For the fourth time since first being elected more than six years ago, Sharpsburg Mayor Robert Williams has been charged with committing an alcohol-related violation while behind the wheel of a vehicle.
The most recent instance came earlier this week after Rocky Mount police pulled over Williams, 59, in a traffic stop in a highly commercial area of the city. Police in the traffic stop also charged Williams with a firearms-related violation.
Police in an email Tuesday said that officers at 5:37 p.m. Monday received an anonymous call about a reckless driver heading south on North Wesleyan Boulevard.
Officers who initiated the traffic stop after spotting the vehicle said Williams was the driver of the vehicle suspected of reckless driving.
N.C. District Court records state that Williams, who was driving a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck, was stopped on North Wesleyan near Tarrytown Center.
According to court records, a gun was allegedly found in Williams’ sling bag and an open container of beer and liquor were allegedly found in the vehicle’s passenger area.
Police charged Williams with driving with while impaired, having an open container of an alcoholic beverage after drinking and carrying a concealed handgun while under the influence of alcohol, court records state.
Police also charged Williams with driving while his license was revoked, court records state.
Williams is due to make a court appearance on Sept. 19 at the Rocky Mount Judicial Center off Cokey Road, court records state.
On Dec. 21, Rocky Mount police stopped Williams for suspected reckless driving. Police said Williams’ blood alcohol level was found to be .21.
A person with a blood alcohol level of .08 is considered to be too intoxicated to drive in North Carolina.
On Feb. 6, Sharpsburg police arrested Williams for DWI. He also was charged with possessing an open container of alcohol, failing to comply with a restriction on his driver’s license, resisting arrest, trespassing, being intoxicated and engaging in disruptive behavior, Town Attorney Brian Pridgen said via email.
That arrest was in connection with an incident in the Sharpsburg Town Hall parking lot as a town Board of Commissioners meeting was in progress.
After the arrest of Williams in Rocky Mount in December, Sharpsburg town commissioners called for him to resign.
According to town government records, Williams on Jan. 2 notified Pridgen that he was in an assessment for detoxification and would be in a facility for treatment but would not resign as mayor.
The town government records also state that on Jan. 4, Williams contacted the commissioners and said that he regretted any misconduct but that he would not be intimidated, extorted or coerced.
On Jan. 4, the board, with most of the commissioners present, voted to confer Williams’ powers and duties to Mayor Pro Tempore David Pride and to prohibit Williams from entering town property or contacting town staff while the action is enforced.
The first arrest of Williams for DWI-related charges after his election occurred in Sharpsburg after he was allegedly found to have had a blood alcohol level of .13.
According to media reports, Williams appeared to be impaired as he left the Sharpsburg Town Hall on election night in May 2018 and an officer tried to halt Williams for failure to maintain lane control, but Williams allegedly did not stop until he reached his residence.
In January 2019, he pleaded guilty to DWI, was sentenced to a day in jail and also was ordered to perform 24 hours of community service and to serve two years on probation.
Williams was narrowly re-elected in a November 2021 mayoral contest.
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