Charges against Elizabeth City, N.C., Councilman Rickey King were reduced in Chesapeake Circuit Court Monday to a misdemeanor, which could allow the 3rd Ward representative to retain his seat.
King was sentenced Monday to one year in jail on a misdemeanor charge of identify theft, said Jon Babineau, the Norfolk attorney who represented him. His jail time was suspended if he remains on good behavior for three years.
"The judge got it right," Babineau said Monday afternoon.
King was indicted in January on two felony counts of forging other writings, two felony counts of uttering and one felony count of obtaining money by false pretenses after signing his wife's name on documents in a vehicle trade-in deal. He pleaded guilty in April to one felony uttering charge for the chance at having the other four charges dropped and getting a lighter sentence.
The prosecution objected to Monday's reduction of the felony charge to a misdemeanor and will seek to reactivate the other four felony charges, said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi. A status hearing is scheduled for Monday on the remaining felony charges, he said.
All five original felony charges appeared on Monday's court docket. The other four would have been dropped if the single felony charge had stuck, Fatehi said.
Babineau argued Monday that King's crimes were minor compared to others that would have been misdemeanors, he said. Identity theft properly covers King's actions, he said.
"They picked the harshest charges against him as opposed to picking the less harsh," he said.
A felony conviction would mean King would lose his council seat.
King did not respond to a phone call to his home on Monday.
Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com
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Politicians and Sports Figures
Is it any reason that the law abiding little guy feels the way they do about the legal system? It always appears that if you have clout, or money you can do as you please. It is time for the judges and prosecuting attorneys to look at what they are doing when they make these sweetheart deals. Here a felon that is a councilman is allowed to retain his seat because of his sentencing on uttering and forgery charges. Burress shoots his self and pleads not guilty. The people watch this and wonder what their treatment will be like when they don't have the clout, or the money needed to buy a hired gun that will get them off. What a shame more people don't expose and protest this obscene behavior by the judicial system.