KURE BEACH, NC (WWAY)-- The cops pulled him over after spotting him driving with no front tire. Investigators say Charles Holden, son of former Southport Mayor Norman Holden, admitted he had been drinking and was under the influence of prescription drugs. But in May - a New Hanover County judge found him not guilty of driving while impaired. A viewer of ours just brought the case to our attention.
On January 16th 2009, Kure Beach Lieutenant Paul Hubbard responded to a call about an SUV driving on three tires and one rim. Lieutenant Hubbard pulled over Charles Holden. According to Hubbard's report he immediately detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on Holden's breath. Hubbard says Holden's speech was slurred and his eyes were red and glassy.
Holden performed and failed several field sobriety tests. He was arrested and taken back to the Carolina Beach Police Station. Even though Holden failed the field sobriety tests, which were captured on the police dash cam, when he got back to the station he blew a .06. However, they say alcohol wasn't the only drug affecting his abilities.
According to the report Holden admitted to taking the prescription drug Lorazapam in addition to drinking. He was aware the drug should not be taken with alcohol and understood he should not drive while taking the drug. He also admitted to being recognized as the "mayor's son" during a previous DWI arrest in which, the charges were dropped even though he'd consumed alcohol and taken about 14 prescription drugs.
“If you don't heed those warnings about not operating machinery or not operating motor vehicles and you get behind the wheel of a car, you can injure somebody just as easily as if you had consumed alcohol,” said Lieutenant Paul Hubbard.
Lieutenant Hubbard testified when the case was heard in May. According to witnesses so did Charles Holden's father Norman, who picked up his son the night of the incident, but Norman, the former Southport Mayor, denied testifying on his son's behalf.
Judge John Carroll heard the case. Despite Holden admitting to taking the prescription drugs, failing the field sobriety tests, and driving about a mile on the rim of his car, Judge Carroll found Holden not guilty.
We couldn't reach Charles Holden for comment and Judge Carroll did not return our phone calls.
Holden's criminal record shows at least three DWI convictions. He's also been found guilty of communicating threats.
EDITOR'S NOTE - WHILE HOLDEN WAS PULLED OVER IN JANUARY 2009, HIS CASE DIDN'T GO BEFORE JUDGE CARROLL UNTIL MAY OF THIS YEAR.
Man I'd hate to be these people going against Judge Carroll
I am glad I am not on trial if front of Judge Carroll the next few years. This Police officer just shot himself between the eyes, no that might be to easy for Judge Carroll, He probably will take him out painfully and slowly......And as for WWAY ( I know you won't post this post) you guys for not getting all of the story right and not noticing the two different people are in the video. I know Judge Carrroll will mostly throw you guys out too..
You don't screw with a judge!!!!!!
Wrong.
Judges answer to the citizens. They are supposed to uphold our laws by punishing those who break them. Judges are NOT gods.
I seriously hope Carroll DOES try to take Hubbard out. I'll be watching Carroll VERY closely. If that kind of pattern is observed, it'll become my life's mission to put Carroll under a relentless microscope for public scrutiny.
And look again, Doofus. They're NOT two different people. It's just two separate incidents (or did you miss the part that noted this was NOT Holden's first DWI? In the video, Mauceri even points out this was not Holden's only arrest for DWI and backs it up with footage from ANOTHER Holden DWI stop.) It's the same van. It's the same clown Holden in both.
YOU might be afraid of a judge. I sure as heck am not.
Drunk is drunk
I personally think the judge should be held in contempt. The law doesn't say a person HAS to blow a .08 to be impaired. If the circumstances prove that he was "appreciably impaired", and I think they do in this case, then he should have been convicted. But, money talks and therefore he walked. Money and power corrupt. Anyone driving around on the rim and failing those field sobriety tests and outright admitting to mixing heavy prescriptions with alcohol should have been convicted.
Maybe it will be the judge's family that he hits and kills some night out there. Do your think the verdict would be different then?
I personally think the officer did the right thing and if the judge takes on a personal grudge about this, then he doesn't deserve to be a sitting judge.
This guy is dangerous. I think MADD should get behind this one and this judge's record on DWI cases like this.
"Hell hath no fury like a
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Evidence to that: They couldn't ridicule him enough on FACEBOOK, so they started using the local news. This all stems from jealousy. Girl, he may not be perfect, but NEITHER are you. And please remember, karma will come back on you as well.
