Two Johnston Co. elected officials charged with felonies in past year. What we know.
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Sex, blackmail and local politics: The extortion trial of JoCo school board member Ronald Johnson
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Within the last year, two elected officials in Johnston County have been arrested and charged with felonies.
Despite public pressure for their resignation and removal, Ronald Johnson, a school board member, and Richard “Dickie” Braswell, a county commissioner, are still serving in those positions.
Last year, Braswell was arrested and charged with incident liberties with a 13-year-old child.
Braswell was released on $35,000 bond. He then ran for election unopposed and won his District 3 seat in November with over 50,000 votes.
Three weeks ago, Johnson was charged with extortion, felony obstruction of justice and three counts of willfully failing to discharge his duties.
Among those charges was an allegation that he threatened to reveal a defamatory recording of a former candidate running for U.S. House unless the candidate pressured a woman to recant statements that she had an affair with Johnson, The News & Observer reported.
Johnson was indicted by a grand jury and his bond was set to $50,000 and was due in court on April 11.
What we know of the charges against Richard Braswell
Braswell, 74, was arrested last June.
According to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, a 13-year-old girl told officers she had an “inappropriate interaction with an adult male acquaintance” in April 2022.
According to divorce documents filed last month by Braswell’s wife, Loretta, the alleged incident involving the child happened at Braswell’s office. He allegedly “took the victim and her brother with him to work under the pretense of having them do some work for him, then sent the victim’s brother on an errand,” the documents read.
Braswell was not arrested until weeks later on June 29. The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office says it will not release any additional information about the incident until “the release of criminal discovery in the Superior Court.”
He was released on bond and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
On Monday night, a group of residents plan to meet to speak out against Braswell at a scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting. They plan to peacefully protest before and during the meeting by signing up to speak during the public comment period.
Butch Lawter, the chairman of the commissioners, told The N&O that he encouraged “any and all of our residents to participate in a dialogue with the Board” and that members “respect the seriousness of the charges and accusations brought against Commissioner Dickie Braswell.”
Johnston County commissioners serve four years, with Braswell’s term ending in 2026. He currently serves in the District 3 seat which covers Princeton.
There is no state law for the recall of a county commissioner. Johnston County also does not have any local-level recall provisions, Lawter said.
A jury trial date for Braswell is set for October at the Johnston County Courthouse, according to court documents.
If found guilty, Braswell could face up to five years in prison, according to state law. Jack O’Hale, Braswell’s lawyer, did not respond to requests for comment by The N&O.
What we know of the charges against Ronald Johnson
According to Johnson’s indictment, he “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did threaten and communicate a threat to DeVan Barbour IV.”
Barbour ran in the Republican primary last spring for the U.S. House District 13 against Bo Hines. Democrat Wiley Nickel won that election in November.
“Defendant threatened to release a recording in the defendant’s possession of defamatory allegations concerning DeVan Barbour IV, weeks before a primary election in which Devan Barbour IV was on the ballot,” the indictment states. “Defendant threatened to release the recording if DeVan Barbour IV did not pressure Angela McLeod Barbour into recanting her statements that she had an affair with the Defendant.”
Johnson has been censured by the Johnston County Board of Education twice.
The first time, in August 2022, the board voted 6-1, saying Johnson violated policies against recording conversations of members. he was also accused of trying to have two special-education students removed from a school because of his personal issues with a parent, according to a report.
The second time, in October, Johnson was censured for sending texts during school board meetings about wanting to have a relationship with a female school employee.
In August, the school board tried to remove Johnson after he refused to resign from the board in light of allegations that he violated the board’s ethics policy. Because of his refusal, the school board asked the county district attorney, Susan Doyle, to step in and review the allegations.
In a report, Johnson referred to the pressure from the school board and residents as a “witch hunt.”
Aside from the accusations within the school board, Johnson was fired from his job as a detective in the Smithfield Police Department due to personal conduct.
Despite his censures and criminal investigation, Johnson almost became chairman of the Johnston County Board of Education in December, losing by one vote.
Johnson was re-elected to the school board in 2020 and was first elected in 2016. His current term ends next year.
T. Keung Hui contributed.
This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Two Johnston Co. elected officials charged with felonies in past year. What we know.."
