A member of the Edenton Town Council was arrested Friday on a felony extortion warrant accusing him of demanding $5,000 and a signed nondisclosure agreement from a man while threatening to expose nude photos and get him fired from his job. Aaron D. Coston, 34, who represents the town's Third Ward, was taken into custody after Greenville police obtained the warrant earlier in the month.
According to wcti12.com, the warrant lists the alleged offense date as October 8 and was issued October 16, a week before Coston's arrest. The warrant alleges Coston demanded $5,000 and a signed nondisclosure agreement while threatening to contact the alleged victim's workplace. Court documents allege he threatened to tell the man's employer about an online stripping account and try to get him fired unless he paid the money and signed the agreement.
Court documents also allege Coston possessed nude photos of the victim and had already contacted one of the man's employers in an attempt to get him fired, the station reported. The warrant was served at 12:44 p.m. on Friday, when Coston was arrested on the felony extortion charge.
Bond Posted, No-Contact Order Imposed
A release order set Coston's secured bond at $25,000, which court docket information showed was posted the same day he was arrested. As a condition of his release, Coston is prohibited from contacting the alleged victim by any means unless approved by a district court judge, per the same account. He is scheduled to appear at 2 p.m. Monday, October 26, in Pitt County District Court.
Under North Carolina law, a person who threatens another with intent to wrongfully obtain anything of value, or an acquittance, advantage, or immunity, is guilty of extortion and is punished as a Class F felon, according to North Carolina General Statutes § 14-118.4.
Separate Chowan County Case Still Pending
The extortion case is unrelated to an earlier criminal case filed against Coston in Chowan County, the Albemarle Observer reported. That outlet also noted Coston represents Edenton's Third Ward on the Town Council and emphasized that the allegations in the arrest warrant have not been proven in court — Coston is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
In that earlier matter, a Chowan County grand jury returned a true bill of indictment against Coston in May on two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense and one felony count of identity theft, according to WITN. That indictment alleges Coston used another person's name, date of birth, and online banking information to obtain two State Employees Credit Union loans totaling $12,000 between November 2023 and March 2024. WITN reported the case was initiated in January 2025 and was described as ongoing at the time of its reporting.
The North Carolina Beat reported that Coston was re-elected to his council seat in November 2025 and sworn in that December, with the town's official website still listing him in the Third Ward council seat. Edenton town officials issued a statement emphasizing due process and the presumption of innocence, according to that outlet's reporting.
