Ex-Granville County sheriff’s convictions over falsifying training records overturned
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court has overturned a former county sheriff’s fraud and obstruction convictions from late 2022. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of ex-Granville County Sheriff Brindell Wilkins on Tuesday. Wilkins served as sheriff for 10 years and has been serving time in state prison. The intermediate-level appeals court said that allegations related to Wilkins falsifying his firearms training requirements didn’t meet the necessary elements for the obstruction and fraud charges. The ruling comes seven months after a subordinate to Wilkins had his obstruction convictions related to the training overturned. The ex-sheriff pleaded to unrelated crimes last fall.