By John Monk
The State
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon was found not guilty by a federal jury in Florence Monday night of using excessive force on an inmate.
The jury was out about an hour.
Lemon was indicted in January of this year along with a deputy sheriff, David Andrew Cook, on the charge of “deprivation of rights under the color of law” in an incident involving the use of a Taser on an unruly prisoner in their custody.
Cook pleaded guilty earlier this year and testified against Lemon at the trial, which started last Tuesday at the federal courthouse near downtown Florence. Lemon also took the stand and testified in his own defense.
Adair Boroughs, U.S. attorney for South Carolina , whose prosecutors handled the case, issued this statement Tuesday morning, “We are disappointed with the outcome, but we respect the jury’s verdict. I want to thank our trial team and our investigative partners who did a great job.” The FBI and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigated.
The case was not open and shut. Defense lawyers contended the law officers were only trying to subdue an out-of-control, violent man in a rapidly evolving situation.
Evidence showed that Jarrel Johnson, the Tased man, had viciously beaten his father with an aluminum baseball bat just before being arrested by Marlboro deputies on a Sunday morning in May 2020 .
Lemon, on his way to church, diverted to the jail, where he ordered the handcuffs removed from Johnson so he could be put into a cell. Then Johnson, who was described as “taller, bigger, stronger than anyone else in that holding cell area, a gifted athlete,” lunged at the sheriff, who ordered Cook to use his Taser on the prisoner.
As Johnson was not completely subdued, the sheriff repeatedly told Cook to use the Taser, and Cook did just that, according to evidence in the case.
Although federal prosecutors offered Lemon a plea deal, he refused, according to a court transcript of a Feb. 29 court hearing. The deal would have required Lemon to plead guilty to a felony that would have exposed him to a maximum sentence of 24 months. If the jury had found him guilty, he faced a maximum sentence of 10 years.
“The bottom line is Charles did not want to plead guilty because he didn’t think he was guilty. He spent his entire life trying to be a good law enforcement officer, and this was a dangerous situation in which he felt — and the jury vindicated his feelings — that his actions were justified,” said defense attorney Martin.
Lemon was also a sympathetic defendant, whom Martin called “a good guy.” A longtime resident of Marlboro County, Lemon had spent 22 years in the U.S. Army and reserves and had seen combat in Iraq.
Cook pleaded guilty on Feb. 29 of this year to using excessive force and agreed to testify for the prosecution. He has not yet been sentenced.
Lemon was represented by Morgan Martin of Conway, Douglas Jennings Jr . of Bennettsville and Isabelle Young of Charleston. Federal prosecutors were Lauren Leigh Hummel and Everett Eugene McMillian. Judge Joseph Dawson presided.
It was a rare acquittal in numerous prosecutions of South Carolina sheriffs. In the last 14 years, a dozen South Carolina sheriffs have been charged with crimes. Nearly all have been convicted and forced from office.
- In 2010, former Union County Sheriff Howard Wells was sentenced to 90 days in prison for financial offenses, including lying to federal agents.
- In 2011, a jury found former Lee County Sheriff E. J. Melvin guilty of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, extortion, theft from a government agency, illegal financial transactions and making false statements to a government agent. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
- In 2012, former Saluda County Sheriff Jason Booth left office after pleading guilty to charges of misusing inmates at his county jail. He received probation.
- In 2013, former Abbeville County Sheriff Charles Goodwin stepped down after pleading guilty to misconduct in office for receiving kickbacks. He was put on probation and sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
- In 2014, former Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker was convicted by a jury on charges he gave inmates at his jail access to women, weapons, alcohol and the internet. He received two years in prison.
- In 2015, longtime Lexington County Sheriff Jimmy Metts was sentenced to a year in federal prison for his role in a scheme to help undocumented immigrants get out of his jail.
- Also in 2015, former Williamsburg County Sheriff Michael Johnson was sentenced to 30 months in prison in an identity theft scheme he facilitated by helping an accomplice create false paperwork on official sheriff’s office documents.
- In 2019, former Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis was sentenced to a year in prison after a jury convicted him for using the power of his office to coerce a female employee into an extramarital affair. Lewis served several weeks in prison but has been released on bond. Remaining charges against him were dismissed.
- In January 2020 , former Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone pleaded guilty to embezzlement in connection with charges of stealing funds from his office to spend on personal matters. Boone was sentenced to five years in prison but that sentence was suspended to probation. However, in March, after Boone was charged with domestic violence, he was sent to prison for 4.5 months for violating probation. In December, Boone pleaded guilty to domestic violence and again received probation, this time on condition he undergo 26 weeks of domestic abuse counseling.
- Also in 2020, former Colleton County Sheriff Andy Strickland was sentenced to probation after being found guilty of various charges including beating his girlfriend and getting deputies to work on his property.
- In 2020, former Union County Sheriff David Taylor was indicted for misconduct and sending a sexually obscene photo from his county cellphone. He is no longer in law enforcement, and his case has been “disposed of,” according to the Attorney General’s office.
- In 2022, former Chester County Sheriff George Underwood was sentenced to 48 months in prison for wire fraud, conspiring to violate federal laws and theft from a federal program.
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