Michael Ray James, Jr., a former law enforcement officer in Washington County, will be in court on Apr. 3. His charges: Impersonating a law enforcement official along with assault.

James Jr. is facing the charges in Craven County and Craven County officials confirmed that he was a certified officer in Washington County before transferring to Jones County.

A Craven County Clerk listed the offense date for both charges as Mar. 5, 2022. The clerk said the offenses happened at the Craven County Fairgrounds during a concert. Per court documents, James Jr. approached a female victim and tried to remove her from her rightful place. He said he was not only security, but law enforcement. The documents say the victim attempted to return to her seat and James Jr., now showing a side arm, informed her again that she will need to comply. The victim was then assaulted physically by James Jr. in the act of removing her from her seat.

The documents state that James Jr. was previously with Washington County Sheriff’s Office but as of June 2021 Training and Standards did not renew his credentials.

Washington County Sheriff Johnny Barnes, when contacted, stated that James Jr. "has never been a paid employee. He was an Auxiliary Deputy for a while. We separated him after repeated requests for a medical test was not done." Sheriff Barnes was not in his office and therefore did not have access to James Jr's dates of employment at the time.

Jones County Sheriff Matthew Wineman confirmed that James Jr. was employed as a part-time deputy in Jones County after being hired on Mar. 11, 2021 and was separated on Mar. 4, 2022 due to an issue involving his status with North Carolina Sheriff's Training & Standards.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.