And speaking of the pending felony against Mr. Holden. Is he the ONLY one that ever made that SAME EXACT threat? I think not, he just aimed it at a court official. But he certainly was not the FIRST to come up with that threat!
Get a life. If you only knew how silly you are making yourself look!
hopefully you won't be his
hopefully you won't be his next victim in either a drunken state of mind or behind the barrel of the gun he just might be holding to your head... You want to talk about how stupid someone is making themselves seem by stating facts , go back and read the ignorance coming out of your own stupid mouth
Nobody caught this two different people,, Charles Holden
This is two diffenrent people in this video...One walking the line with a dark coat on and they never show his face and one walking to the cop car with a cream jacket on both appear to be getting handcuffed ....LOL...This guy was set thank the lord Judge Carroll didn't find him Guilty..LAWSUIT..Kure beach PD.
The catch is another persons also walks in front of the car with a dark coat on I am sure they would not let Mr. Holden walk around while they were in his van.....they show his face in the cream jacket but not the dark caot..They went back to the scene since he blew only .06..
just watch the video it not to hard to notice....
It was cold...
You were wearing a blue jacket over a beige fleece pullover... so what, it was you, and you are "innocent" anyways, according to this judge, with the attorney you had, and the fubar handling by KBPD.
HEY everyone Please
HEY everyone Please understand this case is almost two years old and that Mr. Holden has completed everything and has not been on the road for 7 months, driving....This didn't happen this past weekend.
Mr. Holden has already completed all his required items from his DWI's..
This is real old news...It's a shot at the Judge and using Mr. Holden as an example to get to him...As stated above he is not driving.....some people didn't even read the opening news article..Jan. 2009 almost two years... and the most important thing Mr. Holden learn a lesson and has done something to prevent him from drinking again......
TATER
mayor's son DWI
This alledged alcoholism is no excuse for this violation. The defendent is an adult and all rehab completers know never to use again. The breath results are only a part of the the total package that is to be considered for the violation. The roadside test and the admissions of the defendent and the video evidence offered by the prosecution all are part of the case. Judge Carroll bowed to throwing the defendant and defense attorney a bone at the expense of the officer, the department and the motoring public. Chief Cooper runs a good department and trains his officers well. The judge and the defendent don't care. Just business as usual............
And lets not forget that
And lets not forget that judge Carroll is a notorious harda** when it comes to EVERYONE else. If anyone reading this is scheduled to appear before this corrupt POS anytime soon I suggest you bring a printout of this article and ask for the same "deal". Can anyone say "contempt of court"?
as usual
Respect the judges' decision! as usual, WWAY, stir it up.
Alcoholism a disease???
Bending the elbow and pouring alcoholic beverages into your mouth is a disease. Way too liberal. Let's not use this as an excuse for lack of self-control. It is a choice that people make. The body craves alcohol and people with no self control pour it down and say it is a "disease". If the liberals label it a disease, it is a self-imposed "disease", like obesity. The body gets used to its allocation of alcohol and when it doesn't get it, it craves it. That is not a disease. It is a self-imposed habit.
We people in this country need to quit giving alcoholics an out by calling it a "disease". IMO, we are getting much too liberal with law breakers.
yes, sorta
The American Medical Association declared alcoholism was an illness in 1956. In 1991 they AMA endorsed the classification of alcoholism by the International Classification of Diseases under both psychiatric and medical sections.
Alcoholism is 50-60% genetically determined, passed through generations. Alcoholism is a chronic, life-long disease. In all cases, the patient is never able to regain the ability to drink in moderation..... but, the disease theory is often interpreted as implying that problem drinkers are incapable of returning to controlled drinking and therefore that treatment should focus on total abstinence. Some critics have used evidence of problem drinkers returning to controlled drinking to dispute the disease theory.
Depends who you ask.
Wikipedia.
The determination of whether
The determination of whether or not alcoholism is a disease is a liberal/conservative issue? I would say that's a decision for medical professionals, not politicians.
As far as "getting much too liberal with lawbreakers", keep in mind that Judge Carroll is a Republican.
Sigh.
