A Union County man accused of smuggling large amounts of cocaine, meth and fentanyl from California had three elected officials defended his character during a federal detention hearing, but a judge still denied his release.
The hearing’s transcript details those elected officials saying Darryl Simon had done good in the community.
All said they were in dark about the seriousness of his case.
Simon is facing federal charges and, in a detention hearing earlier this month, the prosecutor called him, “A danger to the community.”
They said that during an operation last year, Simon told an undercover agent that, “He had a trucker that would frequently travel from California to North Carolina on monthly basis to bring drugs.”
His indictment says he brought large quantities of cocaine, meth and fentanyl to Anson and Union counties.
“I did not know the extent of what the accusations were,” said Pastor Joshua Ellerbe, Anson County commissioner.
Ellerbe said he was asked to speak in court by Simon’s family. He did this in his capacity as a pastor, although his title as a commissioner did come up.
He told the court Simon would often help his church and give back to the community.
“They chose to use that title, and I think that’s crossing the line,” said William Short, advocate/member of the Anson County Opioid Funding Committee. “I mean, I just, I can’t. It blows my mind.”
Short is a recovering addict and a member of the Anson County Opioid Funding Committee.
He wished the elected officials removed their titles from their testimony, because the defense tried to use it to get Simon bond.
“We had the mayor, the commissioner, the county, the city councilman, that represent this community. That’s what the court document said, ‘Represent this community.’ They don’t represent me,” he said.
Ellerbe said that was not his intent.
“My presence there was to not defend him or defend alleged wrongdoing of his,” Ellerbe said.
The federal judge denied Simon’s release while he waits for a trial despite “impressive witnesses, including the three elected officials from Anson County.”
The judge said some of his reasons for not allowing bond were due to Simon’s significant record, including a previous federal drug conspiracy conviction.
Channel 9 reached out the two town council members in Wadesboro to get their side. The mayor hasn’t responded to her email. Lawrence Parsons responded and said he spoke because he played basketball with Simon.
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