Lincoln County sheriff indicted on felony obstruction charges

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: October 13, 2009

LINCOLNTON
A North Carolina sheriff was indicted Monday on two felony obstruction of justice charges stemming from his role in an impaired driving investigation.

Prosecutors accused Lincoln County Sheriff Tim Daugherty of ordering the release of an impaired driving suspect, preventing one of his deputies from administering a chemical analysis to process the man. The indictment says Daugherty misrepresented his involvement in the matter when a State Bureau of Investigation agent asked him about it and also charges him with a misdemeanor false report to law enforcement.

The department's chief deputy, Barry Taylor, was convicted last month of misdemeanor obstruction of justice for his role in helping the impaired-driving suspect, Daniel Senft, in February 2007.

Prosecutors have said that Senft was being transferred to a detention center in Lincolnton when he asked to make a call to his wife. She then contacted one of Senft's colleagues, Tabatha Willis, who was Taylor's girlfriend. Prosecutors said Taylor instructed the other deputy, Steve Dombrowski, to bring Senft to the sheriff's office.

Daugherty told an SBI agent that he had no involvement in the Senft incident and didn't know about it until the following day, according to the indictment. Daugherty's attorney declined to immediately comment on the case.