MARION — Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce has been released on a PR bond and fined $1025 for driving under the influence in Marion County.
Lance Cpl. Sonny Collins with the S.C. Highway Patrol said Pierce was pulled over around 3:50 p.m. Wednesday. The SCHP received a call from a concerned motorist reporting another driver driving erratically. Collins said this happened along Highway 501 in Marion County.
Collins said Pierce was taken to the Marion County Detention Center, where she was booked for DUI.
Pierce told reporters as she was leaving tghe Marion County Detention Center, "I do not drink and I have been falsely arrested."
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 Thursday morning.
Atlantic Beach Police Chief Randy Rizzo told News13 his department will plan to move forward even though Pierce will not be there.
Chief Rizzo said a judge in all likelihood would issue another continuance.
Pierce was arrested and charged with one count of hit and run and leaving the scene of an accident in April.
She is scheduled to return to Marion County on October 6th for her DUI hearing.
Stay with scnow.com, News 13 and the Morning News for more on this developing story.

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