A political battle for a seat in the North Carolina House that turned into a legal battle with each candidate filing assault charges against the other ended Monday in a matter of seconds.
Simple assault charges against Tim Benton of Bladenboro and Brenden Jones of Tabor City were dismissed in Bladen County District Court. Neither man was present. Lawyers told Judge Fred Gore that the men agreed to have the charges dismissed.
Each had taken out papers charging the other with simple assault following an altercation Oct. 29 at Beast Fest in Bladenboro. No charges were filed by law enforcement since the altercation was not seen by any officers, Bladenboro Police Chief Chris Hunt said.
Although reports differ as to what took place between the candidates, it’s known both were attending the annual festival, which draws several thousand people to the town. The men spoke with each other and decided to move away from the crowd to continue their conversion. At some point, the two had some type of altercation. Law enforcement intervened and the two men parted ways.
Jones, a Republican, won the election for House seat 46 with 19,446 votes, according to the N.C. Board of Elections. Benton, a Democrat, had 11,705 votes and Libertarian Tom Howell Jr. had 1,040. The district covers portions of Bladen, Columbus and Robeson counties.
About Author
