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Deputy resigns in wake of DWI charges
By Lynn Hotaling
A deputy sheriff has resigned his post in the wake of charges that he was driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Bruce Jones, a deputy with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, tendered his resignation the same day he was cited for driving while impaired by an officer called to investigate an early morning wreck.
N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Jeff Womack was on the scene at of the Nov. 17 wreck near Greens Creek. His report indicates Jones was driving while under the influence of an “impairing substance,” and that there was a “strong odor of alcohol about his breath.” Womack’s report also notes Jones’ bloodshot eyes and slurred speech and states that Jones was “unsteady on his feet.”
No one was injured in the one-vehicle accident that occurred just past midnight.
According to Womack’s report, Jones refused to submit to a breathalyzer test to determine level of intoxication.
Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe told The Herald that Jones had been with the department less than a year and had been trained to be a bailiff.
“That sort of behavior will not be tolerated,” Ashe said, adding that if Jones had not resigned his actions would have been grounds for dismissal.
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