A special prosecutor will oversee the case of a former Onslow County deputy who was charged with assaulting a Native American woman at an eastern North Carolina Native American archaeological site last summer.
Amber Barwick is a resource prosecutor with the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys.
Previous coverage: Violent incident over Native archaeological site at Cedar Point
Soon after the Office of State Archaeology released a report last summer that said thousands of Native American artifacts were found during construction at the Bridge View housing development in Cedar Point, the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina held a ceremony there to honor their ancestors.
As they were leaving the site, video from witnesses at the scene appears to show James De La O (DEH-loh) Jr., an off-duty deputy who lives in the neighborhood, approach the group, and the incident turned violent.
De La O Jr. is charged with communicating threats, assaulting a woman, and making a false police report. He’s accused of body slamming a woman to the ground and verbally threatening two other people.
Trenton Broadwell is also charged with assault by pointing a gun, and Bobby Lowery and Joey Jacobs are charged with second-degree trespassing in connection to the incident.
