Judge denies Warren’s injunction

BOLIVIA, NC (WWAY) — Brunswick County Commissioner Charles Warren had his injunction denied today by Superior Court Judge Jack Hooks. The decision will allow other county commissioners to hold a hearing on whether to remove warren from the DSS Board.

Brunswick County Commissioners say they have been doing everything legally and ethically throughout this whole process. They say the discussion about Warren as DSS chair could happen soon.

“My understanding is the appointee can be removed based on cause and that we can have a hearing maybe as soon as monday the sixth,” Commissioner Marty Cooke said

Brunswick County Commissoners now know they have the legal authority to remove fellow Commissioner Warren from the Department of Social Services Board. The issue is being discussed because of Warren’s attempt to have DSS Board member Pat Sykes arrested in December.

“That’s the purpose of the hearing,” Brunswick County Commission Chair Bill Sue said. “When we hear the evidence, our side and his side, then we’ll come to a conclusion.”

In the first DSS Board meeting since the Warren-Sykes controversy, the two were at odds again. This time one of the issues was the possible conflict of interest in Warren looking to bring in his attorney from this case to work with the board.

As the tensions between Sykes and Warren are clear, county commissioners say their relationship with Warren is fine.

“I’ve always liked Mr. Warren,” Cooke said. “I’ve worked with him and always enjoyed working with him. We just want to move forward from here.”

Sue said, “He treats the other commissioners with courtesy and respect, and we treat him with courtesy and respect.”

Judge Hooks’s decision opens up numerous opportunities for the commission when it comes to Warren. Comissioners say the answer to whether he will be removed from the DSS Board will come at some point this month.

“We’ll just have to wait and go through the process,” Sue said.

We called Warren to get his reaction to the judge’s ruling, but he has not returned our call. His attorney Gary Shipman said they “respectfully disagree” with the judge’s decision and are discussing the possibility of an appeal.