PRESS RELEASE:
The District Attorney’s office has reviewed the investigative materials provided by the State Bureau of Investigation in the above-referenced matter. Because the role of the District Attorney as defined by the North Carolina Constitution and applicable statutes is largely limited to the determination of when to pursue criminal actions, the sole task before this Office has been to determine whether any prosecutions should take place based on the conduct of the individuals involved in an altercation in the parking lot of the Spruce Pine Walmart on February 16, 2024.
During the evening of February 16, 2024, Dillon Ledford parked in an online pickup area of the Spruce Pine Walmart. He was operating a 2003 yellow Mini Cooper with a black roof.
Once parked, Mr. Ledford remained in the vehicle for approximately one minute and fifty-five seconds. Mr. Ledford then exited his vehicle and walked toward the main Walmart entrance. Walmart security footage recorded Mr. Ledford entering the store, walking up and down various aisles, and leaving the store without purchasing any items. Mr. Ledford was away from his vehicle for approximately eight minutes before returning to the driver’s seat of the Mini Cooper.
Once seated again in his vehicle, Mr. Ledford remained parked, with his vehicle seemingly inactivated, for approximately thirty-one additional minutes at which time he had an interaction with a Walmart associate. In a later interview, the associate described asking Mr.
Ledford if he had an online order. Mr. Ledford said he did and provided the name “McIntosh.” The associate attempted to find the order on her work phone, but could not. The associate asked Mr. Ledford to spell “McIntosh,” and he was unable. The associate described the interaction as “weird” with Mr. Ledford twitching, mumbling, repeating “um,” messing with his hair, and grabbing his head. The interaction with the Walmart employee lasts approximately ninety seconds before the employee walks back into the store.
The employee locates a manager, an Asset Protection Operations Coach, and reports the situation to him. Approximately four minutes, forty-five seconds later, the manager and an additional associate approach Mr. Ledford. In a separate subsequent interview, the manager described Mr. Ledford as non-verbal. Mr. Ledford would just look at the steering wheel, then look in the direction of the manager without speaking. After an unsuccessful attempt to inquire whether Mr. Ledford had an online order, the manager informed Mr. Ledford that if he didn’t have a pickup order, he would have to move to the general parking lot or leave the premises.
Their interaction lasts roughly thirty seconds before the manager and the associate reenter Walmart.
Once back in the store the Walmart manager calls 911 at 8:59 pm to report the situation to law enforcement. A partial transcript of the call is as follows:
Caller: I’m one of the managers here at Walmart. We need a wellness check on a customer that’s in our parking lot. He’s parked in our online grocery area in a yellow Mini Cooper, and he’s been here since like seven o’clock. And sometimes he’ll talk with my female associates and sometimes he won’t. I went out there to talk with him, and he just got these big buggy-eyes. And he’s not answering anybody, and he’s twitching. And he’s sitting in the driver’s seat. So I’d like someone to come do a wellness check, because he’s in our OPD parking which is impeding our online grocery customers from picking up their groceries.
911 Dispatch: Alright, you said he’s been there since 7pm?
Caller: Yes, he’s been here since 7pm. He’s in a yellow Mini Cooper with a black top. 911 Dispatch: Ok.
Caller: He’s a white male. He’s got facial hair, and he’s wearing like a hoodie or a sweatshirt right now.
911 Dispatch: Ok.
Caller: And he’s scared some of my female associates here by the way he’s acting, so. 911 Dispatch: Ok, and he’s there in the grocery pick-up area?
Caller: He’s in the grocery pick-up, sitting in his car. Yes ma’am.
On February 16, 2024 at 9:02pm, the following message was relayed from 911 dispatch to law enforcement:
I need you to respond to 2514 Halltown Road, Walmart. Manager advising there has been a gentleman sitting there in a yellow Mini Cooper with a black top since about 19:00 [7pm] this evening. Going to be a white male with facial hair wearing a hoodie or a sweatshirt. He advised that he has been scaring some of the female associates there, and he will be parked at the grocery pickup
Within 30 seconds of receiving the message from dispatch, Spruce Pine Police Officers were enroute to Walmart.
