Local woman with pending cases accused of insurance fraud

A Rocky Mount woman with a prior record and other cases already pending against her locally as a result of traffic violations and conflicts with police is charged with having committed felony insurance fraud.

Lakaiyaa Lyons, 29, is accused by the State Insurance Department's Criminal Investigations Division of having filed a bogus automobile insurance claim with Sentry Insurance, the insurance department said in a news release.

Lyons claimed a 2008 Infiniti she had been driving was struck in the rear by a driver of an unknown vehicle, Nash County District Court records said.

Lyons claimed what happened caused her to lose control and caused the vehicle she was driving to run off the road and strike a ditch and other fixed objects, when in fact she knew no other driver of a vehicle had struck her vehicle, the records said.

The offense was listed as having occurred from Jan. 20 through June 7 and she was arrested on June 24, the records said.

"Insurance fraud is not a victimless crime," State Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said in the news release. "It hits all of us in the pocket through higher premiums."

Bond for Lyons was set at $50,000, secured, but the bond was to be reduced to $3,000, secured, when she provided a photo and her fingerprints in the case, which she subsequently did, Nash County District Court records said.

Lyons posted the reduced bond, appeared before the court and waived her right to a court-appointed attorney, the records said.

Lyons already is facing charges in Nash County District Court of driving while impaired, driving while her license was revoked, driving with an expired registration tag and resisting a public officer.

In Nash County District Court, Lyons is accused of having driven on Jan. 19 while her blood alcohol content was .18, statewide judicial system records online said. A person whose blood alcohol content is .08 is considered too intoxicated to drive in North Carolina.

Lyons was driving a 2008 Infiniti on Independence Drive in the northwestern part of the city when the vehicle became involved in a crash, Nash County District Court records said.

According to the records, Lyons was found to have slow and slurred speech, be unstable on her feet and had bloodshot eyes.

She also admitted to having consumed alcohol and to being intoxicated, the records said.

In addition to being charged with driving while her license was revoked and with driving with an expired license plate, she was charged with resisting a public officer because she pulled, pushed and kicked as police Cpl. Joshua Talley was trying to put her in a police vehicle so she would be in custody, the records said.

Lyons also already is facing charges in Edgecombe County District Court of assault on a government official and resisting a public officer on June 24.

Lyons is accused in that case of attacking Talley and Officer B. Hernandez by hitting them with a door, striking them with one of her hands and by pushing and kicking, Edgecombe County District Court records said.

Lyons also is accused in that case of resisting Talley and Hernandez as they were trying to place her in custody because there were outstanding arrest warrants against her, the records said.

The charges against Lyons are only the prosecution's side in the cases. Lyons will get her chance to respond as the cases are processed through the judicial system.

Lyons had listed an address in the 100 block of Zinnia Court, the judicial system records said.

State Public Safety records also said Lyons was convicted in 2019 in Nash County for reckless driving.