Man jailed in insurance fraud involving Wilmington’s ‘worst offender’

Dec. 14--WILMINGTON -- A Wilmington man accused of falsely reporting his vehicle stolen after it was involved in a traffic accident in August was jailed Friday.

Joseph Raymond Johnson, 31, is charged with one count of insurance fraud in an Aug. 7 accident at Princess Place Drive and North 30th St. Johnson has since been released from jail on $5,000 bail.

According to the N.C. Department of Insurance, after Johnson's 2015 Hyundai Sonata was involved in a wreck, he told his insurance company and the Wilmington Police Department that it had been stolen. In fact, according to the Department of Insurance news release, Johnson had allowed Rashawn Herbert Hines to borrow it.

About 6 p.m. Aug. 7, Hines, 22, was eastbound on Princess Place Drive when he crossed into the path of a westbound vehicle. The driver of the second car was taken from the scene with minor injuries by ambulance. According to the Wilmington Police Department report, Hines fled on foot, leaving behind drug paraphernalia and an open and cold beer in the passenger seat. He was arrested Aug. 10 on charges of driving without an operator's license, failure to give info or aid, unsafe movement, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of open container in passenger area.

Hines is a familiar name to law enforcement in the Cape Fear region. In 2013, Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous called him "one of Wilmington's worst offenders" after a judge dismissed a probation violation charge against him.

While out on bail in the August wreck, Hines was arrested in October on charges of trafficking cocaine, possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, felony possession of marijuana, maintaining a dwelling for keeping narcotics and probation violation. He remained in custody Wednesday on a $1 million bail in the drug case.

Those charges, as well as the charges from the wreck, are still pending against Hines.

Reporter F.T. Norton can be reached at 910-343-2070 or [email protected].

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