Police investigate break-in, vandalism at Soles’s home

TABOR CITY, NC (WWAY) — Tabor City police are investigating vandalism at the home of Sen. R.C. Soles.

Tabor City Police Chief Donald Dowless says his department received a call at 9:06 p.m. Wednesday from Soles reporting trespassers on his property. Dowless said Soles reported a dark van pulled up with two people. When police arrived, there was no van, but they did find a woman named Angela Hill, who Soles wanted off the property. Hill told police she did not have a ride. After checking to make sure she had no outstanding warrants, Dowless said police took her somewhere where she said she could get a ride.

At 9:45 p.m., Tabor City Police received a call about gunshots fired somewhere around the lake near Soles’s home. Dowless said the call did not come from Soles.

At 9:48 p.m., police did received another call from Soles. This time he said he heard glass break in his home. Dowless said when officers arrived, they found rear window broken, a glass table broken and paint on a wall. Dowless said investigators asked Soles if he heard any gunshots, but Soles said, “All I heard was glass breaking.”

This is not the first time police have been called to Soles’s home or office. The longest-serving member in the history of the state legislature has often called police about being harassed by young men looking for money. In August 2009, Soles shot Kyle Blackburn, who the senator said was trying to break into his home. Soles eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon. A judge ordered him to pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs.