Tag Archive for: #granvillecountysheriffsdept

Granville Co Sheriff

School Resource Officers Give Back to Community

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THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

-Press Release, Granville County Government

Over the last three months, School Resource Officers (SRO’s) of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office have been providing assistance to local food pantries and area churches during the Covid-19 pandemic, packing, distributing and delivering more than 500,000 pounds of food to those in need. 

Those receiving assistance by Granville County’s School Resource Officers include the following locations, with food distribution totals reported through these efforts:

  • Area Congregations in Ministry (ACIM) – 325,817 pounds of food, which included 522 Senior Boxes (Commodity Supplemental Food Program for Seniors) and 815 family boxes (Food Bank COVID Relief Boxes);
  • Pleasant Grove Baptist Church – 2,500 cases (average 40 lbs. a box), totaling 100,000 pounds;
  • Delrayno Baptist Church – 2,500 cases (average 40 lbs. a box) totaling 100,000 pounds; and
  • FBC Food Bank, Creedmoor – 279 families served.

In addition, more than 24,000 boxes of breakfast, lunch and snacks through the BackPack Buddies program were delivered over a six-day period.

“Many of the volunteers we normally count on were not able to leave their homes due to the Stay At Home Order,” said Sue Hinman, Executive Director of ACIM. “If the SROs had not been there, we would not have been able to provide food to the many people who needed us. We truly appreciate their support and their help when we needed it most.”

The Granville County Sheriff’s Office has nine (9) School Resource Officers on staff. Following North Carolina school closure mandates – due to the COVID-19 pandemic – these SRO’s have assisted with food distribution since mid-March, making additional connections with families all over the county. 

“Every single SRO was a part of this effort,” Chief Deputy Sherwood Boyd remarked. “The kids all know that our SRO’s are there to help, and now their parents do, too. We were proud to have assisted our community in this way, helping meet the needs of our residents.”

Sheriff Charles Noblin

Charles R. Noblin, Jr. Appointed Granville Co. Sheriff

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100.1 FM / 1450 AM WIZS; Local News broadcasts M-F 8am, 12pm, 5pm

This is a joint statement of the Granville County Board of Commissioners and the Granville County Sheriff’s Office.

The Granville County Board of Commissioners appointed Charles R. Noblin, Jr. sheriff this evening to fulfill the unexpired term of Brindell B. Wilkins, Jr. Mr. Noblin will take the oath of office at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. Mr. Noblin is an eighteen-year veteran of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office. He is currently the sergeant in charge of the Civil Division.

The Granville County Board of Commissioners appointed Charles R. Noblin, Jr. sheriff to fulfill the unexpired term of Brindell B. Wilkins, Jr. Mr. Noblin will take the oath of office at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. (Photo courtesy Granville Co. Govt.)

The Granville County Board of Commissioners wants to thank Chief Deputy Sherwood Boyd for his leadership in fulfilling the duties of the office of the sheriff since Mr. Wilkins was suspended on September 23, 2019. The decision to name Mr. Noblin was taken in consultation with Mr. Boyd.

Mr. Boyd is eligible to retire in early 2021. While he has not made a decision to retire at this time, he believes that the men and women of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office deserve an assurance of continuity for the balance of Mr. Wilkins’ unexpired term which ends in December 2022. Mr. Noblin has advised me that he intends to swear Mr. Boyd in as his chief deputy.

The order suspending Mr. Wilkins remains in effect at least until the resolution of the two felony charges of obstruction of justice with which he has been indicted. As Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman has publicly announced, there is a continued, ongoing state and federal investigation into the activities of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office during Mr. Wilkins’ tenure.

The Commissioners’ action recognizes that it could be months or years before the issues involving Mr. Wilkins are resolved.

The ongoing investigations are focused on individuals and not the Granville County Sheriff’s Office as a whole. The Commissioners appreciate the dedicated and honorable service of the vast majority of the employees of the Sheriff’s Office and wish to publicly thank them for the outstanding job they have done under difficult circumstances.

We look forward to and expect to continue and enhance cooperation between the Granville County Sheriff’s Office and its state and federal prosecutorial and law enforcement partners. The various law enforcement agencies can only operate effectively where there is open communication and respect between those offices that focus on the safety, security, and rights of the people served.

We wish to remind the public that Brindell B. Wilkins, Jr. remains innocent until proven guilty. No action taken by the Commissioners should be read to be a judgment as to his guilt or innocence. Rather, the actions taken are to ensure the continued, effective operation of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office until the ongoing investigations are finished and the legal proceedings against him are concluded.

Mr. Noblin’s appointment as sheriff gives him full authority over the Granville County Sheriff’s Office. The Commissioners give Mr. Noblin their full support to make any changes reasonably necessary for the effective organization of the Granville County Sheriff’s Office including taking steps to reconstitute a drug investigations unit.

The Commissioners pledge the support needed to ensure the Granville County Sheriff’s Office can provide professional law enforcement, detention, court security, school security, and civil process services in a fair and impartial manner that protects and preserves the Constitutional Rights of the people it serves.

Due to personnel issues and the ongoing state and federal investigations, no further statements will be issued.

