LaKesha Womack, the Democrat challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Moore in North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District, was served with a criminal summons at a campaign rally Sunday in connection with a felony charge dating back nearly seven years.

Womack told The Charlotte Observer that she received the summons Oct. 11 while attending a rally in Polk County, two days after she said she first learned of the pending charge. The charge stems from a rental car that Womack allegedly failed to return in 2019, according to court records reviewed by the Observer.

Womack, who has retained an attorney, declined to discuss the circumstances surrounding the rental car. But she questioned why the case was brought to her attention just weeks before the Nov. 3 election.

“It feels like a terrible coincidence that my court date is scheduled the week after the election,” Womack said in an email Thursday. “I’m not an attorney so I don’t know how these things work, but I would hate to believe that this was brought forward to give my opponent an unfair advantage by implying I’m a felon.”

Womack has not been convicted in the case.

Congressional candidates are only required to live in state and do not have to live in the district they represent. However, Womack has faced questions about whether she lives where she says she does. WBTV reported earlier this month that she purchased a home in north Charlotte, outside the 14th District, while her registered voting address in south Charlotte was listed for rent.

What do court records show?

A criminal summons issued Jan. 14, 2020, alleges that Womack failed to return a 2019 Toyota Corolla rented from Budget Car Rental by an agreed-upon deadline of Oct. 23, 2019.

The document lists the vehicle’s value as $20,000. That figure represents the alleged value of the car, not the amount Womack owed the rental company. Under North Carolina law, willfully failing to return a rented motor vehicle valued at more than $4,000 is a Class H felony.

The summons was initially returned unserved in February 2020. Mecklenburg County court records show it was reissued and marked served Oct. 11, 2026, nearly seven years after the alleged incident.

Womack is scheduled to appear in Mecklenburg County District Court at 9 a.m. Nov. 10, one week after Election Day.

In a video posted online earlier this month, Womack acknowledged she failed to return the rental car on time. She said she was experiencing homelessness at the time and did not have a stable address where she could receive legal notices.

Womack said in the video she believed the matter was resolved and was unaware of the criminal proceedings.

In her email to the Observer, Womack said she first learned of the pending charge Oct. 9.

“I’m not sure why it took so long to bring the issue to my attention,” she said. “I am very active in the community and would have appreciated the matter being brought to my attention before we were this close to voters casting ballots.”

Womack declined to say whether the vehicle was eventually returned or recovered or whether she intends to contest the charge.

“I have retained counsel which is why I am unable to comment on the details of the case,” she said.

Womack faces Moore in November

Womack is challenging Moore, the former North Carolina House speaker who was first elected to Congress in 2024. The 14th District includes parts of Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cleveland, Rutherford, Polk and Burke counties.

Asked what she would say to voters concerned about the charge, Womack urged them to consider her policy positions rather than the pending case.

“I would ask voters to look at my platform, to see who and what I’m fighting for and I feel confident that they will see this for what it is,” she said. “No matter what I’m going through personally, I’m going to keep showing up and fighting for an economy that works for everyone.”

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