By Roger Bell
Daily Herald
RICH SQUARE — A 23-year-old Rich Square man is still looking for justice against the deputy sheriff he said detained, charged and pepper sprayed him for no reason last April, though he is relieved to have been cleared by the courts.
Ronnie Smith Jr., who works as a corrections officer at Caledonia Correctional Center in Tillery, said his entire livelihood was riding on being found not guilty when his case finally came to trial in Northampton County District Court in October.
“My job already had the papers printed out,” Smith explained. “If I had been found guilty, I would have been terminated that day.”
Smith had been arrested April 12 and charged with public intoxication, resisting a public officer and disorderly conduct, and he said despite offers of plea deals, he maintained none of the charges should have been leveled against him in the first place.
Judge Thomas Jones agreed, Smith said, declaring Smith not guilty at trial.
Full story: Corrections officer relieved by verdict, still seeking justice