Town commissioner held without bond after fleeing BCSO

Published 12:48 pm Friday, June 8, 2018

CHOCOWINITY — Chocowinity Town Commissioner John Curtis Jenkins Jr. will be held without bond until his next court appearance, following his latest run-in with the law Thursday.

Jenkins surrendered to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office on Friday afternoon after fleeing from BCSO deputies who were attempting to serve a Pitt County warrant for stalking charges Thursday evening.

According to BCSO Lt. Jim Vanlandingham, Jenkins fled the scene, losing deputies in the woods nearby. In fleeing the authorities, a second warrant was issued for Jenkins’ arrest on charges of resisting arrest.

“They searched for a period of time and were unable to locate him,” Vanlandingham said.

According to Vanlandingham, Jenkins surrendered at approximately 2:30 p.m. Friday, at which time he was transferred to the Pitt County Detention Center to await his first appearance in court. Pursuant to a motion from the office of District Attorney Seth Edwards, Jenkins’ bond has been revoked for the cases pending in Beaufort County District Court.

The flight from justice on Thursday night is not the first for Jenkins. In May, he eluded authorities for more than a week as he was sought for charges of kidnapping and felony assault. Jenkins turned himself into authorities on May 14, and was held in the Beaufort County Detention Facility on a $500,000 bond.

  • These charges are the latest in what has been a long string of run-ins with the law for Jenkins during the past two and a half years. Jenkins has faced assault charges on six prior occasions:
  • On Dec. 31, 2015, he was charged with felony assault by strangulation at a New Year’s Eve party.
  • In August and October of 2016, he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault on a female.
  • In November 2017, he and his brother, John Jenkins, were charged with felony assault following an altercation with a tenant of one of their mother’s rental properties.
  • Less than two weeks later, on Nov. 24, 2017, Jenkins was charged in Pitt County with assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious injury in the presence of a minor, assault on a child under the age of 12 and interfering with emergency communications.
  • In May, Jenkins was charged with assault by strangulation and second-degree kidnapping in Beaufort County. While the incident leading to these charges was reported to authorities on May 4, Jenkins eluded law enforcement, ultimately turning himself in on May 14.

According to the North Carolina Court System website, Jenkins currently has three scheduled court dates, two in Beaufort County and one in Pitt County.

On June 12, Jenkins is scheduled to appear in Beaufort County Superior Court for felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

On July 11, Jenkins is on the docket in Pitt County District Court to answer for charges including felony assault by strangulation, felony second degree kidnapping, assault inflicting serious injury in the presence of a minor, misdemeanor assault on a child under 12, interfering with emergency communications and misdemeanor second degree trespassing.

On July 19, Jenkins is scheduled to appear in Beaufort County District Court to face charges of felony assault by strangulation and felony second-degree kidnapping.