The liberals didn't name alcholism a disease. The American Medical Association did. In 1956. Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive disease. And it has been clinically shown that the body of an alcoholic metabolizes alcohol differently than a non alcoholic. It affects their thinking, their body processes. What makes a person alcoholic is not how much they drink, but what happens when they consume alcohol. There is help out there for those who seek it and often live full, healthy and normal lives in recovery. To blame alcoholism on liberals is absurd.
impaired driving
Obviously, some people love to believe that officials in highly visible positions regularly engage in misconduct, when they are bound by certain rules and follow those rules. In every criminal case, a defendant is entitled to have the State prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before he is convicted. This applies regardless of the seriousness of the offense or the public outcry that may occur as a result of that verdict that does not make sense to those who are not familiar with the law.
Mr. Holden exercised his right to have the State prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Although some seem concerned about the contents of a police report, most are not aware that the entire report is not admissible into evidence nor was it admitted into evidence at trial. The fact that Mr. Holden had previously appeared driving convictions was similarly not admissible under the North Carolina rules of evidence, and the court was properly not privy to that information.
If the State were to rely on the theory that Mr. Holden had consumed controlled substances that affected him, the State would be required to present evidence as to the effects of any controlled substance which they contended Mr. Holden had consumed. The State did not do so. The only evidence before the court was Mr. Holden's physical condition, which were affected by the fact that he has a damaged knee that affects his ability to walk. He also suffers from other health problems that affect his physical faculties. His blood-alcohol concentration was less than the legal limit.
The court, because of the lack of evidence, found Mr. Holden not guilty. In doing so, the court was granting Mr. Holden his constitutional right and constitutional right of every citizen to have the State prove his guilt of a criminal offense before he is convicted.
In entering his verdict, Judge Carroll made an appropriate decision, probably knowing of the public criticism that could result. For him to make such a decision based on the facts and the law, rather than being swayed by the risk of criticism is highly indicative of his character and his fitness for his office. It is so easy to second-guess a judge and criticize him when you do not have the opportunity to see the evidence that he saw, and you do not understand the requirements of the law.
That awnswered this brush with the law...
Very well put counseler.
judicial system
Yet ANOTHER example of how flawed our judicial system is. They make a law then another law to cover that one and then another to cover the last one, then another, another, another. We are in a state of disgrace and it only gets worse. No responsibility for your crimes. Excuses, laws, excuses, laws. . . get the point????
Mr. Holden knows who is
Mr. Holden knows who is doing these things to him and I know the Brunswick county people stirring this stuff they are very unhappy people and some have charges against them and some have many charges against them and one has 10 dismisals in our wonderful court system. I know this person personally and the go about doing their own thing which is just sitting back and stabbing people in the back, they are living a very said life. Mr Holden knows the New Hanover poeple also...Some of this is caused by election date coming up.
I wish Mr. Holden would post to defend himself but he stated that he was a better MAN and would not and will not get involved. He's been very positive and hes got so many wity sayings " They can't eat you" so what THEY gonna do, nothing...This thing is sooo old..
..There appears to be a leak in WWAY station and things are coming out from someone who knows someone there is talking somewhat.. from what I'm hearing..Peoples names are coming out who turned this in..
Mr. Holden knows who's doing this and elects not to respond. He a person that has changed sooo much its unreal.
I've known him along time, when he knows he's write don't get in his way....And he knows hes right... right now, but not going to react to it. As per him and knowing the lord their time will come and he stated he will get a recliner and 6 pack of Mountian Dew and enjoy the show...LOL
He texed me and said to thank everyone that is supporting him and he said you really know who are your fiends when things get rough.
As he said "The lord will take care of him and the Karma will take them" hes a very shape wity person. Real smart and understands what going on and thats why he turn to God, rehab, couseling and anti alcohol meds..He can't drink no more...
He really made a wonderful turn around...His father gave him some great advice while he was having his problems and it came from a book
you have three Choices..You can get help and turn you life around, you can go to jail or you can kill yourself...Thats the bottom line...I am glad he took the first choice....
I'm very surprised you
I'm very surprised you didn't bother to sign this yourself, Dean. I just hope I'm not on the road, with my family in the car with me the next time you decide to see how many pills you can pour down your throat before chasing it with countless beers.
This all started when
This all started when Officer Hubbard let the man Walk out the door with driver license. The Kure Beach Polive Department did not do there job....
They should have taken his licenses then and he would have had to wait 30 days to get them back.
I hope I'm right from reading the whole board Mr. Holden seems to have his life turned in the right direction and has continued and completed everthing to turn his life around..
