HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Suspended Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon is “resting and recovering” a day after being acquitted in his fedecral use of force trial, his attorney said.
“This has been a difficult ordeal for him, but Charles loves Marlboro County, and he was born and raised there as you heard in court,” Morgan Martin told News13 on Tuesday. “He wants to do what’s best, certainly, for the county.”
Lemon was on trial in U.S. District Court’s Florence division for allegedly instructing former deputy David Andrew Cook to use a Taser on prisoner Jarrel Johnson six times at the county’s detention center in May 2020. Authorities said he did so “without legal justification.”
A jury deliberated for about an hour Monday night before returning their verdict. News13 has reached out to Johnson and his father for comment.
Over the course of Lemon’s five-day trial, Martin filed for two acquittals. Both were denied by Judge Joseph Dawson III, who ruled there was enough evidence for the jury to determine a conviction.