After craving ice cream and Turkey Hill strawberries, Swain County resident Jesse Shows made a quick drive to the city searching to satisfy his appetite. Little did he know his action would land him in trouble with the local law enforcement and an eventual lawsuit.
Swain County had approved a 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. curfew that went into effect two days earlier. When two miles away from his residence, Shows was stopped by Curtis Cochran, the Swain County Sheriff, for allegedly violating the curfew, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Sherriff Cochran told him the reason for stopping him, to which Shows said he wasn’t aware of such regulations.
After the ordeal, Shows has decided to sue Cochran and asked Asheville federal court to stop him from enforcing the curfew.
Responding to the lawsuit, Cochran urged that the curfew would reduce the rate of infection now that COVID-19 is only weeks away from North Carolina.
The lawsuit has brought a division among the commissioners, with some supporting the curfew, while others are opposing it.