Kay Powers

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Janie Miller

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Donnie Douglas

Editor

LUMBERTON — Two Lumberton women have been charged with tampering with a trial following separate investigations by the Robeson County district attorney’s office.

According to Erich Hackney, investigator with the district attorney’s office, the accused are Kay Humphrey Powers, 67, of 4010 N. Walnut St., and Janie LouAnn Miller, 20, of 2902 Freedom Drive.

Powers, a schoolteacher, has been charged with intimidation of a state’s witness and obstruction of justice, both felonies, and was jailed with $25,000 unsecured bail. Miller is accused of felony harassment of a juror and was placed in the Robeson County jail on $25,000 bail.

“As this office has stated on previous occasions, cases involving the intimidation of victims or witnesses will not be tolerated and will be aggressively pursued and prosecuted,” Hackney said in a statement.

He added that Powers is accused of trying to get a witness to retract an intimidating statement in the trial of her son, David Robert Powers, who had been charged with breaking, entering, larceny and arson. Hackney said a mobile home on a piece of property owned by Kay Powers had been broken into and burned. A second mobile home was placed on the property, and the tenant offered information to investigators that led to charges against David Powers.

Hackney said Kay Powers told the tenant that if the witness did not retract the statement provided to investigators, then she would evict the tenant, and that she called the tenant 15 times the night before her son was to appear in court.

In the second case, Miller is accused of making contact with a juror through Facebook in the Sept. 24 trial of her fiancé, Devon Jammal Colson, of 680 Deerstand Drive, Lumberton, who was accused of armed robbery. Hackney said Miller told the juror that only one vote was needed for a mistrial. The juror told presiding Superior Court Judge Christopher Bragg, and the juror was delegated to serve as an alternate.

Colson was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to 64 to 86 months in prison. Miller was already on probation for assaulting a government official, breaking and entering and larceny.