Sheriff clarifies statement
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on September 11, 2016 1:45 AM
Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce refutes the notion that he said anything to indicate Goldsboro City Councilman Antonio Williams' charges of failure to appear in court would have been cleared after speaking with him, as Williams claimed in a story in Thursday's News-Argus.
Williams was stopped by officers earlier this year and charged with driving while license revoked and failure to burn headlamps. He failed to appear in court for those charges and was charged last week with failure to appear.
Pierce said Williams was stopped by a sheriff's deputy and a Goldsboro police officer, and then called him about the issue, leaving a voicemail for Pierce to call him back.
Pierce said when he returned Williams' call, Williams questioned the charges and the conduct of the officers.
"I explained the charges, and he questioned them, but I explained that they were valid charges and that I would check into the conduct of the officers," Pierce said. "I at no time said anything that would indicate he would not need to handle his charges in the courtroom."