Scott Jones, who was defeated in the Republican primary for Guilford County Sheriff by incumbent BJ Barnes, was found not guilty of assaulting a deputy, a misdemeanor, in a Guilford County district court hearing on Sept. 20. A related misdemeanor charge of making a threatening phone call was dismissed.
The 38-year-old Jones, of Pleasant Garden, is a small business owner.
The charges stemmed from a Jan. 9, 2009 incident involving Guilford County Sheriff’s Deputy AB Martin. Jones was accused in a magistrate’s order of assaulting Martin “by stepping back, reaching for his gun in the holster and stating to the officer, ‘Don’t piss me off,’” while Martin was trying to discharge his duties by serving a civil paper on Jones’ wife.
The other charge stemmed from an accusation articulated in a magistrate’s order that Jones told dispatcher C. Moore: “You’ve got a deputy out here getting ready to get his hind end in trouble.”
A press release issued by Jones describes him as a candidate and represents that he “vows to continue campaigning” until the Nov. 2 election, but Jones’ name is not on the ballot. North Carolina election law provides the opportunity for voters to write in the name of a candidate whose name is not on the ballot.
Barnes has held the position of sheriff since 1995. He is opposed by Democrat Phil Wadsworth.
Jones said in his press release that he plans to “seek” a civil lawsuit against the sheriff’s office “for ethical and constitutional rights violations after slanderous e-mail was sent to deputies and other members of the sheriff’s department endangering the lives of Mr. Jones’ family and employees of Mr. Jones’ company.”
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