EDENTON — Edenton Town Councilman Aaron Dashaun Coston, who was charged earlier this year in connection with an alleged loan fraud scheme, is facing a new felony extortion charge in Pitt County following his arrest Friday, Oct. 23.

According to North Carolina court records, Coston, 34, was arrested on a warrant issued Oct. 16, 2026, by a Pitt County magistrate. The charge stems from an alleged Oct. 8, 2026, incident investigated by the Greenville Police Department.

The arrest warrant alleges that Coston threatened to contact the male victim’s employer and disclose information about an online adult-content account unless the man paid him $5,000 and signed a nondisclosure agreement.

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According to the charging document, Coston allegedly possessed intimate photographs of the man, who is unnamed in court documents, and threatened to use the information to jeopardize his employment.

Greenville police further alleged in the warrant that Coston already contacted one of the man’s employers in an attempt to have him fired.

The allegations are contained in the arrest warrant and have not been proven in court.

Coston faces one count of felony extortion, classified as a Class F felony under North Carolina law. According to the North Carolina General Assembly’s structured sentencing provisions, a conviction could result in imprisonment, with the sentence determined by the defendant’s prior criminal record and other sentencing factors. Depending on those factors, an intermediate punishment may also be authorized.

According to court documents, Coston was arrested Oct. 23 and released after a $25,000 secured bond was posted. The case remains pending.

A proceeding regarding this case is scheduled fro 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Pitt County District Court.

The new charge is unrelated to an earlier criminal case filed against Coston in Chowan County.

As previously reported by the Albemarle Observer in May, a Chowan County grand jury indicted Coston on two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and one felony count of identity theft.

According to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, those charges stem from allegations that Coston used another person’s identifying and banking information to obtain two loans totaling $12,000 from State Employees’ Credit Union. The alleged offenses occurred between November 2023 and March 2024.

That case remains pending in Chowan County Superior Court, according to the court records reviewed by the Observer on Oct. 23, 2026.

The most recent document obtained by the Observer in the Chowan County case is an Aug. 31 waiver of assigned counsel. The court filing, signed by Coston, indicates that he waived his right to court-appointed legal representation but did not waive his right to all assistance of counsel.

The waiver does not constitute a plea or a determination of guilt.

Coston represents Edenton’s Third Ward on the Town Council.

Following the filing of the earlier charges, the Town of Edenton issued a statement acknowledging the allegations while emphasizing the importance of due process and the presumption of innocence.

The Observer reviewed the Pitt County arrest warrant and court filings in both cases. The defendant’s identity was cross-checked against official North Carolina State Board of Elections candidate records.

Both criminal cases remain pending. Coston is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

The Albemarle Observer will continue following proceedings in both counties.