local sheriff, already on pretrial diversion, investigated for battery
Strange headline, but not too surprising to those familiar with the recent history of Union County. The Union County Sheriff avoided a trial on misdemeanor battery charges over the summer by taking a pre-trial diversion - basically, an agreement with the state to dismiss the charge if he does not get in any trouble for a period of time. Now he is being investigated for battery again.
The first charge came from a dispute he had with a town policeman after their patrol cars collided. This new charge may not amount to much since it comes from an inmate in the Union County Jail, but the local court ordered that the inmate be transferred to another facility during the investigation. The Sheriff’s reaction seems a little off to me:
Leverton said he was stunned by the accusation of battery and the way the situation was handled. He denied battering Miller.
“Certain outsiders have decided to stick their noses into the internal operations of the Union County Jail without the proper facts. I’m real upset,” Leverton said. “It was a matter of internal discipline. We should have been consulted. I guess I’m under investigation but I don’t know by who. I asked the prosecutor and he said he didn’t know.”
Link.
