Hector Soler appears in court
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on December 20, 2016 9:57 AM
Chief Master Sgt. Hector Soler, charged in the drunk-driving death of 17-year-old Johny Robert Watson, appeared in Wayne County District Court Monday morning.
Soler, security forces manager at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, came in front of Judge Charles Gaylor III to have the charges against him explained.
Soler, 47, is charged with felony death by motor vehicle, driving while impaired and failure to reduce speed.
According to an accident report, Soler crashed into the back of Watson's Jeep at 70 mph around 11:30 p.m. Dec. 10, launching the Jeep 159 feet into a utility pole.
Watson suffered severe injuries, and died Dec. 15 from his injuries sustained in the crash after being flown from Wayne Memorial Hospital to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.
District Attorney Matthew Delbridge said the case is in a "holding pattern" in district court until Soler is formally indicted on the charges by a grand jury, at which point the case will be handed up to superior court.
"Nothing of any significance will happen in district court," Delbridge said.
The indictment could come several months from now, Delbridge said.
Seymour Johnson Public Affairs said Soler continues to report to work and has been relieved of his duties as security forces manager, but currently remains a chief master sergeant.
As a result, Soler has been relegated to administrative duties while facing the charges, public affairs said.
"While we cannot comment on the specifics regarding Chief Master Sgt. Soler, standard practice is to relieve members of their duties when facing charges that may impact duty performance," 2nd Lt. Michelle Fletcher, SJAFB 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs said in an email. "If relieved of primary duties, members are typically reassigned to perform administrative duties until the issue is resolved."
PA declined to confirm or deny if other people at SJAFB are being investigated because of the incident.
"As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot speak to specifics of the investigation yet," Fletcher wrote. "We are currently cooperating with local law enforcement to gather information about the events of that night and reviewing evidence to determine appropriate action."
The base still declines to confirm or deny if Soler will be allowed to retire at his present rank.
Capt. Leann Rabun of the Goldsboro Police Department said Watson's girlfriend, Madison Grey Mooring, 18, was in the passenger seat of the car at the time of the wreck, but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
Rabun said Soler provided authorities with a statement about where he was coming from and where he was heading at the time of the wreck, and authorities are working to confirm that information before making it public.
Another of Soler's statements given after the scene of crash -- about the status of Watson's vehicle when the wreck happened -- was determined during the course of the investigation to be false.
Soler claimed Watson was stopped in the middle of the road with his headlights off, but investigators say that was not the case.
"Through the course of the investigation we determined the young man had his headlights on and was going a very reasonable speed at the time of the wreck," Rabun said.
According to the accident report, Soler crashed into the rear of Watson's Jeep at 70 mph on South George Street near Carver Boulevard, which is a 35 mph zone.
Soler was initially charged with felony serious injury by motor vehicle, which was upgraded to felony death by motor vehicle after Watson died.
Soler turned himself in to police Thursday, Dec. 15, around 7:30 p.m. on the upgraded charge.
He walked out of the Wayne County Magistrate's Office 40 minutes later on a $75,000 secured bond.
The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the wreck is asked to contact officer M.M. Habermas at 919-580-4272.