Congressional candidate receives summons for felony from 2020

Congressional candidate LaKesha Womack received a reissued seven-year-old felony summons on Oct. 11 while at a campaign rally.

Womack is running against incumbent Tim Moore for the District 14 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, which covers Burke, Cleveland, Gaston, and Rutherford counties along with parts of Mecklenburg and Polk counties.

Court documents allege that Womack failed to return a 2019 Toyota Corolla Sedan, valued at $20,000, to Budget Car Rental by the agreed-upon date of Oct. 23, 2019. The official charge is “failure to return a hired motor vehicle valued >$4,000,” a Class H felony.

Court records show that the original summons was issued on Jan. 14, 2020, and returned unserved on Feb. 13, one month later. Court records show no activity between that time and the reissue earlier this month.

Two days before the summons was re-issued and delivered at the Polk County Democratic Party’s Fall Rally, Womack stated in a video posted to her Facebook page that she was homeless at the time of the original charges, between addresses with nowhere to receive mail.

She explained that she had been approached by a woman at a barbecue earlier that day, who asked if she had any felonies.

Womack told her she didn’t, and soon after received an email asking for comment on the allegations, according to the Facebook post.

“I do owe them people some money, obviously,” Womack said in the Oct. 9 video. “I thought I had resolved the issue, but it’s not resolved, and I’m going to go up to the courthouse and figure out what I’ve got to do — ‘How much money do y’all need?’ That’s a part of being an adult. A bigger part of being an adult is being honest and being accountable and being able to admit when you make mistakes.”

Womack did not respond to questions via email from The Paper concerning the charges, the vehicle, or how she planned to respond to the summons. However, in an Oct. 14 Facebook video, she said she had retained an attorney and could not comment on the summons.

“How do you have a situation from 2019 — I lived in Mecklenburg County seven years, nothing ever happened,” she said in the Oct. 14 video. “Do you guys know they served me in Polk County on Sunday (Oct. 11)? … We go seven years and ain’t nobody got nothing to say, but all of a sudden, on Friday, we can find the paperwork, and by Sunday we’ve refiled it? So, I have an attorney who’s looking into all of this, so no, I will not be commenting about it, personally.”

The summons is not a conviction, and Womack is considered innocent until proven guilty.

Early voting started on Oct. 15 and ends on Oct. 31. The November 2026 general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Womack’s first appearance in court in Mecklenburg County is scheduled for Nov. 10, after the general election.