LUMBERTON — A prominent Lumberton businessman has been charged with drug crimes following a traffic stop on Monday, according to the Sheriff Office.
Sheriff Kenneth Sealey said 70 units of prescription pills were found in a car belonging to Leland Fields Fuller, 41, of Grande Oaks Boulevard. Fuller is general manager and part owner of Lumberton Honda, which is located at 301 Wintergreen Drive in North Lumberton.
According to Sealey, the drugs were found after Fuller, who was driving a red 2005 Lotus sports car, was seen speeding in a 55-mph zone on Mount Olive Church Road. Sealey said as Deputy Nakiea Wearins interviewed Fuller, Detective David Thompson saw Fuller hide something in his clothing.
A drug-sniffing dog was called and found a bottle of prescription pills under the floor mat and another bottle in Leland’s clothing, according to Sealey. Sealey said that the dealership and Fuller’s home were also searched, but no other drugs were found.
Fuller was charged with trafficking opium or heroin by possession, trafficking opium or heroin by transporting, possession with an intent to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance, maintaining a drug vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released after posting a $30,000 bond and made his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Sealey said the case is still under investigation by the Narcotics Division.
The Robesonian called the dealership on Tuesday and asked if Fuller or his lawyer would like to comment, but never received a call back.
Fuller, who appears in television commercials for the dealership, is known for his generosity in the community.
Lumberton Honda participates in the United Way’s annual Car Giveaway for fair-share givers, and recently he participated as a dancer for the United Way’s Dancing with the Robeson County Stars, which raises money for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. He and his dancing partner raised the third most money of the 18 dancing pairs, and then Fuller paid for an after-party celebration for participants at his dealership, an event that was held last week.
WHO Would Be Jealous of that.
This is a great man, so what if he does drugs, it's his business and he apparently can afford them without stealing, robbing people, and holding up liquor stores.
How do you know so much? Typical crap spread by poor people who are "haters"(poor person's word).
You know all this about him and he knows nothing about you or even who you are.
If you run the numbers most drug crimes are to lower income uneducated people. VERY seldom does the wealthy businessman get involved with anything criminal. They are too busy working and providing jobs to the poor.....
I know most of you on here are jealous of this man and his wealth and you want to see him fried. But it ain't gonna happen.
Majority of rich people are rich for a reason, they're not stupid. Mistakes happen, so what. It's none of your business, he supports himself...and will continue. HE OWNS THE DEALERSHIP.
I don't condone illegal activities associated with drugs and gangs, but this is an individual who is not on welfare and spent his own money and endangered nobody.(speeding so what, I do it everyday) Gang thugs kill innocent people while doing drugs or selling them and are a menace to society, unlike this law abiding citizen.
Freedom is what I'm defending, not him. But I like to set the record straight when the poor jealous folks start yelping and hootin for him to burn on the courthouse steps. Poor people love to see the rich fall, it makes them sleep better at night, and I'm trying to mess up there sleep by telling them the man will not go to jail or loose his job.
You see, poor people want everybody miserable like they are, and they think this has ruined the man and his reputation so they are happy reading about it. Sad ain't it.....
Listen, I know most of you jealous people want so bad to believe he made his money illegally. BUT HE DIDN'T, HE EARNED HIS WEALTH. Those pills were for his personal use, and he owns himself so...SO WHAT!
Get over the mans money, and stop it with your hate(dumb persons word). The man is self made, just like any of you could be if you chose to. But most of you choose to be jealous of others success while you sit on your but doing nothing to advance your position in life. Sad.
The man's a self made millionaire. Most of you aren't. Most of you smoke, over eat, eat grease, are fat, won't work, etc.. You are destroying YOU, and it ain't nobody's business.(unless you're on welfare)
The same goes for this man and his pills...(and he's never been on welfare)
He had a few pills for his personal use...period.
He wasn't on welfare, or foodstamps and didn't live in government housing so it's none of your business. I don't care what people do as long as it doesn't infringe on me or endanger me. He did neither and he has a job to support himself so who cares? He owns himself.
There, that's the difference between a regular criminal and him.
I personally think a persons income and education should allow more leeway with certain laws, especially speeding laws. We are always in a hurry, we have business to take care of, we are VERY responsible and have insurance, so why should we always have to obey the speed limit? We drive better than low income people, make them obey it and leave us alone. Also I believe auto insurance should be based on income. The more wealth a person has earned the more smarter he is(statistically speaking). So this makes him a more responsible driver. The poor should be paying through the teeth, since most can't drive.
Run the numbers and stats on wrecks and income. This is a fact: The higher the income the less likely to be at fault in a wreck, fact. When's the last time you saw a current year Mercedes or Cadillac at fault in a wreck around here. It's usually old raggedy clunk mobils packed with people and junk on the rear dash. Most injuries to the poor don't come from the impact of the wreck, but from the flying french-fries and crap all over the car. Fact.
