Wilmington, NC News

CHESNEE, S.C. (AP) – Cherokee County deputies say a 77-year-old
man made up a story that he was pulled over and robbed by a fake
police officer because he was trying to get money to keep from
being evicted.
Sheriff Steve Mueller said Barber Smith admitted he lied Friday
morning about a man in a car with blue lights stopping him.
Handcuffing him to his steering wheel and stealing $3,500 when a
deputy came to make a sketch of the suspect.
Authorities say Smith hoped lying about the robbery might help
him get the money he needed to stay in his home.
Smith has been charged with making a false police report. It
wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — For months we’ve been following reports of corruption within the Leland Police Department. Tonight we have new information on allegations against the former police chief.

Tim Jayne was fired earlier this week, but we’re still uncovering controversy within the department while he was chief with officers saying they did work in his neighborhood and at his home while on the clock.

An officer who worked under Jayne, who wants to remain anonymous, says Jayne ordered him to run personal errands and do personal assignments in Jayne’s neighborhood when the officer should have been doing police work. The officer says he knows he was not the only member of the department made to do personal things for the chief on duty. He says he knows that officers were made to do work at Jayne’s home – like setting up his Internet connection and WiFi – while others were made to pick up supplies for and do work at the community pool. He says one officer was ordered to drive to masonboro harbor in wilmington to pick up lawn chairs for the neighborhood and then made to set them up at the pool.

Although Jayne has already been fired from the department, he could now face criminal charges based on these allegations. The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office says Jayne could be charged with embezzlement of city funds or misappropriation of funds for having officers do work at his home, much like former Brunswick County Sheriff Ron Hewett, who was convicted in 2008.

Our source says he has been questioned by the SBI, but not about working at Jayne’s home.

We tried to talk to tim jayne about the allegations, but he did not return our phone call.