Gastonia woman alleges Advance Auto and police falsely implicated her in theft
A Gastonia woman filed a $15 million federal lawsuit on Wednesday claiming she was wrongfully accused and arrested for identity theft after a routine trip to an auto parts store.
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Tamara Parker, 33, is suing Gaston County, Advance Auto Parts, a Gaston County police officer and an Advance Auto employee over the 2024 incident.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte, alleges the Gaston County police officer violated Parker’s Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful searches and seizures. It also alleges that she was maliciously prosecuted and that the incident caused “severe emotional distress,” resulting in ongoing medical care.
According to the lawsuit, two mobile phones purchased with stolen banking information were delivered to an Advance Auto Parts location in Dallas in May 2024. The Advance Auto Parts employee named in the suit signed for the package, but didn’t log it into the store’s system.
The Gaston County police officer, who was investigating the identity theft case, visited the Advance Auto Parts location several days after the package was delivered, the lawsuit said. The store’s employees told him a Black woman had come by multiple times and asked about a package delivery, and that they would collect her information if she came back, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit said that on May 20, 2024, the store employee named in the suit contacted the police officer with a photo of Parker’s license plate, identifying her as the person who came to pick up the package. The photo was taken when Parker visited the store on May 16, 2024 — four days before the employee contacted the police and claimed she was there, the lawsuit alleged.
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Parker — a mother of three — was actually at her daughter’s kindergarten graduation at the time, according to a news release from the law firm representing Parker.
“Tamara Parker was just like any one of us,” Harry Daniels, Parker’s lawyer, said in a statement. “She wasn’t some criminal. She worked hard, and followed the rules. She did everything right just like any of us when, out of nowhere, this Advance Auto Parts employee and the Gaston County Police burned it all down.”
Parker was arrested on Sept. 1, 2024, despite GPS evidence that proved she wasn’t at the Advance Auto Parts location, the lawsuit claimed.
The charges were dismissed in June 2025 due to insufficient evidence.
“This isn’t just about mistaken identity,” said Daniels. “Tamara Parker was railroaded from start to finish and if they can do it to her, they can do it to anyone.”
Parker is seeking more than $16 million in damages, plus attorney’s fees.
A spokesperson for Gaston County declined to comment, citing standard practice for ongoing litigation. Advance Auto Parts did not respond to a request for comment.
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