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Sheriff's lawyers deny claims
by Brian J. Slattery, Wake Weekly Staff Writer
Lawyers for Franklin County Sheriff Jerry Jones point fingers at former deputy Ben Barrick and Citizen's Bank of Elizabethton, Tennessee, for their own negligence in Jones' response to a lawsuit brought by the bank.
William L. Hill of Moss, Mason and Hill of Greensboro represents Jones. Jones, Deputy Ted Horton and Barrick brought the helicopter into the county through Netstar Air Rescue, Inc., with plans to set up service for sheriffs' departments in an 11-county area. County administrators discovered the program, after the helicopter was in service, and claimed the program had not been vetted through the county. Officials met with Jones to tell him to stop all use of the helicopter. The sheriff's office continued its use. The Franklin County Sheriff's helicopter crashed May 14, 2004, killing Horton. Following the accident, Citizen's Bank, which loaned Barrick and Jones $81,000 to purchase the helicopter, filed charges alleging the three conspired and defrauded the bank to secure the aircraft, and are suing for damages. The sheriff's department and Franklin County are codefendants. County commissioners responded by filing a motion to be dismissed from the lawsuit while also suing Jones for any monetary damages the county might incur. In the response to charges claimed in the Citizen's Bank lawsuit, Jones' representative makes 13 defense claims. Included in the defenses cited are claims that in his official capacity as sheriff, he is protected by governmental immunity, and in his individual capacity, Jones is protected from the plaintiff's claims by public officer's immunity. While denying any negligence on Jones' part, the response claims that any negligence that might be considered Jones' responsibility was superseded by the negligence of Barrick and Netstar. The response also alleges contributory negligence by Citizen's Bank. They claim that the bank did not use due diligence prior to loaning money to Barrick and Netstar, Inc. and that the bank had knowledge that North Carolina General Statute 159-28 -- which requires any fiscal obligation incurred to be preaudited in the manner required by the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act -- was not complied with. Through the lack of due diligence, the bank failed to determine the Barrick and Netstar claims were fraudulent and should prevent the bank from making claims against Jones. The response asks that the action be dismissed, that the plaintiff recover nothing from Jones, that court costs be charged to the plaintiff along with other relief the court determines to be right and proper and that they receive a trial by jury on all these issues. Jones had no comment on the response filed by his attorney. The National Transportation Safety Board released a report in May describing corrosion on the tail of the helicopter and listed specific maintenance procedures for the helicopter that maintenance logs show weren't followed. In June the county requested Franklin County District Attorney Sam Currin call for a criminal investigation. Currin reviewed the county and NTSB reports and asked the SBI to investigate the crash, with Barrick's actions as a focus of scrutiny. The sheriff did comment on the SBI investigation called for by Currin. "After the NTSB report they see some grounds to look into it. It always takes a long time to get a report like that back from the NTSB," Jones said. "The D.A.'s investigation shouldn't take as long; it doesn't take as long on this level. I think they are on the right track. It's going in the right direction and we'll see what goes on." "We will assist in any way we can," Jones said. "Some may think we're trying to hide, but you've got to understand, during an investigation -- now is not the appropriate time to say anything. "When the investigation is over and nothing else is pending, that will be the time for the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, and especially me, to tell our side of the story." Barrick received a civil summons June 9; a written answer to the charges is expected within 30 days.
Last Updated On: July 7, 2005
Copyright 2005 The Wake Weekly