While Walmart employees were contacting law enforcement and Spruce Pine Officers were being dispatched, Mr. Ledford remained in his vehicle for approximately twelve additional minutes until two Spruce Pine Police vehicles arrive. Upon arrival, Mr. Ledford’s vehicle had remained parked in the online pickup location for nearly an entire hour. Mr. Ledford was seated in the non-running vehicle for the duration of that hour with the exception of the approximately eight minutes he spent walking through the store.
Approximately ten minutes after the 911 call and subsequent dispatch instructions, Spruce Pine Officers Mace and Sale arrived on the scene. Officer Sale ran the tag number from the Mini Cooper. The tag was registered to Leslie Leanne McIntosh, of Burnsville, but the Mini Cooper in question had a new plate number. Officer Sale and Mace both exited their vehicles and attempted to interact with Mr. Ledford. Mr. Ledford’s driver side window was open, and he looked in the direction of the officers when they approached. Officer Sale reported attempting to speak with Mr. Ledford, but Mr. Ledford would never give a verbal response. After asking for identification, Mr. Ledford would just stare past him and make hand gestures. In his statement to investigators, Officer Sale stated that he believed that Mr. Ledford was behaving in an obstructive way. Officer Mace stated that Mr. Ledford stated “yes” when asked if he had identification but would not produce it.
Officer Mace and Officer Sale interacted with Mr. Ledford for approximately sixty seconds before Captain Hollifield arrived on scene. Captain Hollifield joined the other two Officers at the driver’s side window. Captain Hollifield in a subsequent interview stated he
attempted to obtain Ledford’s identification, but he would not verbally respond or produce any identification. Captain Hollifield interacted with Mr. Ledford for approximately thirty seconds before leaving and entering Walmart.
Captain Hollifield located the manager who reported the situation to law enforcement.
The manager relayed the same information that was earlier reported to 911 dispatch. The manager remembers Captain Hollifield stating that Mr. Ledford was not responding to law enforcement, so they would end up arresting him if Walmart was willing to pursue trespassing charges. The manager stated that per Walmart policy, there is a form required, but that they would be willing to pursue trespass charges.
While Captain Hollifield was interacting with Walmart personnel, Officers Mace and Sale continued to interact with Mr. Ledford. Officer Mace described a specific interaction that they had with Mr. Ledford where Officer Mace asked Mr. Ledford to remove his hand from his jacket pocket and Mr. Ledford looked down at his hand and then back at Officer Mace. Officer Mace then asked again, and Mr. Ledford looked down at his hand and removed it from his pocket.
Captain Hollifield was only away from the vehicle for approximately ninety seconds. Once Captain Hollifield returned outside, Captain Hollifield interacted with Mr. Ledford for approximately six seconds before Captain Hollifield retrieved an item from his patrol vehicle. Captain Hollifield returned to Mr. Ledford’s driver’s side window and interacted with Mr.
Ledford for approximately eight more seconds. Captain Hollifield stated to investigators that he began to get irritated because Mr. Ledford would not engage with any of the law enforcement officers. Captain Hollifield then opened the vehicle door and informed Mr. Ledford that he was under arrest for trespassing.
When he opened Mr. Ledford’s car door, Captain Hollifield had been on the scene less than three minutes. Captain Hollifield reported that Mr. Ledford resisted the attempted vehicle extraction by leaning away from the officers. Officer Sale was on Captain Hollifield’s right and Officer Mace was on Captain Hollifield’s left, separated by the vehicle door. Captain Hollifield grabbed Mr. Ledford’s left arm and attempted to remove him. Officer Sale and Officer Mace attempted to aid in the extraction. During this attempt, Officer Sale later reported that Officer Sale’s pinky finger slipped into Mr. Ledford’s mouth and Mr. Ledford bit it.
After an approximately ten second struggle, Mr. Ledford was removed from the vehicle. However, according to the accounts of law enforcement, Mr. Ledford refused officer commands to place his hands behind his back. Officers reported that Mr. Ledford began cursing them and kept his hands underneath his chest while face-down on the pavement. Captain Hollifield reported that the officers were concerned about the possibility of Mr. Ledford having a weapon hidden underneath him.
