May 22, 2013
Friday, Sept. 28, 2012
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- A man is going to have to pay up for panhandling in a North Augusta shopping center.
On Friday morning, Joey Leaphart entered a guilty plea for disorderly conduct. As part of his deal, Leaphart will have to pay a $262 fine within the next 30 days. If not, he will be put in jail for 30 days.
North Augusta Public Safety officers arrested Leaphart back on Feb. 17. Investigators say he was approaching women and asking for money. Officers initially charged him with solicitation for contribution, but the plea deal is for disorderly conduct.
This is not Leaphart's first run-in with the law. He is a registered sex offender with a conviction for committing/attempting lewd act on a child under 16 from a 2000 incident. He's also been investigated for asking to suck on women's toes in shopping center parking lots.
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