HAMLET — Within hours of explaining his previous court issues, a candidate for City Council found himself charged with communicating threats.
During Tuesday’s Hamlet City Council meeting, candidate Esco Latimer approached the podium during the public comment section of the meeting to clear up what he said were “misconceptions that are being thrown around.”
“There’s a lot of council members who want to find out about my past, my past charges,” Latimer said, adding that he wanted to address the issue with the council and administration, “because half the truth is being told…you’re putting out the information but you’re not telling what happened at the end.”
Latimer said the charges stem from his daughter, mentioning a case from late 2015 where he was accused of assaulting a woman who reportedly accidentally hit his daughter with her purse at a movie theater.
That story was reported by Spectrum News and WTVD — where his last name was listed as “Latimore” — and has been shared on social media during the campaign.
According to the news reports, Latimer was accused of pushing the woman to the ground and was pulled off of her by fellow moviegoers and held until police arrived. Police also reportedly used a stun gun to subdue him during the arrest.
He was charged with assault on a female and resisting a public officer.
Latimer said the story being spread around “by one council member right now” could jeopardize the custody of his daughter. While he didn’t mention anyone by name, the story was shared at least three times in two days (Sept. 22-23) by Councilwoman Abbie Covington.
Councilman Oscar Sellers asked about the outcome and Latimer said all of his charges have been dismissed. Court records confirm the charges were dismissed in June of 2016.
Latimer also addressed the issue in an Oct. 13 video on Facebook.
Court records show there are several other charges over the past decade that have all been dismissed:
2012: communicating threats (Harnett County)
2016: assault on a female, assault on a child under 12 (Wake County)
2017: second-degree trespassing, resisting a public officer (Wake County)
2024: domestic violence protective order violation (x2); cyberstalking (Mecklenburg County)
2025: uttering a forged endorsement (Wake County); domestic violence protective order violation (Mecklenburg County)
“There was no plea deal, I was never found guilty, I don’t have a felony on my record,” Latimer said. Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction confirm Latimer has no criminal convictions in this state. “I think we can put that to rest now.”
Dr. Amber Daniels addresses the Hamlet City Council on Oct. 14.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Following the meeting, there was a verbal altercation between Latimer’s wife and Dr. Amber Daniels, the latter being another candidate for Hamlet City Council.
According to an Oct. 15 statement from Latimer, the interaction started as “an effort to resolve any ongoing issues she has had with me over the past several months.”
Latimer said in the statement that Daniels has come onto his property to place signs, “which I have considered to be passive-aggressive behavior.”
Daniels said in an Oct. 9 post on her campaign Facebook page that it was actually her husband who placed a sign in front of Latimer’s home and clarified in an Oct. 15 post that no one had been on his property.
“The sign was not in front of his blocking content,” Daniels said in the Oct. 9 post. “Unfortunately there is a small space there, usually only made for a flower bed, you know that most offices have. Therefore placing our signs near each other.”
In that same post, Daniels says she and her daughter were followed by Latimer while they were putting out signs and that she had recorded him.
That claim was brought up in Tuesday evening’s altercation, which Daniels recorded and posted the audio to her campaign page on Wednesday.
Latimer says in his statement that, after the confrontation, “... Dr. Daniels and her husband came to our residence and began yelling and using profanity toward us in our front yard while our dogs were outside. Law enforcement was contacted, and a report has been filed regarding the incident.”
There were no charges filed against Daniels for this incident at the time of writing.
In the post accompanying the audio, Daniels says she called 911 to have police meet them at Latimer’s residence “because unfortunately I've never had to deal with verbal or physical altercation with the police, so I didn't know the technical process, I figured they needed to be where we both were.”
Countering Latimer’s claim that she was “yelling and using profanity,” Daniels responded: “I didn't say a word to you when I was waiting at a private parking lot across the street from you for police arrival.”
After the process was explained, Daniels said she went to the magistrate’s office.
A criminal summons was issued charging Latimer with a misdemeanor count of communicating threats. He is accused of telling Daniels: “You better leave the premises before you get hurt.”
As of 6 p.m. Oct. 15, court records did not indicate that the summons had been served.
Court records also show that a summons was filed July 3, 2023 in Hoke County, charging Daniels with six counts of misdemeanor breaking and entering. The offense date is listed as June 7 of that year.
A separate summons was issued the previous day charging Daniels with cyberstalking. The offense date for that allegation is Dec. 27, 2022.
The complainant in both cases is listed as Elizabeth Wilson of Raeford.
No copy of either summons was available in online court records at the time of writing.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Latimer and Daniels are running for the seats currently held by incumbents Eddie Martin and Tony Clewis.
Axe to Grind owner Raymond Mills is also challenging Mayor Amy Guinn as a write-in candidate.
Early voting begins Thursday at the Agricultural Services Center (formerly referred to as the Cooperative Extension Office) on Caroline Street in Rockingham. The schedule is as follows:
Both precincts in Hamlet have moved from churches. Marks Creek No. 1 is now at the old Ninth Grade Academy on County Home Road, and Marks Creek No. 2 is now the Richmond County Schools Central Office.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
NOTE: This story has been updated to remove a "t" in one of the references to Latimer. 8:30 p.m. 10-15-25.
