State says it will not pursue charges against court official

Homepage

Discussion

October 29, 2012

State says it will not pursue charges against court official

By Brian Graves, Staff Writer SNAP The Stanly News & Press Mon Oct 29, 2012, 02:37 PM EDT

Monday, October 29, 2012 — A Stanly County court official will not be facing state charges stemming from allegations she may have used her office to keep her son from serving jail time.

Susan Honeycutt, who worked for District 20A at the Stanly County Court House, will not have the state pursue the matter further.

According to an official with the North Carolina Department of Justice, special prosecutors have informed the district attorney they have completed their review of the case and will not seek actions against Honeycutt.

“Special prosecutors in our office recently completed their review of the case and informed the District Attorney that they do not plan to pursue charges,” read a statement from Nicolle Talley, public information officer for the North Carolina Department of Justice.

The Stanly News & Press has asked for a copy of the prosecutors’ report, but has not received a response as to the public availability of that document.

The story had its orgins stemming from an incident June 6 when Honeycutt’s son, Daylan, was at a home owned by Ryan McClain on Saint Martin Road.

According to a 911 tape, McLain called and reported there was a man trespassing on his property saying that man was “sleeping with my wife.”

McClain’s estranged wife, Marci, was living at the residence at the time.

The man McClain referred to was Daylan Honeycutt, Susan’s son.

A second call was made by Marci, saying her husband had pulled a gun.

Later in the tape, Daylan can be heard yelling to Marci, “Hey, call my mom. Call my mom. Call her now!”

Moments later, Marci can be heard speaking to Susan telling her what was happening.

McLain was later arrested and charged with assaulting Daylan and pointing a 9MM handgun at him without legal justification.

After a short period of jail time, McLain then attempted twice to file charges against Daylan, but he says he was turned away both times saying he would not be able to file charges or ask for Daylan’s arrest.

McLain has appealed the case that was brought against him. It had been scheduled for a hearing in Superior Court this month, but the case has been moved to Dec. 3.

McLain argued he could not be charged for trespassing on property he owns and believed at the time that the arrest stemmed from a false report by Daylan and Marci.

That incident added to suspicions Susan had used her office to assist Daylan’s legal troubles.

Court records show Daylan had appeared in court more than 10 times and had those charges reduced or dismissed each time.

A drug trafficking charge was still ongoing in August and efforts to confirm the status of that case have been unsuccessful.

An officer involved in that 2010 arrest claimed he had been bribed by “an employee in the judge’s office” to drop the charges.

The officer was told by then-Albemarle Police Chief Ronnie Michael to take his information to the district attorney.

Susan Honeycutt has been on leave from her position and it is unknown whether she will return to work following the investigation findings in her favor.