By Simone Jasper
The News & Observer
ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. — A North Carolina man gave officers a fake name during his arrest — and now three jail workers face charges, officials said.
When the man was taken into custody on March 25, he is accused of lying and telling officials that he was his brother, 40-year-old Jackie Hunt of Fairmont. At the time, Hunt was working for the Robeson County Detention Center in Lumberton, roughly 100 miles south of Raleigh.
Now, a month later, officials said an investigation revealed that Hunt and two co-workers booked the brother into jail under the bogus name, even though they knew who he really was. All three were “arrested and charged with felony conspiracy to identity theft, aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice,” according to the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies in an April 20 news release didn’t list attorney information for Hunt or the other two jail officers, identified as 50-year-old Warren Phillips of Lumberton and 51-year-old Tina Jones of Pembroke.
The sheriff’s office said the events unfolded after a task force arrested Hunt’s brother in connection to drug possession, “driving while license revoked and carrying a concealed weapon after a traffic stop.”
During his arrest, the man is accused of “fraudulently” giving officers his brother’s information. He “was then processed into the Robeson County Detention Center by Jackie Hunt, Phillips and Jones and bonded out under the false name despite the officers knowing” his real identity, according to deputies.
“Every employee of the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office and Detention Center is expected to abide by the laws of the state,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in his department’s news release. “These officers are held to a higher standard and took an Oath of Office to uphold the rules, regulations and laws of this state. It’s a proven fact that I will not tolerate foolishness.”
Hunt’s brother was taken into custody again on April 16 and given a $95,000 secured bond. The detention officers received $500,000 unsecured bonds, according to the sheriff’s office.
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