A deputy sheriff from Blount County has been arrested in Asheville for solicitation of a minor by the internet. 48-year-old James Eugene Patty Jr of Maryville was arrested as he was exiting his vehicle after driving to North Carolina for the alleged meeting. Agents with the SBI’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force say that through a previous investigation they learned that Patty, who is currently a Blount County Deputy, drove from Maryville to Asheville “with intent to have a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old female.” He currently is being held in the Buncombe County detention center under a $50,000 bond.