Latest news with #MeleneHatcher
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2 days ago
- Politics
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'Ranger Rick' Murillo withdraws Fayetteville council candidacy, Board of Elections confirms
Enrique 'Ranger Rick' Murillo has filed his intention to withdraw from the Fayetteville City Council District 5 race days after the county elections board voted to allow him to stay on the ballot despite his failure to disclose a felony conviction on the filing paperwork, according to the Cumberland County Board of Elections. Irene Grimes, a member of the county Board of Elections, said Aug. 14 that Murillo 'has withdrawn from the race. He filed his Notice of Withdrawal earlier today.' On Aug. 12, the county BOE heard testimony from Murillo and Fayetteville resident Melene Hatcher, who challenged Murillo's candidacy because he did not disclose he'd been convicted of felony first-degree assault and battery in South Carolina in 2012. While the felony conviction would not have prevented Murillo from running for office, candidates are required to disclose such convictions. After testimony from Hatcher and Murillo — who contends he was not convicted of a felony, despite South Carolina court records showing the conviction — the five members of the county BOE voted to allow him to remain on the ballot. Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated. This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 'Ranger Rick' Murillo will no longer seek Fayetteville City Council Solve the daily Crossword
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4 days ago
- Politics
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A Fayetteville City Council candidate is accused of failing to disclose a felony. What now?
A candidate who has filed to run in the Fayetteville City Council election is being challenged for failing to disclose a past felony conviction. Enrique Roberto "Rick" Murillo is being challenged by Fayetteville resident Melene Hatcher for not disclosing a 2012 felony conviction in South Carolina on his candidate filing form, which was confirmed by a copy provided to The Fayetteville Observer. According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, a felony does not prohibit a candidate from filing for election, but candidates must disclose whether or not they've had a felony conviction. The Cumberland County Board of Elections will meet at 1 p.m. Aug. 12 in the Cumberland County Courthouse to review the challenge, according to the meeting agenda. Murillo, also known as Ranger Rick, filed July 16 for the District 5 seat, currently held by Councilwoman Lynne Greene. An attempt to reach Greene was unsuccessful as of press time. On July 25, Murillo told The Fayetteville Observer that he was unaware of any issues with his filing. He said the only question he saw on the application asked if he'd been convicted of a felony, to which he stated no, because, to his knowledge, an assault charge he had in South Carolina in 2011 was a misdemeanor. On July 30, he maintained that he thought the South Carolina charge was a misdemeanor and said that he was in the process of obtaining transcripts and documents from the hearing. He said a first-degree assault charge and the sentencing don't seem to match. "I've been under the assumption that I pled to a second-degree assault, which is why I checked the non-felon block," Murillo said July 30. "If I was a felon, I would have checked that box, because I know we've had elected officials who are felons." South Carolina charge According to Horry County, South Carolina, court records, Murillo was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, which was reduced to a first-degree assault and battery conviction in January 2012, which is a felony in South Carolina. Murillo said that he is innocent of the charge in South Carolina, but that during that time, he was in the process of getting out of the Army and was trying to move on with his life. He said prosecutors were unable to find his accuser and that the case dragged on back and forth, so he accepted a plea. 'I had a public defender and no money for a lawyer at the time, so I pleaded out to a second-degree assault,' Murillo said. 'I didn't have to register for a sex offense, and that was the case. I pleaded out because I just wanted to move on with my life, and they couldn't find the girl who moved away.' Murillo said he was sentenced in January 2012 to about a year and a half of probation, which was transferred to Fayetteville, where he was living, and which he completed. During that time, he said, one of his few reliable friends was Spc. Barry Barker, who drove him to his court proceedings in South Carolina and encouraged him to move on with his life when he was offered a plea deal. Murillo said Barker, who was a commercial diver and underwater welder, eventually moved to Seattle to be closer to family, but died by suicide within a few months after moving. 'All his demons from all his deployments had caught up with him,' Murillo said. 'At that point, he was my best friend. It hit hard.' Murillo said that he's lived in Fayetteville since 2003 and does not deny that he struggled with alcohol issues after serving in the Army for 13 years and getting shot in 2008. 'I was shot five times, including the chest and stomach, and healed up,' Murillo said, 'Physically, I just wanted to go back and be with my team. That's where the drinking started, and eventually I got two DUIs back-to-back and got kicked out of the military with an other than honorable discharge,' Murillo said. 'I spent three years on the streets in and out of trouble.' Cumberland County court records show he was charged by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office for driving while intoxicated in June 2010 and that the charge was dismissed without leave by the district attorney in 2011; he was charged by the Fayetteville Police Department with being intoxicated and disruptive in 2014, and the case was dismissed without leave by the district attorney in 2015; in 2015, the Hope Mills Police Department charged him with disorderly conduct, which was dismissed without leave a few months later. Murillo said that in 2014, he faced another charge similar to the one in South Carolina. 'Unlike what I did in South Carolina, knowing I was not guilty in either case, I said I'm going to fight this one and not take a plea deal and will take this to trial,' he said. 