History of Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce's arrest incidents

By: Rebekah Carter | SCNOW
Published: October 30, 2009

Atlantic Beach mayor, Retha Pierce, has been arrested four times since the end of 2007. Three of those times were traffic-related incidents.

Pierce’s first arrest since being in office was on Christmas Day in 2007. Her most recent arrest was on September 16, 2009.

Here’s a synopsis of each arrest:

December 25, 2007
Horry County police arrested Pierce in Little River. She was charged with Reckless Driving, Failure to Use a Turn Signal, and Resisting Arrest. Police dash-cam video shows officers asking Pierce to get in their patrol car 28 times. She bonded out of jail the next day. On January 16, she failed to appear for her court date in Conway. In April, she turned down a plea deal. In July, Pierce told News13 her charges had been dropped. But after verifying that information, it was determined that the charges were still pending. On July 31, a jury decided it could not reach a decision on her trial and another court date was set for January 29.

January 28, 2009
The day before she was due in court on her Dec. 25 charges, Atlantic Beach police arrested Pierce at the Town Hall. They charged her with Trespassing and Disorderly Conduct. On Jan. 29, when she was supposed to be in court, Pierce passed out and was taken to the hospital. Because of this, she missed her second court appearance. In March, Pierce filed a federal lawsuit against the police for being arrested, citing a “conspiracy” against her.

April 10, 2009
Police arrested Pierce at a church on 30th Ave. South in Atlantic Beach. They said she did not stop for, or report, side-swiping another vehicle earlier in the day on Highway 17. Police charged her with Hit and Run. Pierce had a court date for her outstanding charges in July, but a judge granted a continuance on all of them. A trial date was set for August, but then pushed to September.

September 16, 2009
Highway Patrol troopers arrested Pierce in Marion County for driving erratically. She was charged with Driving Under the Influence. For an unknown reason, Pierce was taken to the hospital before being taken to the Marion County Detention Center. This arrest, like her previous one, came one day before a scheduled court appearance. Because she was in jail during the time of her court appearance, the judge granted her a continuance. A new court date was set for October 6, but did not happen because Pierce requested a jury trial. No date has been set for a jury trial.

It is important to note that drug test results show no alcohol or drugs were found in Pierce’s system when she was arrested on Sept. 16 and charged with Driving Under the Influence.

Pierce hired Benny Webb from the Palmetto Center for Law and Justice to facilitate the tests.

A hair follicle test showed there were no drugs in her system; a urine test showed no alcohol.

Because of these results, Mayor Pierce said there is no probably cause for her arrest or her DUI charge