NC Police plea for civility after suspect’s mugshot gets flooded with wisecracks about his looks 

A North Carolina sheriff’s department has jumped to the defense of a suspected drug dealer they arrested last week, urging members of the public not to make fun of his appearance after a photograph of his mug shot went viral.

Orlando Lopez, 43, was arrested for a slew of drug offenses after he was pulled over by deputies from the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office on June 28.

A search of his vehicle yielded along Interstate 95 allegedly yielded 98 grams of cocaine and 35 grams of methamphetamine.

Subsequently, the Robeson County Sheriff’s office uploaded Lopez’s booking photograph up to social media on Saturday, informing the public of the suspect’s extensive rap sheet. 

But rather than voicing their outrage at Lopez’s alleged misdeeds, some members of the public instead used the Facebook to poke fun at his appearance, highlighting a deformity on the 43-year-old’s head

But rather than voicing their outrage at Lopez’s alleged misdeeds, some members of the public instead used the Facebook to poke fun at his appearance, highlighting a deformity on the 43-year-old’s head. 

‘Good to see the cops putting a Dent in the war on drugs,’ Russell Cranford wrote on Monday.

‘These half-headed comments will not be tolerated on this page,’ said Jamie McCullough.

David Vidrine sarcastically added that, ‘I support him whole headedly, sorry, heartedly’.

The slurry of harsh comments prompted the sheriff’s office to publish an unlikely plea, urging followers of their Facebook page to exercise compassion rather than name-calling.

‘Even though this individual has been charged for committing a crime, he is still someone’s child/family member,’ the department wrote on Facebook. ‘It is obvious that he has suffered some type of injury. Please refrain from making jokes/negative comments. Have a blessed day.’ 

The Robeson County Sheriff’s office (above) uploaded Lopez’s booking photograph up to social media on Saturday, informing the public of the suspect’s extensive rap sheet

The slurry of hurtful comments prompted the sheriff’s office to publish an unlikely plea, urging followers of their Facebook page to exercise compassion rather than indifference

‘It really is a shame when adults need a disclaimer to have some sort of human decency,’ Lisa Hernandez said in response to the message

Many praised the department for their calls for compassion instead of judgement and taunting

While the mocking of Lopez didn’t appear to stop, others praised the department for their calls of courteousness.

‘It really is a shame when adults need a disclaimer to have some sort of human decency,’ Lisa Hernandez said in response.

‘What ever happened to having a polite society? Why is that so many jump to hurtful jokes as they did when they were in grade school?’ asked Debra Miller Ross.

‘This man can hopefully change his behavior but has no control over the way he looks, just as none of us do. Social media has made our culture mean. It’s no wonder suicide rates are skyrocketing. None of these comments are clever or funny, you all should be ashamed,’ she continued.

In a later statement, the sheriff’s department added that every suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and that Lopez is no exception.

Lopez was charged with two counts of trafficking methamphetamine, two counts of cocaine trafficking, possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver a scheduled II controlled substance, maintaining a vehicle for a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.