Tests: No alcohol, drugs in Pierce when pulled for DUI

By: | SCNow
Published: October 23, 2009

Drug tests Atlantic Beach mayor Retha Pierce took at Quality Drug Screening in Sumter show no drugs or alcohol were in her system when she was arrested on DUI charges in Marion County in September.

The test results were obtained by News 13 from Benny Webb, executive director and CEO of the Palmetto Center for Law and Justice in Sumter, at a press conference held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway on Friday.

Pierce was present at the press conference and said she hired the Palmetto Center for Law and Justice to investigate her DUI arrest.

Pierce said the test results show there was no probable cause for her arrest.

A hair test taken on October 14 at Quality Drug Screen showed Pierce had no cocaine, marijuana, opiates, methamphetamines, or phencyclidine in her system.

A urine test administered by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also showed Pierce had no alcohol in her body when she was arrested.

Webb, who says he is an activist and private investigator, said the tests are admissible in court and the results cover a span of six months.

Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins with the S.C. Highway Patrol said Pierce was pulled over around 3:50 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Pierce was released on a PR bond and fined $1,025 for driving under the influence.

Pierce requested a jury trial for the case.

News13 called Lance Cpl. Collins to get his reaction to the test results on Friday afternoon, but he was unavailable for comment.

Pierce said that she was not under the influence of anything, but instead, was simply tired.

“I knew I was driving a little slow, so that’s why I parked to rest because I was a little sleepy,” she said, after the arrest.

In July, a judge continued a separate case against Pierce until a trial date could be set.

Pierce appeared in magistrate court to face four pending charges for resisting arrest, unlawful turning, trespassing, and public disorderly conduct. She entered a plea of not guilty on the charges.

Pierce was expected in court in Myrtle Beach for those charges the next morning, but that case was continued once again.

Pierce was arrested and charged with one count of hit and run and leaving the scene of an accident in April.

The Horry County Solicitor's Office says the hit and run case is scheduled to be reviewed by a grand jury on Thursday, October 29th.