LUMBERTON — Shanendoa Hunt spent much of his life in and out of treatment for cocaine addiction — and in and out of jail for thefts he committed to fund his habit.

Hunt, who lives in Robeson County, said he first tried cocaine in his late teens while working at a restaurant. He wanted to be accepted by his coworkers.

“When I got introduced to the lifestyle,” Hunt said, “I didn’t see being homeless. I didn’t see crime. I didn’t see the desperate measures people are willing to go to get high. I didn’t see any of that.”

The more consistently he used cocaine, the more he couldn’t shake his need for it. When he couldn’t afford to buy the drugs on his salary alone, he began stealing.

Hunt was released from prison in 2020 after serving nearly two years for habitual breaking and entering and o

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