Two Salisbury men were charged with firearms possession at a road block set up by authorities looking for someone else.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said Labryan Dion Hawkins, 26, was driving a car with Daeshore Aceem Lyles, 19, in the passenger seat on Thursday. The two backed out of a driveway on Torbush Drive while a Rowan Sheriff’s deputy was searching for a subject in a foot chase and a N.C. Highway Patrol helicopter circled overhead.
Lyles drove toward a deputy parked at the intersection of Torbush Drive and Grant Street. The vehicle was stopped by the deputy.
Officials found a .380-caliber handgun inside Lyles’ jacket pocket. The gun had been reported stolen, said Sheriff’s Capt. John Sifford.
A .357-caliber revolver was found underneath the front passenger seat where Hawkins was sitting.
Lyles was charged with possession of a stolen firearm and carrying a concealed weapon. Hawkins was charged with carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Hawkins was released from the county jail after posting a $5,000 secured bond. Lyles was released after posting a $1,000 secured bond.
Hawkins has numerous convictions for drug trafficking, drug possession, traffic violations. Lyles has a number of pending traffic infractions.
One day after being charged, Hawkins reported he was the victim of an attempted robbery. He was at a North Fulton Street home late Friday night on his front porch when two men approached him, one of them carrying a handgun.
Salisbury Police are investigating the incident that occurred just before 11:45 p.m. The men forced Hawkins back into his home where they kept telling him to “give it up, give it up,” he said. Hawkins told police he had nothing, and the subjects didn’t take anything.
A woman who was at the home with Hawkins ran to the kitchen, retrieved a butcher knife and approached the man who was armed with the handgun, a report said. One of the subjects kicked her in an attempt to knock the knife out of her hand.
The woman ran out the door to a neighbor’s house. She told authorities the subjects left. There was a white Dodge Intrepid in the area at the time of the incident that could be involved. In May 2012, Hawkins and two other men were involved in a police chase that resulted in subsequent drug charges. In 2009, a 20-year-old Hawkins was charged with drug possession following a traffic stop.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact Salisbury Police at 704-638-5333.