'All my friends are aware of this.' Court records show that Murillo pleaded not guilty to the second-degree rape charge, which was dismissed in March 2016, after a Superior Court jury found him not guilty. Focus on veterans Cumberland County records state that in 2018, Murillo, with the support of nonprofit Southern CC, developed a program to place markers in county parking lots to honor military veterans and first responders killed in the line of duty. A letter written on his behalf by Southern CC stated that 'Murillo has been working diligently in rehabilitating himself by working with the community, volunteering on multiple projects ... and building homes for veterans.' Murillo said he went back to school and got his degree in welding from Fayetteville Technical Community College and went to Charleston, South Carolina, to earn a commercial diver and underwater welder's license. He has since started a mobile welding company, as well as a nonprofit in Barker's memory. He said he continues to work in the veteran community to speak about suicide awareness, prevention and resiliency. 'You can be at the top, fall or have something hard in your life to snap out of and say 'Hey, I need to fix myself,' and that's what I did,' Murillo said. He said he is in the process of having his other-than-honorable discharge reviewed by the Army Board. Murillo said that he is open about his past, but it is 'beyond that now.' Running for City Council He said he continues to focus on suicide prevention and awareness and is also now focused on the district he lives in. He said that when he asks residents who their council representative is, not many seem to know who Greene is. 'I have nothing against her, and if she's doing the right thing and what she's supposed to be doing, I have no problem with her getting reelected,' Murillo said. 'If not, I'm going to come in.' Murillo said some residents want a change, and he is willing to learn if he is elected. 'Suicide, veterans and homelessness matter,' he said. 'To speak about those things, people got to have a seat at the table.' Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@ or 910-486-3528. This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville candidate accused of failing to disclose felony conviction
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4 days ago
- Politics
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Here's how the Cumberland County Board of Elections voted on City Council candidate challenge
Despite failing to disclose a felony conviction on paperwork to run for public office, the Cumberland County Board of Elections voted 4-1 on Aug. 12 to allow a candidate for Fayetteville City Council to remain on the ballot for the municipal election. Fayetteville resident Melene Hatcher challenged Enrique Roberto "Rick" Murillo for not disclosing on his candidate filing form a 2012 felony conviction in South Carolina. According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, a felony does not prohibit a candidate from filing for election, but candidates must disclose whether they've been convicted of a felony. Hatcher and Murillo both provided testimony and documents at the county Board of Elections' Aug. 12 meeting, which was attended by more than 65 people, some holding signs featuring Murillo's mugshots. Murillo, also known as Ranger Rick, filed July 16 for the District 5 seat currently held by Council member Lynne Greene. According to Horry County, South Carolina, court records, Murillo was charged in 2011 with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He pleaded guilty in January 2012 to a charge of first-degree assault and battery, which is a felony in South Carolina. "I know for a fact that if I was a felon ... and (if) I would have checked felon, it would not have hindered my opportunity to run, as we have felons in office," Murillo said at the Aug. 12 meeting. "So therefore, my understanding is that I am not a felon." In addition to his contention at the meeting, in interviews with The Fayetteville Observer in July, Murillo maintained that he does not think he has a felony conviction and said he accepted a plea deal because his accuser could not be found and he didn't want the case to drag on. BOE members wrestled with three questions before voting: — Did Murillo plead guilty to or was he found guilty of a felony? — Did Murillo complete any associated sentencing? — Were Murillo's voting rights restored? Chair Linda Devore and board members Brenda May "Bree" Eldridge, Ryan Eric Johnson, Derek Edmonds and Irene Grimes all agreed that they think Murillo was found guilty of a felony in South Carolina. During the nearly two-hour meeting, they struggled to determine whether Murillo's rights were restored at the time of his filing. In taking the final vote on whether they thought Murillo proved he was eligible to file as a candidate, Grimes cast the dissenting vote. Grimes questioned the date that Murillo's voting rights were restored and whether they were restored before or after his candidacy filing, while other board members asked if the date that he settled his fines factored in. Following the meeting, Hatcher told The Fayetteville Observer that she will file an appeal of the Cumberland County Board of Elections' decision with the State Board of Elections. "Ignorance of the law, or ignorance of a felony conviction, are not a defense," Hatcher said during the hearing. "If ignorance is an excuse for false information, it will undermine our election system's integrity." Greene told The Fayetteville Observer after the meeting that she suspected the Board of Elections would vote how it did because the law requires a candidate to disclose whether they're a convicted felon and requires them to disclose what the felony is. Board members at the meeting said candidates are provided with a felony disclosure form if they say they've been convicted of a felony on their candidacy form. Chair Linda Devore questioned whether Murillo still needs to fill out that form if he's still not acknowledging his felony. Greene said she understands from City Council quasi-judicial hearings that there are certain questions a board asks during the hearing, but board members are not attorneys. "I think this is a precedent for voter reform across the state and election reform with some of the things that we do, because clearly (the board) even had questions," she said. "This was not about Mr. Murillo personally. This was about the process and being truthful." Editor's note: This story was updated to add new information Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@ or 910-486-3528. This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Rick Murillo can stay on the ballot for Fayetteville City Council Solve the daily Crossword
