[Ed. note: More documents were uploaded on ecourts after press; below has been updated to reflect the information.]
SOUTHPORT — A Southport alderman was arrested over the weekend for driving while under the influence.
Robert Carroll, sworn in last week for his second term as a ward 1 alderman, was arrested in Boiling Spring Lakes, according to court documents. A bond and release order indicates he was driving on N.C. 133 while impaired, left of center, and speeding.
READ MORE: By 10-vote margin, incumbent wins Southport alderman seat in recount
A police report was not available upon request from the Boiling Spring Lakes Police Department earlier Monday, but according to an affadavit posted on ecourts after press, Carroll was pulled over at about 10 p.m. on Dec. 13. Officer Bartlomiej Wanczyk detected a “moderate odor of alcohol” coming from the car upon pulling over Carroll.
Wanczyk wrote in his arrest notes that Carroll had slurred and incoherent speech, was unsteady on his feet and ranked six out of six on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus. A high score on the field sobriety test, which measures involuntary eye jerking, indicates likelihood of intoxication and probable cause for arrest.
While a breathalyzer was not completed, a blood test was conducted past midnight on Dec. 14. Carroll, who the officer said admitted to drinking, was released on a $500 bond past 3 a.m. Expected to go before a judge on March 3, 2026, Carroll couldn’t be reached by press.
The alderman recently won his re-election in November in a close race — he came in second place, with nine votes initially separating him from challenger Mike Crosbie. Crosbie requested a recount and after the county canvass lost a vote — the final spread being 920 in Carroll’s favor to Crosbie’s 910.
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