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DA to look into sheriff's conduct

by Brian J. Slattery, Wake Weekly Staff Writer

June 9, 2005

Franklin County Commissioners have asked District Attorney Sam Currin to launch an investigation to determine if charges are warranted against Sheriff Jerry Jones, former deputy Ben Barrick and his company, Netstar Air Rescue, Inc.

The board went further, requesting the DA review state law to consider removing Jones from office if the investigation warrants.

County Commissioner the Rev. Sidney Dunston proposed taking the action during the commissioners' board meeting Monday night.

"The thing that the district attorney has said is that no formal inquiry has been requested. I believe it is past time for that request to be made," Dunston said. "It's the responsibility of elected officials of Franklin County to make sure all the issues are looked into."

This most recent action stems from the crash of Franklin County Sheriff's helicopter May 14, 2004, that killed Deputy Ted Horton.

Jones, Horton and Barrick brought the helicopter into the county through Netstar Air Rescue, Inc., with plans to set up service for sheriff's departments in an 11-county area. When county administrators discovered the program, after the helicopter was in service, they 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. Stemming from the accident, Citizen's Bank of Elizabethton, Tenn., who 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.

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 matainance logs show weren't followed.

Since being named in the lawsuit as liable for damages, the county commissioners have taken action, filing a motion to be dismissed from the lawsuit while also suing Jones for any monetary damages the county might incur.

"There are a combination of situations that relate to this issue. We're still obligated to pay Barrick's workman's compensation, Citizen's Bank has charges against us and the NTSB report puts the helicopter's airworthiness in question. In my opinion that's what brought us to this point," Dunston said.

Currin put the brakes on any immediate action. His office does not handle criminal investigations, so the commissioners' request would have to be redirected to the State Bureau of Investigation.

"The district attorney's office prosecutes after an investigation has been done, usually after charges have been brought," Currin said.

"We would have to ask the SBI to investigate and for that there would have to be alleged crimes, they don't investigate lawsuits."

Whether or not the SBI investigates any criminal action, Currin would have to decide if the sheriff's actions warranted removal from office.

North Carolina General Statute 128-16 says a sheriff or police officer can be removed from office by the judge of the superior court, for the following causes:

willful or habitual neglect or refusal to perform the duties of his office

willful misconduct or maladministration in office

corruption

extortion

upon conviction of a felony

for intoxication or upon conviction of being intoxicated.

Of the causes that could lead to the sheriff's removal, Currin only saw a felony conviction as a clear reason Jones could be removed.

He said he would have to be convinced there is a felony charge to be made and then would wait to see if he was convicted before he would move to have the sheriff removed. He considered willful neglect, misconduct or maladministration to be too difficult to prove to make a case to remove the sheriff.

"With maladministration I would have to do some research to see what the extent you have to mess up would be to be removed," he said.

Under state law five elected officials from the county -- either commissioners, the Register of Deeds or Soil and Water Conservation Board members -- can request the sheriff be removed. The request then has to be approved by the county attorney or district attorney, at which time a lawsuit would be filed in Franklin County Superior Court.

The district attorney or county attorney can also make the motion on their own. The decision whether or not to remove the sheriff lies with the Superior Court judge.

Currin said that although he was familiar with the helicopter crash, he would need to see a completed investigation before he could make any decisions.

"I don't know all the facts but I wouldn't dispute that (the sheriff) made some poor decisions. Does this rise to the level of criminal conduct? I don't know," Currin said.

If a criminal investigation moved forward in any way shape or form, Currin may recuse himself due to his involvement with the sheriff and the county.

"If I made the decision to prosecute, I would not want to be involved. I would bring in the Attorney General's office or another district attorney or assistant DA," he said. "This is an unusual type of thing. It doesn't happen every day."

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Last Updated On: June 9, 2005