Gerald Hege

Last updated

Gerald Keith Hege, Sr. (born 1948) is an American retired law enforcement officer who served as the Sheriff of Davidson County, North Carolina from 1994 until 2004. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he became famous for his highly eccentric behavior as sheriff, his internationally known television show, and eventually for the charges of corruption that led to his resignation. He is a Republican, and a former head of the Davidson County Republican Party. Hege's management style as head of the Davidson County Republican Party sparked a rift that nearly split county Republicans. In 2017, Hege published his first novel, Deathbed Confessions. In 2018, the State of North Carolina expunged his criminal records.

Contents

Early life

In 1970 Hege was hired as a sheriff's deputy by Davidson County Sheriff Fred Sink. Three years later he shot and killed a suspected burglar near Lexington. He left his job in 1974 after a fight with several inmates. [1]

Career as sheriff

Hege was elected sheriff in 1994 by a margin of 261 votes. One of his better-known campaign slogans was "When I am elected Sheriff, I will wear a uniform every day and there will be no deals for anybody." After his election, all Davidson County Sheriff's cars were fitted with a front license plate proclaiming "NO DEALS" in large block letters.

His personal patrol vehicle was a 1995 Chevrolet Impala with a Chevrolet Corvette engine and nitrous oxide tanks. His department lost its insurance coverage when he boasted that he had driven the vehicle at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour (230 km/h). The car was referred to as "The Spider Car" because of a custom paint job featuring a Black Widow Spider and the letters "DDT." The windows of this and all other patrol cars of the force were tinted dark black.

Hege took Buford Pusser and Joe Arpaio as role models. Hege ordered all deputies to dress in paramilitary fatigues and combat boots; Hege dressed this way himself, despite the tradition of business attire for Davidson County sheriffs. Hege reinstated the use of chain gang prisoner labor. He also removed the television sets and books (except for the Bible) from the county jail. The jail was repainted in pink with weeping blue teddy bears. Prisoners also wore color coordinated jumpsuits to identify their offense: Blue for misdemeanors, green for sex offenders, and orange for felons. The jumpsuits were striped in the old-fashioned manner as opposed to the modern solid color. Hege carried a Heckler & Koch MP5 instead of a service revolver. The sheriff also kept the robes of eight former Ku Klux Klan members whom he claimed he had convinced to retire. Hege also claimed that Mafia hitmen had a bounty on his head, as he interrupted the flow of drugs through Davidson County. These claims could not be verified.

As Hege's national fame grew, he became the star of a Court TV program titled Inside Cell Block F. The show was filmed inside the jail, and the inmates were the studio audience. In addition, Hege appeared on Larry King Live, 20/20, and America's Most Wanted, as well as other programs. Rumors circulated that Hege intended to run for governor of North Carolina, though Hege denied these rumors.

After 9/11, a Christmas card sent out by Hege, featured him in the desert wearing a black jumpsuit, with a bloody sword and the severed head of Osama bin Laden with the title "Happy Ramadan." This sparked controversy. [2]

Ostensibly to raise money for charity, Hege created a line of merchandise centered on his public persona. Hege merchandise items included posters, die-cast "spider cars," action figures, coffee mugs and barbecue sauce. [3] All revenue from this merchandise and his TV appearances was donated to charity.[ citation needed ]

Charges

As years passed, charges of nepotism, financial irregularities, and mismanagement began to surface. On September 15, 2003, Hege was charged with 15 felonies and suspended from office. The charges were five counts of embezzlement by a public officer, five counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, two counts of obstruction of justice, one count of endeavoring to intercept oral communication, one count of aiding and abetting to endeavor to intercept oral communication and one count of aiding and abetting to obtain property by false pretenses.

Despite Hege's "No Deals" slogan, he eventually accepted a plea agreement.

Out of office

One of Hege's sons (Gerald Hege, Jr.) ran for the office of Sheriff of Davidson County, but was defeated in the May 2006 Republican primary.

Hege had three years of probation, which ended on May 17, 2007 at 12:00 am.

In September 2009, Hege again jumped into the political arena, posting signs and campaigning for the office of Sheriff of Davidson County. On February 9, 2010, he officially filed to run for his previously held job. [4] Had Hege been elected to office, being a convicted felon, he would not have been allowed to carry a gun, although he had claimed he would work to have that privilege restored. The North Carolina Supreme Court's ruling in Britt v. State, No. 488A07 on August 28, 2009 overturned the law prohibiting convicted non-violent felons from firearm possession.

However, all of these issues became moot when Hege lost the May 2010 Republican primary to incumbent David Grice by almost 6,000 votes. Grice carried all 43 precincts in Davidson County. Hege has said that he plans to run again, although the 2010 passage of an amendment to the North Carolina state constitution barring convicted felons from serving as sheriff made another run unlikely.

2018 election campaign

On February 28, 2018, Hege filed to run for the Davidson County Sheriff office once again. [5] According to Hege (and confirmed by Clerk of Court Brian Shipwash) his record was expunged of the felonies he pled to in 2003. [6] A new North Carolina law passed in December 2017 reduced the wait period for application for felony expungements from 15 to 10 years.

