realize that words cannot fix what has been done, but want everyone to know that our hearts are completely broken for her. These are unforgivable actions. Justin made horrible decisions, and now he must deal with the consequences. We hope that justice is rapid and allows for the victim and her family to begin the healing process. When we first learned of Justin's arrest on Thursday, Sarah Taylor, co founder and owner put Out and wife put out a short statement. This statement came from a devastated wife and a mother trying to make sense of something unthinkable. Released shortly after learning of the news, the statement tried to provide information and share that Justin was no longer an owner or manager of Sycamore. Sarah is navigating an unknown path, trying to find footing as a mother and as the owner of a business with deep ties to our community. Amid the shock and devastation, she is focusing on her duties to both a shattered household and a shattered community to bring both through this situation. Endless people have been impacted by Justin's actions. Our Sycamore staff have been has been steadfast, working tirelessly amidst the chaos and uncertainty. We will get through this, and this family has each other's backs for our community, friends, customers, neighbors. We realize trust has been violated. We know you are angry. We are angry too, and still learning and processing the full scope of what happened. While there is a legal process unfolding. We want to be as transparent with you about how deeply we share your outrage and sorrow. To be clear, Sycamore will not assist in Justin's defense. We trust that the legal system will hold Justin fully accountable for what he has done. This is about doing right by all of those who have been affected by this, first and foremost by the victim and er family, but also by Sarah and her daughter, and by the innocent people whose livelihoods depend on Sycamore. Much better statement, a little bit of an explanation as to why the first statement was so terse, which makes sense to me. But here's the problem. Not only have bars been dumping out this beer right there's and look, there is a whole bunch of performance going on with people doing this for you know, their social media posts and stuff. I get that distributors are you know, taking it off their off their inventory list. You've got restaurants, you've got grocery stores. People are pulling the beer. The problem is that the brand is now toxic. It just is people don't want to be seen drinking your beer because it sends a message, even if it's stupid and it's you know, if this guy, uh Brigham wasn't even involved in day to day operations and he was. I got a text that they apparently owned a house in Bermuda, which is apparently where they met. I think she is originally from Bermuda. I think that's what I read in Yeah. In twenty seventeen podcast, Sarah Taylor Brigham reflected on how they met. She was working during a college summer as a jet ski tour guide in Bermuda, where she is from, and one day spy Justin, a Charlotte Latin grad who attended the University of Colorado who was working on a tour boat. They struck up a conversation and then they eventually got married, moved to Charlotte to pursue their dream together. They named the business Sycamore, after the sycamore tree, which is prevalent throughout the state and is long living, something that the brewery hopes it will emulate. That was according to an article in Charlotte Magazine back in twenty thirteen. That's why they named it Sycamore. It's prevalent throughout the state and it is long living. Unfortunately, I don't think this brand is going to be long living. I see reports from various media outlets, but also you know people going on their social media accounts and they, you know, walk by the brewery and they shoot video and show how like nobody's there. It is a massive brewery right in the heart of South End, and no one's going to it because the brand is toxic. They don't want their they don't want to be seen holding a can with the Sycamore name on it, and they don't want their money to be used to support this guy justin Brigham and trying to unwind business ownership. Unless Brigham just signs it all away and says, yes, I'm going to give up all of my shares, I'm going to give up everything. I'm divesting and I will receive no revenue whatsoever from this company that I built, which, oh, by the way, could come in handy as I try to hire a defense attorney. Do you think he's going to do that? I don't now. I don't know what their contracts look like. Usually there's some moral turpitude kind of clause in a contract. If you do something to bring ill repute to the company, they can several ties and you lose a lot of your benefits and stuff. But I don't know what those contracts say. Nobody does. And even so that's going to take some time to go through. And if he starts fighting that because he needs a revenue source to pay for his defense, then you can't say that if you go buy some beer at Sycamore, that it's not going to go help him in some way because you don't know. This is the problem. This is the problem. Is it punishing the wife and the one hundred and twenty or so employees of Sycamore? It is? It is like and that that really stinks. As far as I know, she had no knowledge of this was going on anything like this as far as I know, and she's a victim in this as well, as is their daughter, as are the employees they were all. I mean, the blast zone from this guy is immense, and it's said all around, all around. But I don't see any other way out of this unless they sell it and rebrand it. I really don't, and I know that stinks, but I don't know any other way out for a company that's been impacted like this. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecallanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.