Lawmaker pleads guilty to speeding charge

Retired state lawmaker Rep. Cary Allred, R-Alamance, pleaded guilty Wednesday to speeding. He will pay a $500 fine.

Allred was stopped in April en route to a meeting of the General Assembly. Trooper Nathan Mitchell pulled Allred over near the split of Interstate 40 and Interstate 85 in Orange County on April 27 after clocking his speed at 102 mph, authorities said. The posted speed limit along the highway is 65 mph.

Mitchell initially let Allred off with a warning. After word of the traffic stop became public, the Highway Patrol decided to issue Allred a ticket.

Allred flashed his legislative identification badge and told Mitchell he was headed to Raleigh. North Carolina used to have a state law that prevented police from detaining lawmakers on their way to session. That law was repealed in 1992.