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Sheriff helped plot his own deputy’s killing over ‘racially offensive’ tape, prosecutors say
[OUTLINE] Granville County Sheriff Brindell Wilkins learned one of his deputies had a tape of him making "racially offensive" comments, prosecutors say. So the North Carolina lawman encouraged another man to kill the officer, according to a felony indictment revealed late Monday night."The only way you gonna stop him is kill him," Wilkins allegedly told the would-be shooter in a 2014 recorded phone call about a plan to kill former deputy Joshua Freeman. The plot was not carried out. Wilkins is charged with two felony counts of obstruction of justice charges for his failure to arrest the unnamed person or report the threat on Freeman’s life, and for also allegedly giving the man advice about how to get away with the murder. Wilkins has been sheriff of the small county in northern North Carolina, where the biggest town is home to about 8,400 people, since 2009 and was most recently reelected in 2018. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, who brought the charges, told the News & Observer that Wilkins is still the sheriff. "Technically," the prosecutor said, "he can continue to serve if he chooses to until convicted." According to the indictment, Wilkins found out in 2014 that Joshua Freeman claimed to have a recording of the sheriff using "racially offensive language," and that the deputy planned to publicly reveal the tape and turn it over to authorities in Raleigh. It’s unclear what Wilkins might have said on that alleged tape or what became of the recording. In the August 2014 phone call, prosecutors said, Wilkins’s "personal animosity" toward Joshua Freeman led him to go along with the plan to kill the deputy. The recorded call makes it clear the sheriff had no intention to protect Freeman or intervene, according to the indictment. On the call, the sheriff advised the unnamed man, whom Wilkins knew, that "if you need to take care of somethin', just take care of something," according to the indictment. The man gave Wilkins a specific time and location detailing when he planned to kill Joshua Freeman, plus described the firearm he planned to use in the shooting, the indictment says. Wilkins then "counseled the individual how to commit the murder in a manner as to avoid identification," the indictment says. Related: Racially offensive: 2018-03-29 This Woman Just Became The First Person To Go To Prison For Racism In South Africa Racially offensive: 2018-01-18 San Diego State lecturer will not teach classes after racist comments claims Racially offensive: 2017-10-13 Negro Bill no more: Board votes to change Moab canyon's name Posted by: Fred 2019-09-18 |
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