Local officer facing stalking charge

An area police officer and assistant coach charged with stalking a woman has had his court date rescheduled until mid-June.

Kirk D. Newkirk, 42, of Renee Court, faces a charge of misdemeanor stalking after a May 8 arrest. He is accused of harassing 21-year-old Amanda Leigh Corsey and causing her to fear for her safety.

Newkirk has been employed with the Kenansville Police Department for the last 13 months. He has been suspended without pay until the resolution of the charge against him, said Kenansville Police Chief Mike Webster.

Newkirk also served as a volunteer assistant coach for football and basketball at Jacksonville High School during the 2008-2009 school year, said Earl Taylor, spokesman of Onslow County Schools.

"In accordance with board policy 5010 ‘School Volunteers' and the Volunteer Coach Agreement, Mr. Newkirk will be prohibited from serving as a volunteer coach or any capacity in the Onslow County Schools, effective immediately," Taylor said in a faxed response to questions by The Daily News.

Newkirk, who has also been previously employed by the Jacksonville Police Department and the Onslow County Sheriff's Department, is represented by Jacksonville lawyer Walter Vatcher. The attorney asked the court Tuesday for a continuation of Newkirk's case, which was rescheduled for June 15.

Messages left at Vatcher's office were not returned by press time.

According to a complaint attached to Newkirk's arrest warrant, he has been following Corsey and has accosted her at her place of employment.

"Mr. Newkirk has been following me, trying to get into my car, tried to get me into his car," Corsey wrote in the complaint. "He tried to get me drunk underage. He sits outside my house."

In the section on the complaint that delineates relationship between the complainant and the accused, Corsey marked "stranger."

Corsey declined comment when contacted by phone Wednesday afternoon.

The Jacksonville Police Department was dispatched to Corsey's residence on Decatur Road on May 8 in reference to her stalking complaint. The JPD opened an investigation, and Corsey filed papers charging Newkirk with stalking.

Newkirk was released on a $500 unsecured bond.

Contact senior reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.