JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A video circulating on social media is drawing hundreds of shares and raising questions about a confrontation between a Jacksonville man and North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agents at a One Stop gas station.
The man in the video, 22-year-old Nakyje Kelly, said he stopped at the station to fill up his car. While sitting in his vehicle, Kelly said a man approached and told him his registration sticker had expired.
“I didn’t know they were ALE. I didn’t see any badges,” Kelly said. “I thought they were regular guys at the gas station.”
Kelly said the encounter escalated before he understood the men were law enforcement.
“They pushed me over that way because there were two guys that hopped out of the car with them, but they were hiding on the other side of the car,” he said. “So they tackled me, just beating.”
Video of the incident appears to show officers striking Kelly as they attempt to bring him to the ground.
Kelly’s mother, Karida Kelly, said she arrived after the incident and found the video difficult to watch.
“When I saw the clear video that someone had posted, it made me cry, and it made me mad,” she said. “I’m just glad that my son didn’t get shot. I’m just glad that he’s okay and well.”
ALE said in a statement, “Agents saw what they believed to be evidence of a controlled substance violation and began an investigation.” The agency said Kelly “became physically uncooperative” and that, “due to Mr. Kelly’s physical resistance, agents used force to take him into custody.”
Kelly was taken to the Onslow County Jail and was charged with:
One felony count of possession with intent to distribute marijuanaOne felony count of manufacturing marijuanaOne felony count of maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substanceOne count of resisting a public officerOne count of assaulting a government official
21-year-old Xiwan Lilly-Andrews was involved in the dispute. She is charged with:
One count of resisting a public officerOne count of assaulting a government officialOne count of defrauding a drug/alcohol testOne count of possessing marijuana up to 1/2 ounceOne count of possessing marijuana paraphernaliaOne count of child abuseOne count of injury to personal property
Kelly says he did not have marijuana in the car.
“We just want justice,” Kelly said. “We just hope that it’s going to be a good outcome out of it.”
ALE said the incident is undergoing its standard use-of-force review, which includes reviewing all available evidence, including video.
Kelly was released from the Onslow County jail on a $50,000 secured bond. Lilly-Andrews was released on a $15,000 bond.
Nakyje Kelly & Xiwan Lilly-Andrews(Onslow County Sheriff’s Office)
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