A Lumberton man has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly attacking Mayor Quincy Rogers with a knife at Rogers’ home.
According to the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office website, Robert Anthony Singleton was arrested shortly before 10 a.m. on October 28 by officers from the Lumberton Police Department. Singleton is awaiting his initial appearance with the City of Lumberton; a bond has not been set.
“It was an isolated incident; we don’t know what happened and why,” Rogers said. “We’re okay, and we didn’t sustain any major injuries or anything like that.
“We were able to subdue him until police got there.”
Singletary allegedly attacked Rogers as the mayor was leaving his home on his way to drop his grandson off at school.
“The guy just came around from the other side of the carport with a knife. I don’t know what his reasons were – sometimes these things are just unexplained.”
Rogers said Singletary brandished the knife and forced him back into his home while threatening to kill the mayor. Rogers struggled with Singletary to wrest the knife away while Rogers’ wife called police.
“When he said (he was going to kill me), that was the trigger; he couldn’t get in the house,” Rogers said. “Under no circumstances was I going to let him get in there.
“My wife called the police, and I was actually in an all-out tussle with this guy with a knife, on the carport and in the grass. My wife came outside to see what was going on, and after that my grandson came outside, and we were actually able to subdue (Singletary) and get the knife from him and hold him until police got here.”
Rogers said he is familiar with Singletary and suspects the man was on drugs during the attack.
“I think the guy was on something, and I guess was the first person he came to,” Rogers said. “I was the first one in line, so that’s what happened.
“That’s the kind of world we’re living in. It’s crazy.”
Police Chief Adrien Fortenberry did not answer a call for comment on the matter.
