Granville County deputy faked training records, but it is not obstruction of justice, court rules

A Tuesday ruling by the North Carolina Appeals Court found that a former Granville County deputy’s actions to falsify records were wrong, but it did not amount to obstruction of justice.

Chad Coffey was convicted of 12 counts of obstruction of justice in 2022 and spent five months in prison.

On Tuesday, WRAL News reached out to prosecutors, who are still deciding whether to file new charges based on what Coffey admitted to doing.

Coffey still faces several corruption-related charges in Granville County for issues with the sheriff’s office’s drug unit.

In February 2022, then-Sheriff Brindell Wilkins testified at Coffey’s trial that he ordered Coffey to falsify records and that Coffey should not be held criminally responsible.

Wilkins admitted he asked Coffey to sign off on documents that showed Wilkins and Chief Deputy Sherwood Boyd went to mandated firearms training although neither had attended, saying it “was to save the hassle and time of doing paperwork.”

Coffey admitted he signed off on the forms at Wilkins’ instruction, but said he didn’t consider it a crime.

Coffey told the jury he knew the sheriff and chief deputy were highly qualified with firearms when he signed off on the paperwork.

“You knew what you were doing was wrong. You knew you were committing a crime,” Wake County Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Pomeroy told Coffey in February 2022. “Don’t come in here and tell us you didn’t know of that.

“You just don’t like what the punishment is.”

“Not every lie is a crime,” said defense attorney Hart Miles. “Is this a fair way to deal with law enforcement training issues?” Hart asked when considering the number of criminal charges.

Hart called the case prosecutor “overreach,” contending Coffey simply did what he was told to do without criminal intent.

The jury still came back with a guilty verdict.

In closing arguments in February 2022, Pomeroy said the case was about trust.

“We expect our law enforcement to act with honor and honesty. And the only thing he has given us is excuses,” Pomeroy said.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman added, “This is a sad day for the criminal justice system. A culture developed (in the Granville Sheriff’s Office) that they were above the law.”

“I do not think you are a bad person … but, there was a pervasive belief that rules did not apply,” Judge Allen Baddour told Coffey. “That just can’t be the way the system works.”