& before you DARE try to accuse me, like you have so many others, of being fat, lazy, or living off the system. I will go ahead and correct you! I go to work everyday, do not receive, nor have I ever, any services afford to so many others. And, no I am not the least bit jealous of someone who obviously lives with his own demons.
Now, you Ross have contradicted yourself here. I lurk on here and read your comments. One breath your condemning people about drug use ( I don't disagree) and the next breath you're saying he had pills for his own personal use and "so what".
I don't even want to get started on the whole "wealthy are more responsible drivers" thing.
Any credibility you may have had has gone out the door. I always gave you the benefit of the doubt.
It is better to let people think you are a fool.... you know the rest. Tsk-tsk, my friend.
Now to clarify for you, I do not condone illegal activities and crime associated with drugs and selling drugs, that being said, what you do behind your closed doors IS NONE ON NOBODY'S BUSINESS.(I.E. gay people too)
Whenever you have doubt about something I would disagree with or agree with, always resort back to freedom, that'll get the answer every time.
I do admonish the poor government dependent's who rely on MY tax money for food. Also the crimes associated with gang activity because of drugs and the poor using them. They can't afford it and are forcing me to pay for it? Get off welfare and I'll get out your business.
Pay attention to what I say and you'll never go wrong. Tsk,tsk....what the world does that mean......
Puulleese: You said I "accuse so many others of living off the system" right before you accused so many "others of living off the system"....
It's people like you that are making doctors pick and choose who their patients are. More and more discharge letters being sent out to the ones who lie for pills. Call up a doctor around here and see if they wont tell you "we're not taking any new patients".....
Now Leland as a person: Let me make clear, no amount of money given or kind hearted actions justify a person’s illegal action. This is just how it is. That is why it’s called LAW. Leland is a good person and does have a very kind heart but he will have to be punished for what he did. Now if that happens I don’t know, but that’s an issue with our legal system.
We all have demons in our closet. One day, some how, we will have to answer to them. When you look at your neighbor and friends, face the reality that everything is not what it seems. I don’t justify what he has done but hope that when all this passes he is able to get his life back on track.
Friends of Leland, support him during this time. Help him get back on track and defeat those demons.
Opponents of Leland, you have a right to be upset over his actions and major issues surrounding this nation wide problem. Be mad at that though, not the fact that a person with money was caught or that it was “some one on the other side of the tracks” as some one said. Stop trying to make this a societal placement issue. It always seems to go that direction in these conversations and only diminishes your argument. Simply, hope that he pays for what he did and that some day he can get his life back together.
1. Had someone else's pain pills on him (and not a family member)
2. Was he under the influence of said pills?
3. Was he trying to sell them, either his own or pills under another name.
And I too was surprised a out the dog. I would think the only way the dog could find them is if the bottle had been opened in the car, either for taking them there, or selling them there.
ID like to see more flesh put on this story. And to those wo talk about him being good to folks and employees, that's all well and good, but if he's out there selling this and getting people hooked, or if he himself is driving his little sports car under the influence, then the man has got to pay the price. He obviously evidently knew better, in trying to hid the bottle.
LD
Did you retire?
I am assuming the pill bottles did not have his name on them. Robesonian, please complete the story with details like this. This guy has just ruined his life most likely over this. Hopefully he can be an object lesson.
Ross!
So all you good church folks sitting there reading this with pain pills in your system, just know you are sinning. I don't care if the doctor prescribes them, it's the reason you gave him which is an un-truth. Don't ever talk about my beer when you see me at the grocery store, and you're smoking cigarettes and popping pain pills. At least I don't lie to get my beer and don't hide it away because I'm addicted and ashamed.
We use our limited resources for erradicating violent criminals and thieves from our community before we put in any additional money enforcing these stupid drug laws... makes it sound like he was shooting up heroin or something... Big government laws telling you what you can and can't do with your own body... lots of grandmas around here you need to lock up too if you want to go down this road.
Get the D THIEVES, KILLERS & RAPISTS off the streets FIRST!! And thank Mr. Fuller for helping to pay YOUR salary and providing JOBS to OUR community.
Now, if he was endangering others by his speeding, charge him for SPEEDING and give him the MAX punishment.. charge him with reckless driving and public endangerment if need be. Using these stupid drug laws to ruin peoples lives is well out of hand. If this were some nobody who hadn't done anything with his life it wouldn't have even made the paper. The punishment this man and his business has already suffered for this prohibition mindset well outweighs the supposed "crime".
And the LEOs did go "in the privacy of his own home" and even his place of business all because the dude had some pain pills.
There are alot of great LEOs in this county but to some "Protect & Serve" means protect their job and serve themselves. You Read the article and GIVE ME A BREAK. GET THE KILLERS, RAPISTS AND THIEVES off the streets. The government and docs just want a monopoly on medicine and the state and county just want REVENUE AND CONTROL.