Approximately ten seconds after removing Mr. Ledford from the vehicle, Officer Sale began to strike Mr. Ledford with Officer Sale’s closed fist. He struck Mr. Ledford in the back at least nine times while Mr. Ledford was laying on his hands. Officer Sale later reported that the strikes were an attempt to gain compliance from Mr. Ledford and to place Mr. Ledford in handcuffs.
Officers were still not able to place Mr. Ledford in handcuffs after the series of punches. Captain Hollifield then removed his taser and took off the cartridge that would project prongs. Captain Hollifield reported that he warned Mr. Ledford that he would be tased if he did not begin complying with officer commands. Captain Hollifield activated the taser, later stating that he hoped that the sound would encourage compliance. After approximately two seconds of activation, Captain Hollifield deployed the taser in Mr. Ledford’s back.
Rather than assisting in compliance, Captain Hollifield reported that the taser made matters worse. Captain Hollifield reported that Mr. Ledford began to scream and fight more violently including attempted elbow strikes and kicks. Officer Mace reported that one kick struck Officer Mace in the chest and caused him to fall into the vehicle door. Officers were eventually able to grab and control Mr. Ledford’s left arm but not his right. Captain Hollifield deployed his taser a second time and officers were able to cuff both of Mr. Ledford’s hands.
The physical altercation between the three officers and Mr. Ledford lasted approximately ninety seconds before officers disengaged. At that point Mr. Ledford was cuffed with his hands behind his back, laying face down on the pavement. Radio records show that at 9:15pm, an officer stated, “be advised, we’re fighting.” At 9:17pm, communications inquired whether officers need further assistance. Again at 9:17pm, officers indicated to dispatch that they have one male in custody. Taser records collected by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation show that two “trigger” events took place during evening of February 16, 2024. The entire incident was recorded on two Walmart surveillance cameras. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation attempted to obtain additional recordings of the incident but reached the conclusion that none existed.
Mr. Ledford remained handcuffed laying face down on the pavement for approximately ninety seconds before being collected and placed in the back of Officer Sale’s patrol car.
Captain Hollifield reported that two officers escorted Mr. Ledford to the patrol car because Mr. Ledford was still noncompliant. Officer Sale left Walmart with Mr. Ledford at 9:21pm and arrived at Spruce Pine Police department at 9:28pm.
Mr. Ledford was not transported into the Spruce Pine Police Department because of concerns regarding his cooperation. Instead, he was left secured in the patrol car. Because Mr. Ledford’s license was recovered, law enforcement was able to obtain Mr. Ledford’s name and identifying information. This information was used to process arrest warrants for Mr. Ledford.
Officer Mace remained at the Walmart parking lot, waiting on a tow truck for the yellow mini cooper. The tow truck arrived roughly twenty-six minutes after Mr. Ledford was taken from the scene. By chance, the tow truck operator was both a reserve police officer at SPPD and was an acquaintance of Mr. Ledford. Officer Mace stated that the tow truck operator informed him that Mr. Ledford was a diabetic, although the tow truck operator does not remember that conversation. Officer Mace also remembers getting a call from Mitchell County Sheriff’s Deputy Jessie English reporting that Mr. Ledford was a diabetic. According to the statements given to the SBI by the three officers who were on scene, none of the law enforcement officers knew or suspected Mr. Ledford was diabetic before hearing from the tow truck driver and Deputy English. Captain Hollifield stated that he had previously responded to people who were diabetics experiencing hypoglycemia, but his prior experience was that those individuals were unconscious or close to unconscious.
Officer Mace then traveled from Walmart to the Sprue Pine Police Department and informed Officer Sale and Captain Hollifield of Mr. Ledford’s medical condition. Officers then went to check on Mr. Ledford who was still in Officer Sale’s patrol car. Mr. Ledford confirmed that he was diabetic and that he did not feel well. Officer Mace then offered Mr. Ledford a Mountain Dew and a pack of crackers. After consuming the soft drink and the crackers, Mr.
Ledford stated that he was feeling better and that he did not need any additional assistance.
