Fayetteville man charged with DWI 12 times

In January, Robert Jay Isenberg, 54, was arrested for DWI for the 12th time. The arrest happened in Cumberland County – a place where five of his previous DWI cases were dismissed, overturned or he was found not guilty.

Isenberg has also had DWI charges in Wake, New Hanover and Brunswick counties.

In addition to DWIs, Isenberg has also been charged nearly a dozen times for driving with a revoked license, most recently in April, three months after his latest DWI, when he was stopped for speeding.

On Tuesday, WRAL News confronted him about his record.

“I’d rather not comment. I don’t know what this is all about,” Isenberg said.

Isenberg said he is no longer driving.

“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when he’s going to kill someone,” said Lisa Vogel, a member of the Sandhills chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Vogel, whose 21-year-old son was killed by a drunk driver, was at the Cumberland County courthouse on Tuesday as Isenberg went to court for his 12th DWI. She said her goal was to "put pressure on the judge to do the right thing."

“I think in the past it has been lax judges who did not see this as a threat to the community,” Vogel said. “I think now the situation is that our DWI laws are still not strict enough, and a lot of these repeat offenders know how to play the game. They know what to say and know what to do.”

Isenberg’s record for the last two decades also includes charges of reckless driving, hit and run, and driving with a fictitious license.

“He is a menace to the motoring public and to the pedestrian public as well,” Vogel said.

Isenberg’s case was delayed. His next hearing is set for Dec. 7.

Since his January arrest, Isenberg has been no stranger to Fayetteville police. In August, they arrested him for simple assault and communicating threats.

Isenberg's attorney, Christopher Godwin, did not return WRAL's calls on Tuesday.