Man gives cigarette to inmate doing lawn work and gets arrested, NC sheriff says

A North Carolina man learned the hard way that an act of generosity can sometimes get you arrested.

It happened on Tuesday, as he was visiting the Edgecombe County Detention Center in Tarboro, about a 70-mile drive northeast from downtown Raleigh.

“Today, we had an interesting incident which should serve as a cautionary tale,” the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an April 7 Facebook post.

“While inmates were out on our grounds working, (a man) walked up to our office. While deputies watched, he went to his car and grabbed a cigarette, which he handed to one of the inmates.”

The 29-year-old Rocky Mount resident was promptly arrested, officials said.

His crime? Providing contraband to an inmate, the sheriff’s office said. The charge is a misdemeanor.

“As he was already out on bond, no bond was set for this new charge, and he was placed in the Edgecombe County Detention Center,” the sheriff’s office said.

“We have inmates who maintain our grounds and inmates who go out in the community and clean up trash from the roadside. Do not approach these inmates and do not give them anything.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Man gives cigarette to inmate doing lawn work and gets arrested, NC sheriff says."