A Beaufort Co. couple says a deputy caused mistrial with his ‘preaching.’ So they’re suing

A Beaufort County couple is suing the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and one of its former deputies saying the deputy caused a mistrial in their February 2017 trial against Ford Motor Company after he “stalked and accosted” members of the jury, according to a Beaufort County Court of Common Pleas document.

Charles and Kathleen Holley say because of the mistrial, they suffered “economic, pecuniary and emotional damages,” the lawsuit said.

While in his Sheriff’s Office uniform, former deputy Royal Wallace Fife III “followed and harassed” two members of a jury as they were leaving the courthouse on the seventh day of the trial, the suit said.

Despite the jurors’ attempts to “shun” Fife by walking quickly toward their cars and telling him they weren’t supposed to discuss the case, he “persisted in ‘preaching’ his views that persons (such as the couple) should “take personal responsibility for their own actions,’” the suit said.

A mistrial was declared the next day due to Fife’s “interjection and interference,” the suit said.

The lawsuit says the Sheriff’s Office was “grossly negligent, willful, wanton and/or reckless” by failing to:

• properly supervise and train Fife
• protect jurors from “abusive miscreants”
• provide proper courthouse security during the trial
• “protect the sanctity of an ongoing jury trial”
• “exercise due care and caution” and “slight care and caution” in administrating courthouse security

The couple “suffered substantial economic losses” from trial expenses, the loss of state due process rights and the right to a fair trial by jury, the suit said.

In addition to mental anguish, the husband’s health also “diminished” after the first trial, causing him to not be able to testify at the second, the suit said. The wife “suffered emotional pain,” the suit said.

The 21-year veteran deputy was fired by the Sheriff’s Office days after he approached the jurors in the parking lot, The Island Packet previously reported.

The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case Friday afternoon due to pending litigation.

This story was originally published September 28, 2018 at 3:15 PM.