HAMLET — A suspect wanted since late July on fraud charges has been apprehended.
Reginald Dwayne Taylor, 31, is accused of stealing a USAA debit card in June of 2025 and going on a shopping spree with 55-year-old Lewis D. Mintz Jr. of Laurinburg.
According to warrants, the pair bought various items — including fuel, beer, cigarettes, multiple sizes of diapers and baby products — from a Dollar General and several gas stations, in excess of $500.
Warrants were issued to the Hamlet Police Department on July 29, 2025, charging each with: obtaining property by false pretenses; conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses; financial card theft; and financial card fraud.
Mintz was arrested Sept. 14, 2025; Taylor was arrested Jan. 31. Court records show Taylor was given a $2,000 unsecured bond and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 19. Mintz’s next court date is Feb. 26.
Court records show Taylor filed a complaint of cyberstaling against Mintz in November 2022. However, it doesn’t appear the summons has been served.
Taylor is a registered sex offender, having been convicted in 2017 of taking indecent liberties with a child and incest in Moore County. According to the N.C. Sex Offender Registry, Taylor was 21 and the victim was 14.
Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show Mintz was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting a public officer last month in Scotland County. His only other prior conviction was in 2003 for driving while impaired in Robeson County.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
