Lawsuit filed in Anson Sheriff dispute; Howell and Cannon both claim the position

WADESBORO — Sgt. Gerald Cannon has filed a lawsuit against Anson County in Superior Court on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

The lawsuit refers to Cannon as the Sheriff of Anson County, although that is disputed after the Anson County Board of Commissioners appointed Scott Howell as Sheriff at their meeting on Tuesday evening.

On Oct. 8, the Anson County Democratic Party selected Cannon to fill the vacancy for Sheriff, although this was later overturned by the North Carolina Democratic Party following improper organizational structure of the voting precincts. At this meeting, a uniformed Wadesboro police officer was provided a list by ACDP chairman Dannie Montgomery of who was allowed to attend this meeting. At a later council of review by the NCDP, Montgomery refused to say who was on the list and was allowed to vote.

There is an ongoing ethics probe by the NCDP regarding Montgomery’s actions at the Oct. 8 precinct meeting and a another meeting on Dec. 5.

A cluster meeting of the voting precincts in Anson was held on Nov. 12. A county convention to vote for the sheriff convened on Dec. 3, where Cannon was again selected for Sheriff. Montgomery stated that Cannon earned the nomination with 59 votes, while Scott Howell received 54 votes. Anson County attorney Scott Forbes previously stated that the state board of elections refused to certify the vote and passed the appointment process to the commissioners.

Cannon was nominated by a seemingly rogue set of Anson Commissioners for Sheriff and took the Oath of Office at a legally questionable, called ‘emergency’ board meeting on Monday, Dec. 5. It remains unclear if this meeting is legally valid and if two voting commissioners were able to do so or if their terms had expired.

Forbes said it’s now up to the courts to decide if the initial vote to nominate Cannon for Sheriff is valid. Forbes himself was not informed of the called meeting.

In a Facebook post, chairman JD Bricken stated that he was made aware of the meeting last minute, questioned the legitimacy of the meeting, phoned in, and then hung up without voting.

The lawsuit states that the Dec. 5 emergency meeting was lawfully called and made available to the public pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 143-318.12 and 153 A-40. It also states that all four voting members (Harold Smith, Vancine Sturdivant, Dr. Jim Sims and Jarvis Woodburn) were legally able to do so.

That evening, Cannon received a call from Forbes stating that the meeting and subsequent swearing-in was illegal.

On Tuesday, Dec. 6, the lawsuit states that Howell refuses to leave the office of Sheriff and this has prevented Cannon from carrying out his duties. The lawsuit asks for a permanent injunction to allow Cannon to assume the Sheriff position.

This is a developing story.