Cumberland County panel rejects challenge to Enrique Roberto Murillo’s city council filing

A Cumberland County Board of Elections hearing panel voted 4–1 on Aug. 12, 2025, that Enrique Roberto Murillo remains a qualified candidate for Fayetteville City Council District 5 after considering evidence that Murillo pleaded guilty in South Carolina and later completed probation.

The panel, sitting as a quasi-judicial hearing body, heard opening statements, received certified court and probation records and allowed cross-examination and closing arguments before voting. Challenger Aline Hatcher argued Murillo falsified his notice of candidacy by answering "no" to whether he had ever been convicted of a felony. Hatcher said the certified documents showed Murillo pleaded guilty to assault and battery in the first degree on Jan. 10, 2012, and she asked the panel to disqualify him. "By knowingly submitting false information, the candidate has not completed the statutory process required for qualification," Hatcher told the panel.

Murillo, representing himself, acknowledged he had entered a plea that resulted in supervised probation and a suspended sentence but repeatedly said he did not consider himself a felon. "I do not consider myself a felon based on my belief of what happened back in…