Mr. Ledford was criminally charged with one count of second-degree trespass and three counts of resisting a public officer. He was released on a $3,500 bond and was retrieved by Leslie McIntosh, the owner of the mini cooper. While at the police station, Officers heard Ms. McIntosh chastising Mr. Ledford for not keeping track of his medical condition. At no time did Mr. Ledford request medical attention. After leaving the Spruce Pine Police Department, Mr.
Ledford did not seek any medical treatment that evening but did report to Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine the following afternoon. He was discharged two hours and forty-nine minutes later after being treated for minor aches, pains, and abrasions. He was screened for illicit substances and the toxicology report provided to the District Attorney’s office was negative for impairing substances.
Mr. Ledford was fully cooperative with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and reported that he effectively has no memory of his actions that evening. He reported that he worked a full shift on February 16, 2024, from 7am-3pm. Afterwards, he traveled to Marion, NC to exercise at a gym. He was travelling back from Marion to Burnsville on NC 226 when he felt his blood sugar start dropping. He was aware of the sensation because he has been a Type 1 diabetic for over 20 years. Mr. Ledford decided to stop at Walmart to get some food in an attempt to alleviate the medical situation. Mr. Ledford remembered pulling into a parking spot. Mr. Ledford stated that he lost consciousness at that point. Mr. Ledford remembered almost nothing of subsequent events apart from the sensation of the taser and being in a police patrol car. Mr. Ledford did not carry any indication of his diabetic condition on February 16, 2024, but has since gotten a tattoo to indicate his condition. Mr. Ledford provided the District Attorney’s Office with documentation from his primary care doctor indicating that he has been a Type 1 Diabetic for over 20 years.1
After reviewing all the available facts and applicable law, the District Attorney’s Office does not believe that competent evidence would show, given his apparent medical condition, that Mr. Ledford willfully resisted, delayed, or obstructed a law enforcement officer in violation of NCGS §14-223. Nor would the evidence show that Mr. Ledford comprehended that his authorization to remain in the Walmart parking lot was revoked in violation of NCGS §14- 159.13(b). As such, the District Attorney’s Office has dismissed those charges.
Regarding the actions of law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office is limited to determining whether a crime was committed and if the State is able to prove the crime through competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not the role of the District Attorney’s Office to determine whether policy was followed or whether any liability exists.2 The only possible criminal law violations on the part of law enforcement would be violations of NCGS
- 14-33(c)(1), misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, or NCGS §14-33, misdemeanor simple assault. However, under the current case law our analysis can only consider the information law enforcement had at the time of the incident. Restated, our analysis must view the situation through the eyes of law enforcement on scene and consider what they knew at the
1 The District Attorney’s Office consulted with a Medical Doctor and former paramedic who confirmed that symptoms of confusion, amnesia, and failure to interact appropriately with one’s surroundings would be consistent with a hypoglycemic event. The fact that the episode apparently resolved when Mr. Ledford consumed crackers and a soft drink provides further evidence that his conduct in the parking lot of Walmart on the night in question was related to hypoglycemia.
2 The document that contained the polices of the Spruce Pine Police Department is titled “Rules and Regulations of the Spruce Pine Police Department” and is 39 pages long with a single one-page attachment that appears to address the use of body armor. The cover sheet for the document is dated 1991. The Department did not have a written taser policy at the time of this incident. In addition, Spruce Pine Police Department records included in the SBI report indicated that Captain Hollifield completed training on the use of a taser on 4/25/2009 and had recertified on the use of a taser on 6/14/2012.
Walmart reported that Mr. Ledford was unwelcome in the parking lot and was making employees uncomfortable. Mr. Ledford was not responding to any lawful police commands. Law enforcement officers on scene apparently were unaware of Mr. Ledford’s medical condition. All the actions taken by law enforcement were seemingly for the purpose of compliance. While, with the benefit of hindsight, the failure to involve medical personnel to evaluate Mr. Ledford’s condition on scene given his apparent symptoms is cause for concern, that omission does not rise to the level of a violation of the criminal law. Therefore, the District Attorney’s Office will not be seeking criminal charges against any of the law enforcement personnel who were involved in this incident.
