(Updated 5:02pm) Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce was released on her own recognizance Thursday morning, after being arrested Wednesday in Marion County for drunk driving, and that was just the first of two court appearances she was scheduled to make Thursday.
Pierce was supposed to be on trial for a trespassing charge from January. That case was continued because her lawyer was in court on an unrelated case. But with the new DUI charge against her, there are new questions about whether she should be allowed to stay in office.
Pierce's legal troubles began on Christmas Day, 2007, when she was arrested for reckless driving and resisting arrest. That case resulted in a mistrial due to a hung jury. It has not been retried.
Last January, Pierce was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct at town hall, after a dispute with town employees. In April, Pierce was charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
And then Wednesday, Pierce was picked up in Marion County on a DUI charge. All four of those cases are still pending. Regarding the DUI charge, Pierce told us she got sleepy while driving, parked her car so she could rest and that's when she was arrested. "I'm not guilty of what I was arrested for. I don't drink, I don't take drugs, I don't use drugs, deal with drugs in any way, so if you're not guilty of any of that, then that's what you must say is a false arrest," Pierce said.
A leader of the legal watchdog group Action 7 says driving seems to be a problem for Pierce, so he'll try to find someone to drive for her. "We're going to have to finance a driver available for her for 7 days a week, if she's got to go somewhere. and i think the last issue she should be facing now is with driving," said Raymond Johnson, Action 7.
Pierce says eventually, she will be vindicated. And in the meantime, she thinks there are people trying to make her look like someone she is not. "There are shadow people among others out there who seemingly would want people to think that I'm someone who continually breaks the law."
We have asked Highway Patrol to release Pierce's blood alcohol level from her breathalyzer test through a Freedom of Information request. We will let you know when we find out. Pierce says there was also a urinalysis done. Those results have not yet been made available.
Pierce is scheduled to have a hearing on the DUI charge October 6th.
As for being suspended from office, a spokesman for Governor Mark Sanford says he can only suspend a municipal official if that official is indicted by a grand jury, which has not happened to Pierce.
If she was a county or state official, he wouldn't have to wait for an indictment, but the rule is different for city office holders.
The spokesman says Sanford is aware of the charges against Pierce, but taking no action.
