WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsAB mayor facing DUI charge, released on PR bond

AB mayor facing DUI charge, released on PR bond

MARION, SC (WMBF) - Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce was released from jail Thursday on a personal recognizance bond. Pierce faces charges in Marion County for allegedly driving under the influence.

Troopers with the South Carolina Highway Patrol arrested Pierce Wednesday on suspicion of DUI, adding yet another incident to a growing number of run-ins with the law.

Pierce will face a judge on the DUI charge on Oct. 6.

The Rev. Windy Price, a long-time friend of Pierce, says the Atlantic Beach mayor is an evangelist, a woman with strong morals who doesn't even take aspirin, let alone drink and drive.

"It's crazy. When I heard the charges I was very perplexed," she said. "People that know Mayor Pierce [know] that's a strong lady, and she would never resort to alcohol. That's not her, I know that for a fact."

Price says Pierce was taking a nap at a fast food restaurant parking lot off of Highway 76 when troopers approached her car.

In April, Atlantic Beach Police Chief Randy Rizzo says Pierce was arrested on hit and run and failure to provide proof of insurance charges after side swiping a car and driving away.

Prior to the incident, Pierce was arrested in December 2007 on charges of reckless driving and failure to use a proper turn signal, and again in January after an argument with town officials.

Pierce, according to Rizzo, was expected to appear in court in Horry County Wednesday on disorderly conduct and tresspassing charges, stemming from her January arrest.

With a stacked track record of run-ins with the law, questions on the mayor's position as a leader of Atlantic Beach have been discussed.  Ben Fox, spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, says Pierce cannot be suspended from office unless she is indicted by a grand jury for a crime of moral turpitude.

Driving under the influence, however, does not classify as a crime of moral turpitude, according to Fox.

Sanford has the power to remove county and state officials for misconduct, but unless he receives indictment papers on Pierce, he cannot take any action because Atlantic Beach is a municipality. 

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