By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — A Salisbury woman was charged with child abuse after her brother reported she was unconscious in a vehicle and accused of huffing, according to Salisbury Police.

Lesley Dalawn Payton, 27, of the 1200 block of North Main Street, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse; misdemeanor resist, obstruct, delay an officer; misdemeanor failure to appear/comply from a July 2019 incident. She remains in the Rowan County Detention Center under an $8,000 secured bond.

The woman’s brother contacted law enforcement after he found his sister and her friend in a vehicle unconscious. The two were parked outside a fish arcade near North Long Street and Bringle Ferry Road. There were aerosol cans in the vehicle, said Police Lt. Greg Beam.

Beam said the man found his nephew in the back seat and took him to the grandmother’s home in the 1200 block of North Main Street. In the meantime, Payton awoke and went to the grandmother’s home where a disturbance was reported, Beam said.

When police tried to arrest Payton, she gave the officer a fake name, which led to her resisting arrest charge.