PEMBROKE — A local woman tired of watching heroine take the lives of loved ones took to the streets Saturday.
Amanda Locklear led a protest against drug activity in the Union Chapel community in Pembroke. The woman who was raised in Union Chapel was not alone. Nine other people took part in the march down Union Chapel Road from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., before resuming the protest at Shirley’s Quick Stop gas station at 6:30 p.m., with the permission of its owners.
“We’re just bringing awareness that the community is fed up, that we’ve had enough,” Locklear said.
She had to do something after a friend died of a heroine overdose about two months ago, Locklear said.
“I organized it. It was just something that was on my heart,” she said.
She understands the dangers of drugs, lessons learned during her 25-year addiction to crack cocaine, Locklear said. Now, after nine years of being clean, she wants to make a difference, a difference she hopes will start in her community.
“I just, I want to do my part,” Locklear said.
And she and her group are just getting started. Another protest is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at N.C. 72 and Union Chapel Road.
“We’re expecting more people this time,” Locklear said.
Locklear is frustrated with a justice system that offers repeat drug offenders a revolving door. After arrests, they seem to keep bonding out, and she’s tired of it, Locklear said.
Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins is frustrated with the process of punishing repeat drug offenders.
“While I stand committed to battle the drug issue in Robeson County, repeated arrests and searches of the same offenders only to see them released after bonds are being dropped has become frustrating,” Wilkins said. “Law enforcement as a whole are doing a good job on combating the issues, but we have to have cooperation of the courts to make a difference.”
But, the Sheriff’s Office will continue to punish people who are “profiting off the death of our citizens,” he said.
There have been several drug arrests made in the Union Chapel community, with searches of homes leading deputies to heroine and fentanyl, which have contributed to “an astounding number” of overdoses and overdose deaths in the county, Wilkins said.
Excluding numbers from the Red Springs and Lumberton police departments, there have been 20 overdose deaths in the county since May 4, with two more pending autopsy results, the sheriff said. That’s equal to the Sheriff’s Office’s 2019 overdose death count.
Wilkins commends Locklear and her group’s efforts to thwart drug activity in their community.
“I am very appreciative of the residents of Union Chapel coming together to show their frustrations against drug dealers in the area,” Wilkins said. “Their voice is important as these are the people that see it and live it daily. My office stands committed to rid the area of those that wreak havoc on the community.”
Robeson County’s District Attorney Matt Scott stands behind Locklear’s efforts, saying community involvement is key in decreasing drug activity in the county.
“The more agencies and the more communities get involved and we all row in the same direction, we will get to our destination quicker and we’ll be more productive,” Scott said.
The District Attorney’s Office will send a grant proposal by June 1 to the Department of Justice seeking $600,000 over a three-year period to fund sobriety and adult treatment courts, he said.
Law enforcement and health officials met May 13 to discuss solutions to the county’s drug problem. The meeting included a presentation by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, which houses its own recovery program called the Anchor Initiative. The meeting was the first of many steps toward finding a solution to the problem, Wilkins said.
Reach Jessica Horne at 910-416-5165 or via email at jhorne@robesonian.com.
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