In April 2018, the Davidson County Board of Elections denied a challenge to Hege's ability to run for Sheriff and his candidacy was approved. This made the election a four-man race including incumbent Grice, Hege, former deputy Greg Wood and former highway patrolman Richie Simmons. On May 8, the election was held and Hege came in third place behind Simmons and Grice. [7]

Related Research Articles

A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law to describe an offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments, including capital punishment, could be added; other crimes were called misdemeanors. Following conviction of a felony in a court of law, a person may be described as a felon or a convicted felon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davidson County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Davidson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,930. Its county seat is Lexington, and its largest community is Thomasville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston-Salem, North Carolina</span> City in North Carolina, United States

Winston-Salem is a city in and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most-populous city in North Carolina, and the 90th-most-populous city in the United States. The population of the Winston-Salem metropolitan area was estimated to be 695,630 in 2023. It is the second-most-populous city in North Carolina's Piedmont Triad region, home to about 1.7 million residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Easley</span> 72nd governor of North Carolina

Michael Francis Easley is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony. The conviction was later expunged by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Wake County. A member of the Democratic Party, Easley was North Carolina's second Catholic governor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Broadnax Glenn</span> American politician

Robert Brodnax Glenn was an American lawyer, prosecuting attorney, U.S. Attorney, and politician who served as a state senator and as the 51st Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1905 to 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piedmont Triad</span> Region in North Carolina

The Piedmont Triad is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group of cities lies in the Piedmont geographical region of the United States and forms the basis of the Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC Combined Statistical Area (CSA). As of 2012, the Piedmont Triad has an estimated population of 1,611,243 making it the 33rd largest combined statistical area in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernie Shore</span> American baseball player (1891–1980)

Ernest Grady Shore was an American professional baseball pitcher. Shore played in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants of the National League in 1912, and in the American League for the Boston Red Sox from 1914 to 1917, and the New York Yankees from 1919 to 1920.

<i>Winston-Salem Journal</i> Daily newspaper in Forsyth County, North Carolina

The Winston-Salem Journal is an American, English language daily newspaper primarily serving Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also covers Northwestern North Carolina.

James W. Ellis is a political lobbyist self-described in 2018 as "a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels". Ellis began his career with the San Diego County Republican Party, and then served as an original staff member for then-Congressman Bill Lowery (R-CA). He also worked as President of the Ramhurst Corporation of North Carolina and as a manager of the Public Issues Department of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Walter Herbert Spaugh was a U.S. Bishop of the Moravian Church. By the 1960s he was one of the most prominent clergymen in North Carolina, as well as in the Southern Province of the Moravian Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midway, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Midway is a town in Davidson County, North Carolina, United States. It is located within the township of the same name. As of the 2020 census, Midway had a population of 4,742. Midway is situated approximately 275 metres (902 ft) above sea level. Midway is part of the Piedmont Triad region and is neighbored by the communities of Arcadia (west), Welcome (south), Wallburg (northeast) and Winston-Salem (north). Every autumn, the town hosts the Midway Christmas Parade in celebration of the coming Christmas season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dale Folwell</span> American politician (born 1958)

Dale Robbins Folwell is an American politician who has been the North Carolina State Treasurer since 2017. A Republican from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Folwell spent four terms in North Carolina House of Representatives, including a term as speaker pro tempore from 2011 to 2013. He was head of the state's Division of Employment Security in the administration of Governor Pat McCrory from 2013 to 2015. He was elected State Treasurer in the 2016 election, taking office on January 1, 2017. Folwell was reelected to a second term in 2020, defeating Democratic challenger Ronnie Chatterji.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Pierce</span> American lawyer

Julian Thomas Pierce was an American lawyer and Lumbee activist. Born in Hoke County, North Carolina, he became the first person in his family to go to college and worked for several years as a chemist at shipyards in Virginia before obtaining his law degree. Following two years of work for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, he moved to Robeson County, North Carolina to direct a legal aid organization and in that capacity co-authored a petition to the federal government asking for the extension of federal recognition to the Lumbee tribe. In 1988 he resigned from his job to pursue a candidacy for a new Superior Court judgeship. Running against the local district attorney and over the objections of the county sheriff, he was found murdered in his home several weeks before the primary election. While his murder was officially determined to be the result of an interpersonal dispute, the circumstances of his death remain unclear, with his friends and family having advanced suspicions that he was assassinated for political reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election</span>

The 2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 United States presidential election, U.S. House election, statewide judicial election, Council of State election and various local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 North Carolina elections</span>

Elections were held in North Carolina on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Primary elections took place on May 4, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Stein</span> American politician (born 1966)

Joshua Harold Stein is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 51st attorney general of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Stein previously served in the North Carolina Senate from 2009 to 2016. He is also the Democratic nominee in the 2024 North Carolina gubernatorial election.

Darius Henry Starbuck was a North Carolina lawyer and political figure who served as United States Attorney for the entire state, and then for the Western District of North Carolina after the state was divided into two districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Budd</span> American politician (born 1971)

Theodore Paul Budd is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for North Carolina since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 13th congressional district from 2017 to 2023.

Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. was an American political operative and convicted fraudster from the state of North Carolina. Dowless' actions were at the center of a fraud investigation following the 2018 North Carolina's 9th congressional district election. In February 2019, North Carolina's election commission determined that the doubts surrounding the integrity of the election were sufficiently serious that the election results should be invalidated and a new election held.

References

  1. Collins, Eric (May 11, 2004). "Hege pleads guilty". News & Record. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  2. "Hege shows bad taste in Christmas card". The Dispatch . Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  3. Sexton, Scott. "Scott Sexton: Video about unsolved murder in Davidson County causes new wounds". Winston-Salem Journal . Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. Dispatch, Ben Coley The. "Gerald Hege files to run for sheriff". The Dispatch. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  6. Journal, Wesley Young Winston-Salem. "Gerald Hege to run for sheriff 14 years after guilty plea forced him from same office". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  7. "Richie Simmons wins GOP primary for Davidson County sheriff, will run unopposed in November". myfox8.com. May 9, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.