SURF CITY — Jeremy Shugarts, sitting councilman and mayoral candidate for Surf City, has been indicted on six elections violations following an investigation by the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE).
On Wednesday morning, Shugarts appeared at the Pender County Superior Court Annex after he was served with the indictments Tuesday evening. After the judge read Shugarts his rights, and asked him if he understood that the violations would be felonies if found guilty, Shugarts informed the court he would hire his own attorney.
Attorney Elliot Abrams of Raleigh firm Cheshire Parker Schneider, PLLC will represent Shugarts in the matter.
“Every time that Jeremy voted in a Surf City election he was a resident of Surf City,” Abrams said in a statement issued late Wednesday afternoon. “He has never voted in a single election in which he was not entitled to vote. While we are surprised that these charges have been brought, we have no choice but to take them seriously, and we are preparing to defend against them.”
A spokesman for the NCSBE said he could not provide any information on an ongoing investigation and criminal case.
The town of Surf City also issued a statement Wednesday afternoon:
As of this morning, there have been multiple reports in the media regarding the North Carolina Board of Elections investigation concerning Councilman Shugarts. Pender County District Attorney Ben David released an official statement stating, “a Grand Jury indicted the Surf City Councilman on election violation charges.” Neither the Surf City Town Council nor the staff are involved in these investigations. We put our faith in the hands of District Attorney Ben David, Board of Elections, and the appropriate staff as they peruse the case. The town will not allow this to distract us from regular town operations. We will continue business as normal.
The six indictments brought against Shugarts range from November 2012 and July 2018. Each indictment references a state law concerning elections felonies that states it shall be unlawful “for any person knowingly to swear falsely with respect to any matter pertaining to any primary or election.”
The indictments state that members of a grand jury, witnessed by two officers of the NCSBE, found that Shugarts willfully and feloniously “did knowingly swear falsely” by signing with a registration address that he knew was not his address at the time.
Five of the indictments refer to Authorization to Vote forms, while the most recent, in July 2018, refers to a Candidacy Form.
