A motorist stuck in a ditch has been charged with causing an estimated $1,000 in damage to a family cemetery.
On August 20th, authorities said Bobby Ray Pilkington, 33, of S. College Avenue, Kenly was traveling on Pine Level-Selma Road when his van ran off the roadway and slid into a ditch in front of the Crocker Family Cemetery. Law enforcement responded and called a tow truck for Pilkington.
Hours later, a Pine Level police officer was traveling on Pine Level-Selma Road and spotted 
Pilkington and a female engaged in a verbal argument in the roadway in front of the cemetery. The officer stopped and determined Pilkington had refused to allow the tow truck to remove his van from the ditch because of the cost. It was now 11:00pm and several hours since the van had become stuck.
Johnston County deputies responded to the scene and noticed Pilkington had placed several blocks under the tires of the van in an attempt to get the vehicle out of the ditch. The officer said the stones were from a retaining wall that had been pulled over at the cemetery.
Pilkington allegedly denied pulling over the retaining wall, rather claiming he sat on the wall and it fell to the ground.
Pilkington was charged with injury to property. Damage to repair the retaining wall was estimated at $1,000.
