State handling domestic case involving former Nifong aide

Linwood Wilson, 61, is accused of violating a June 8 protective order sought by his estranged wife in Kent County, Del. He is charged with stalking and two felony charges of obscenity, in addition to other harassment charges.

Delaware authorities asked Durham County to arrest Wilson after, they say, he sent Barbara Wilson e-mails, graphic videos, photos and an instant message asking her to remember "to death do we part."

The protective order also prohibits Wilson from being in possession of a gun or other deadly weapon.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Stephens initially stayed the order until August after Linwood Wilson argued that Delaware didn't have jurisdiction over him and that he didn't have enough notification to attend a hearing in the state. The judge lifted the stay on Tuesday, and Durham County deputies searched Wilson's home in Durham.

"The deputies seized any weapons that he had and his conceal carry permit," said Maj. Paul Martin of the Durham County Sheriff's Office.

Wilson was released last week on a $1,000 bond after a District Court judge lowered the bond when Wilson called asking for help. Judge David Q. LaBarre said Wilson told him he was being arrested on a domestic violence charge but that he didn't know about the other charges when he set bond.

In court documents, Barbara Wilson said her husband once told her that "he owned Durham (and) lawyers and judges would do anything he said."

The Durham County District Attorney's Office asked the Special Prosecutions Unit of the Attorney General's Office to take over the case, and a judge was being brought in from Guilford County to handle a bond hearing set for Thursday.

Linwood Wilson's attorneys couldn't be reached Wednesday for comment.

He worked for Nifong from 2005 until Nifong resigned in 2007 over his improper handling of rape allegations against three Duke University lacrosse players that proved to be unsubstantial.