I know that Mr. Holden has 3 DWI's that he plead guilty to . No Judge decision made in Brunswick County.. He stepped up like a man, admitted he had a problem and is in the process of recovery..
WE need to look at alcohol addition and try an understand what causes it..It's a desease, Putting someone in jail does help but as someone suggest get a Christian Judge or another Judge. They should know that putting someone in jail does not help near as much as a rehab center and couseling and anti alcohol drugs..These people need support because something is causing a trigger for an addict to go looking to drink or drug...From reading this not knowing the person. Sounds like from around 45 years old he had a ton of stress.
With all these triggers and no proper coping skills these people get an out drinking and drugging...
By reading this board he was turned in on an OLD CHARGE by someone trying to get back at him or the Judge. Some of these comments are so uncalled for that is easy to figure out the people who are doing this to a man far into his recovery plan.
And By reading this sounds like this guy has done all the proper things he should have done to turn his life around.
I can tell if ths comments are correct he his using his coping skills he would have learned in Rehab...
I know I'd be over at WWAY speaking to there Manager asking why not all the question been asked and why he has not been given a right to speak.
This is very Flaky story. There is a lot of behind the scenes thing going on here ..This is not just a court item. It's much bigger..
I mean this was two years ago...election coming up, people are jealous he's turned his life around and trying to keep strirring stuff up......
Leave the man alone he has paid his dues and taken control and did something about..
Why in our life someone has something that is just not write and had been a perfect person up to age 45...WE want to beat them down...They need support and help..
Mr. Holden if he has done all these things and YES WWAY go pull copies of what he has completed and get your facts right before commiting deframation of Character on a person..
Sounds like Mr. Holden is an intellegent man by understanding his conditions and doing something about it...
Man I pray for you and pray you stay alcohol free...Grat JOb you are doing....Thank the lord you stepped up and admitted this you could have hurt some...
The lord is watching over you and I an sure he grabbed your attention for you to volunteer to go rehab, counseling, and your DWI classes...
Yes as someone said in another post. We hear the failures and want to beat them up before find out the root cause and attempt to correct them.
This is a human beings life you preach you want a Christian Judge he would have to forgive this person by being a Christian..
Why can't the others forgive a person...THey are the ones that need to look in the mirror every morning and ask what positive to my life I can add to it....Help someone in need...
I'll be the first to tell looking at these comments we have some sick people out their, they will need a fire suit in the very near future for treating one of gods children like this. They better put a drop cord in their casket and prays it hangs up on their way down to hell..thats where they are going if they don't change..... and it's not Mr. Holdens problem to worry about...
....
I wonder if you would be
I wonder if you would be spouting off about "alcohol disease" and blah blah blah if he had crashed into your family's car that night resulting in the death of YOUR family member???? This is his fourth DWI. I agree with you that we should have compassion where possible but this is his FOURTH DWI. At what point do you and your liberal buddies say enough is enough? Probably not until you lose a loved one. Unfortunate. Liberalism is what is bring this country down. That is why crime is rampant and people commit crimes and walk free, so they can commit yet another crime. You'll be on the receiving end one day and then it will be too late.
By the way, you say it's old news? Really? DWI's sometimes takes many months to actually be tried due to continuance by the defendant's attorney. May not be old news after all!!
Where are all the people who
Where are all the people who would usually be screaming about how our liberal judicial system is soft on criminals? Oh, wait...I forgot. Judge Carroll is a Republican. Funny how when a Democrat does something you don't like, you rail about how bad liberals are. But when a Republican does something you don't like, you leave politics out of it...
Former Mayor's Son
So..... If/when young Mr. Holden is involved in a wreck where someone (other than him of course) is killed or injured, will Judge Carrol be held accountable? Will his action or lack of action be reviewed by the NC Bar Association or the NC Attorney General? Would the victim's family be able to file suit against Holden and Carrol? Perhaps there is a legal technicality but this guy is three for three.
=Ok ..#1 why would officer
=Ok ..#1 why would officer Hubbard let Mr. Holden out of the police office with drivers license in hand if he was driving under the influnece.
=Mr. Holden could have walked and drove home....
This is a shot at the Judge but the root cause is the offier after obsevring Mr. Holden must of thought he was sober.