James C. Wrenn, Jr., Attorney at Law, provided WIZS News with the following clarification after publication of the above press release:

Due to questions received, I want to add that Mr. Wilkins remains suspended. He has not been permanently removed from office. It is possible that he could return to office if he is not convicted of a felony or if no other grounds for removal exist. Please see the statute below:

  • 128-19. Suspension pending hearing; how vacancy filled. Upon the filing of the petition in the office of the clerk of the superior court, and the presentation of the same to the judge, the judge may suspend the accused from office if in his judgment sufficient cause appear from the petition and affidavit, or affidavits, which may be presented in support of the charges contained therein. In case of suspension, as herein provided, the temporary vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided by law for filling of the vacancies in such office.(P.L. 1913, c. 761, s. 23; 1919, c. 288; C.S., s. 3211.)

Murder Plot of Former Granville Co. Deputy Results in Indictment for Sheriff

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100.1 FM / 1450 AM WIZS; Local News broadcasts M-F 8am, 12pm, 5pm

In a move that has shocked the local community, Granville County’s Grand Jury returned indictments Monday against Sheriff Brindell Wilkins for two counts of felony obstruction of justice.

Sheriff Wilkins, who has served as Granville County Sheriff since 2009 and was recently reelected in 2018, will now stand trial on charges stemming from a recorded conversation in 2014 with an unidentified individual regarding the potential homicide of former Granville County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Freeman.

The outcome of the indictment follows an investigation that began in November 2018 when the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) received a recording provided by District Attorney Michael D. Waters. DA Water serves the 9th Prosecutorial District, including Granville, Vance, Warren, Franklin and Person counties.

In a letter to the Honorable N. Lorrin Freeman, district attorney of Wake County, dated November 14, 2018, DA Waters states that while still in private practice as an attorney in 2014, he received a recording believed to involve Sheriff Wilkins, while representing Joshua Freeman as a client.

Believing he had a conflict in the matter, DA Waters requested that DA Freeman adopt the case.

In response, DA Freeman stated in a letter to the SBI that the recording “contains a conversation between two individuals, one of whom appears to be the Granville County Sheriff, about a former deputy sheriff and culminates in a discussion about committing a homicide.”

The discussed homicide was not carried out.

According to a press release provided by DA Freeman’s office, Sheriff Wilkins was voluntarily served with the indictments by agents with the SBI, assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and processed on the charges.

The Bill of Indictment, which is now a matter of public record, indicates that on or about August 12, 2014, Sheriff Wilkins “unlawfully, willfully and feloniously did obstruct public and legal justice by withholding knowledge of credible threat made by an individual known to the Sheriff to imminently kill Joshua Freeman at a certain place and time in Granville County.”

“Defendant failed to properly execute his duties because of his personal animosity towards Joshua Freeman, who defendant was told had expressed an intention to publicly disclose to authorities a purported audio recording of the defendant using racially offensive language.”

The indictment bill further states that Sheriff Wilkins expressly encouraged the individual also involved in the conversation to “take care of it” and “if you need to take care of somethin’, you just take care of something” and that “the only way you gonna stop him is kill him,” in regards to Joshua Freeman.

Sheriff Wilkins further appears to counsel the individual on how to commit the murder in a manner as to avoid identification including informing him that “you ain’t got the weapon, you ain’t got nothing to go on” and “the only way we find out these murder things is people talk. You can’t tell nobody nothin’, not a thing.”

Sheriff Wilkins then appeared to provide assurances to the individual that he would not reveal to any investigation authorities, thought to be the Granville County Sheriff’s Office investigators, any prior knowledge he had as to the individual’s expressed intention to kill Joshua Freeman, according to the bill.

Following the indictment, Sheriff Wilkins appeared before a magistrate and was released on a $20,000 unsecured bond.

Granville County Manager Michael Felts and County Attorney James C. Wrenn, Jr. were notified by Sheriff Wilkins of his indictment on two counts of obstruction of justice Monday afternoon after 5 p.m., according to a press release issued by Wrenn’s office.

The press release also states that Wrenn was called by DA Freeman yesterday at approximately 5:30 p.m. and briefed on the charges.

The Granville County Board of Commissioners, though lacking supervisory authority over the Sheriff, were also notified yesterday evening and held an emergency called meeting at 7:30 a.m. this morning to discuss the matter.

“As this situation unfolds, the Board hopes that all parties involved remember that the focus must remain on the welfare of the citizens of Granville County. All involved must prioritize the need to maintain the public trust and faith in the effective and unbiased enforcement of laws and administration of justice in Granville County. Like all people charged with a criminal offense, Sheriff Wilkins is entitled to a presumption of innocence,” the release states.

Sheriff Wilkins first court date will be October 9, 2019, at 9:30 a.m. in Granville County.

Decisions about Sheriff Wilkin’s position, particularly if he will remain on-duty, remain unknown at this time. As would be the case in this incident, a change to an elected official’s status is subject to a judiciary process.

A second investigation into allegations concerning the Granville County Sheriff’s Office’s accounting practices and controlled substance interdiction efforts remains pending.

A press conference will be held by Attorney Wrenn today (Tuesday, September 17, 2019) at 4 p.m. at the Granville Expo & Convention Center in the auditorium. The Granville Expo & Convention Center is located at 4185 Highway 15 South, Oxford, NC  27565.

WIZS will provide additional information as it becomes available.