Surf City councilman indicted on election violation charges

SURF CITY, NC (WWAY) — The Pender County District Attorney says a Grand Jury indicted a Surf City councilman on election violation charges.

According to a news release, in February of 2019, the District Attorney’s Office received a citizen complaint concerning the residency status of Jeremy Shugarts.

Shugarts is a member of the Surf City Town Council. The release said this is an elected position, which requires candidates to file “Notice of Candidacy” and “Authorization to Vote” forms with the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The complaint was forwarded to the NCSBE in Raleigh to investigate.

Last Thursday, the NCSBE submitted a report to the District Attorney’s Office concerning Shugarts’ potential election violations regarding residency requirements. Prosecutors reviewed this report and determined that there were violations of the law.

On Monday, a Pender County Grand Jury indicted Shugarts on six counts of Election Violation. The release said he was served with these indictments Tuesday evening.

During a first appearance in court this morning, Shugarts told the judge he hired his own attorney. His next court date is September 30.

After court, we asked Shugarts for a comment on camera. He declined, but gave us a statement from his Attorney.

“Mr. Shugarts takes these charges very seriously and is prepared to address them in the proper forum,” Elliot S. Abrams said.

“This report was prepared by investigators in Raleigh, but the charges came from citizens of PenderCounty after reviewing all the facts. My office will now pursue this case in a courtroom,” District Attorney Ben David.

Since this is a pending matter, the District Attorney’s Office will not have any further comment on this case or the investigation at this time.

The Town of Surf City released a statement on the indictments this afternoon:

“As of this morning, there have been multiple reports in the media regarding the North Carolina Board of Elections investigation concerning Councilman Shugarts. Pender County District Attorney Ben David released an official statement stating, “a Grand Jury indicted the Surf City Councilman on election violation charges.” Neither the Surf City Town Council nor the staff are involved in these investigations. We put our faith in the hands of District Attorney Ben David, Board of Elections, and the appropriate staff as they peruse the case. The town will not allow this to distract us from regular town operations. We will continue business as normal.”