-So,why didn't they put him in jail, they didn't even put him in jail that night he was released in about 2hrs with drivers license.
- Mr. Holdens other DWI's he plead guilty to those and he has completed all his requirments and paid all the fines..
NUMBER the cop let him go and noe of us were there so the cop new he was sober and let him leave with his drivers license and not even put in a jail
Why didn't they put him in
Why didn't they put him in jail???? Why did the cop "let him go"??? Ask the magistrate! It's not up to the officer to "put him in jail". The officer presents the defendant before the magistrate and the magistrate alone decides upon release or confinement. If the officer "after observing Holden must have thought he was sober", he wouldn't have arrested him! IDIOT! The fact that Holden "completed all his requirements and paid all the fines" of his previous DWI's is not revelant. The law is clear on previous DWI's. The fact he complied with the court's orders and judgements has nothing to do with the fact that he committed the crime again for his FOURTH time!
Even though driving is a
Even though driving is a PRIVLEDGE,not a RIGHT, under NC law, they can't take his license until a court takes it, and that sucks. If you are angry about this, write your elected officials who write and pass these "laws" and tell them it is time for a change in these laws. If they don't listen, I urge you to go to the polls and vote them out.
Kure Beach Police want Judge to BEND the DWI LAW for THEM ???
The Officer Paul Hubbard needs educating on THE LAW. DWI is Point Zero Eight or .08. That's the LAW. This case is .06. Is any Judge allowed to bend the LAW so that it suits the Kure Beach Police Department ? I don't think so.
YEAHHHH cuz that's all, right??
The numeric refers to the BAC, or Blood Alcohol Content, NOT DWI. Hopefully you're bright enough to concede that alcohol is not the only thing that can impair someone's driving. Think about it, Einstein: Would you want to be driving around on public roads with someone who is taking LSD? I seriously doubt it, Dim Bulb. So with that in mind, can you not honestly see that taking drugs of any sort can impair driving?
Even if .06 is all this case rested on (which it does NOT), how is having this .o6-blowing clown on the roads an acceptable thing? HE FAILED THE FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS. HE WAS DRIVING AROUND ON A RIM. Are you really trying to say those things are okay? Really?? If so, prove it. Take the person you hold nearest and dearest and put them out on foot from midnight to 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Because if you don't think this guy was a hazard, you should have no qualms whatsoever putting your loved one in the target site of drunks and druggies.
No It Isn't just .08
You need to read the statute about DWI. You can be convicted regardless of what the numbers are.
§ 20‑138.1. Impaired driving.
(a) Offense. – A person commits the offense of impaired driving if he drives any vehicle upon any highway, any street, or any public vehicular area within this State:
(1) While under the influence of an impairing substance; or
(2) After having consumed sufficient alcohol that he has, at any relevant time after the driving, an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. The results of a chemical analysis shall be deemed sufficient evidence to prove a person's alcohol concentration; or
(3) With any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance, as listed in G.S. 90‑89, or its metabolites in his blood or urine.
(a1) A person who has submitted to a chemical analysis of a blood sample, pursuant to G.S. 20‑139.1(d), may use the result in rebuttal as evidence that the person did not have, at a relevant time after driving, an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.
(b) Defense Precluded. – The fact that a person charged with violating this section is or has been legally entitled to use alcohol or a drug is not a defense to a charge under this section.
(b1) Defense Allowed. – Nothing in this section shall preclude a person from asserting that a chemical analysis result is inadmissible pursuant to G.S. 20‑139.1(b2).
(c) Pleading. – In any prosecution for impaired driving, the pleading is sufficient if it states the time and place of the alleged offense in the usual form and charges that the defendant drove a vehicle on a highway or public vehicular area while subject to an impairing substance.
(d) Sentencing Hearing and Punishment. – Impaired driving as defined in this section is a misdemeanor. Upon conviction of a defendant of impaired driving, the presiding judge shall hold a sentencing hearing and impose punishment in accordance with G.S. 20‑179.
(e) Exception. – Notwithstanding the definition of "vehicle" pursuant to G.S. 20‑4.01(49), for purposes of this section the word "vehicle" does not include a horse. (1983, c. 435, s. 24; 1989, c. 711, s. 2; 1993, c. 285, s. 1; 2006‑253, s. 9.)
Notice there is an "or" between section 1 and 2. That means either could get you convicted.
Know the law.