City councilman is
charged with DWI
LUMBERTON — A Lumberton city councilman was charged with driving while impaired on Sunday after his vehicle rear-ended another car that had stopped at a traffic light, causing a minor fender-bender.
According to a police report, Columbus “Chris” Benjamin Howard, 69, had a blood-alcohol content of .13. In North Carolina, anyone with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or above is considered to be impaired.
Howard, who was elected to the City Council in 2015, represents Precinct 6. His term expires in 2019.
It is the fourth time Howard has been charged with a DWI since 2003, but he has only been convicted of it just once previously.
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Dunn man charged
with rape, incest
CLINTON — A 67-year-old man accused of forcing a female relative to have sex with him for more than a decade was jailed on felony charges and a sizable bond after an eight-month long investigation by Sampson County Sheriff’s authorities.
Leonard Junior Barefoot, 67, of Dunn, was arrested Tuesday on charges of second-degree rape and felony incest. He was taken into custody without incident and jailed in the Sampson County Detention Center under $1.5 million bond.
The victim told authorities that Barefoot forced her to engage in sexual activity with him over a period of 13 years. Her age is not being disclosed “in order to protect the integrity and identity of the victim,” sheriff’s authorities said.
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Search warrant lists
sex toys, whiskey
DARLINGTON, S.C. — After winning a legal battle, The Fayetteville Observer obtained the affidavit for a search warrant and related documents Tuesday in the molestation case against Fayetteville car dealer Mike Lallier.
During the search, Darlington County sheriff’s investigators found eight sex toys and the specific brands of whiskey they had been seeking during a search of Lallier’s motor home last year.
The documents how that Lallier was arrested 30 minutes after the investigators began the search. The motor home had been parked in the infield of the Darlington Raceway over the 2016 Labor Day weekend for the Bojangles’ 500 NASCAR race, where Lallier had reportedly entertained friends and business acquaintances.
— From staff and wire reports.