Rowan Co. Commissioner Accused Of Shoplifting

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C.,None — A Rowan County commissioner is accused of shoplifting from a local store.

Commissioner Jon Barber was charged in connection with an April incident at a convenience store on West Jake Alexander Boulevard in Salisbury. He is accused of stealing a bottle of wine.

Some people in Salisbury had strong opinions about the news.

"I would not vote for him again," Linda Thompson said. "I really feel he should step down. We need someone there who could be there, have a level head and be at the meetings without having to worry about something like this happening."

Channel 9 checked court records and found Barber was arrested in May and charged with DWI. In June 2008, he pleaded guilty to DWI.

"It don't look good for him, you know what I mean," area resident Larry Ellis said. "A man of his standing. I mean look, who's running our county around here?"

This week, Barber showed up for his first commission meeting in more than a month. Channel 9 checked the minutes of the May 16 meeting and discovered he sent a letter to the chairman, saying he had been admitted to a private residential medical treatment center and would be unable to attend meetings.

It is that effort that has some people willing to give Barber more time before deciding his fate.

"As long as he's trying to do that, I don't have any problem with it because he's not trying to hide anything," Phil Morgan said. "I think everybody deserves a second chance."

WSOC