Atlantic Beach Mayor jailed, charged with DUI

Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce Sturdivant claimed she was set up late Sunday when she was arrested on a driving under the influence charge after police officers in Conway said she failed a field sobriety test minutes after they saw her driving erratically on city streets.

Sturdivant, 62, was given a $1,022 personal recognizance bond on Monday morning in Conway City Court by Judge Andy Hendrick, meaning she does not have to pay any money to be released from jail. She was released from J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 10:10 a.m. Monday.

Sturdivant is set to appear in court on Feb. 8 for the charge.

“They have set me up, that’s all. They put me in jail for nothing as usual,” Sturdivant said after her court hearing while handcuffed and being walked back to a police car. “Horry County will forever stay on Retha Pierce in Atlantic Beach, South Carolina until they get everything they want from Atlantic Beach. . . . As usual here’s another false allegation that I was DUI, and I don’t drink and they know it by now. Yet they’re always setting me up in this county and always trying to make Atlantic Beach look in a negative light.”

Sturdivant will continue to serve in her position as mayor because the state’s governor does not routinely remove a public official from office until they are indicted by a grand jury on a criminal charge.

“The governor’s office is aware of Mayor Pierce’s arrest. If the solicitor takes action, the governor is prepared to respond quickly,” said Rob Godfrey, spokesman for Gov. Nikki Haley.

Sturdivant said she was on her way home from church when she was stopped by a Conway police officer.

According to a report from Conway Police, Sturdivant was stopped because she was starting and stopping her sport utility vehicle at several locations on city streets. On two occasions, Sturdivant’s vehicle remained stopped at traffic lights when they turned green, officers reported.

An officer turned on his vehicle’s blue lights in an attempt to stop Sturdivant, but she kept driving slowly until finally stopping on the Main Street bridge just passed Kingston Street.

An officer told Pierce she was stopped because she ‘stopped at two green lights and was straddling the dotted line,” the report shows.

The officer reported that Sturdivant’s eyes appeared to be glassy and conducted a field sobriety test.

According to the report officers said, “I also advised the subject while performing the test she had to look at her feet, count out loud, leave her arms at her sides, and do not stop the test until she has completed the test. I asked the subject if she understood and she stated yes. The subject started too soon, was unable to balance at starting position, missed heel to toe, stepped off the line, used arms for balance, improper turn, and stopped while walking. The subject did state that she needed a cane to walk a straight line.”

During the one-legged stand officers reported, “I told the subject to stand with feet together, arms at her side, and to remain in that position. I advised the subject that she could lift either foot that she wanted about 6 inches off the ground and point her toes forward, and count 1000 and 1, 1000 and 2, 1000 and 3, and so forth until I told her to stop. I advised the subject while performing this test; she needed to look at her elevated foot, count out loud, leave her arms at her side, and keep both legs straight. The subject stated that she understood. The subject was swaying, used her arms for balance, and put her foot down many times.”

Sturdivant was arrested for driving under the influence and handcuffed. Officers found three medications in her purse - Flexeril, Toradol, and Percocet.

Sturdivant’s blood alcohol was registered at 0.0 at the police station following the arrest. Officers then asked for a urine sample from Sturdivant, who refused after learning she could not keep the sample after giving it. Officers told her that if she gave a sample at Conway Hospital that it would be sent to a testing company.

Sturdivant is serving probation after she was found guilty July 13 of resisting arrest and ordered to serve 18 months on probation for an incident on Christmas Day 2007. Circuit Court Judge Steven John sentenced Sturdivant to a year in prison, but suspended that sentence to 18 months on probation and gave her credit for the day she served in jail following her arrest in the 2007 incident.

In that case, Sturdivant defended herself in a two-day trial.

Sturdivant had a string of arrests and other troubles beginning with the 2007 incident.

Her first attorney was disbarred and is serving jail time for trying to have a former law partner killed and Sturdivant fired her second attorney.

In July, the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office dismissed a leaving the scene of an accident with property damage charge that stemmed from an April 2009 hit-and-run incident. Then Gov. Mark Sanford removed Sturdivant from office after she was indicted by an Horry County grand jury in October 2009 on the charge.

In March 2010, a Marion County judge dismissed a September 2009 driving under the influence charge after officials said the breathalyzer came back 0.0 and the urine test came back clean and the only evidence was from a private witness that saw Pierce driving recklessly.

In January 2010, Pierce was arrested on a charge of trespassing at Town Hall after a dispute with staff members. She later filed suit stating the arrest was intended to prevent her from uncovering a larger conspiracy among the town’s appointed officials. The charge was dismissed.