Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon pleaded not guilty to charges of vandalism at her Aug. 11 arraignment.
Sugarmon was charged with multiple counts of vandalism under $1,000 on Aug. 7, one day after she won reelection
in the Shelby County general election. There are two cases under which she was charged. One case has her facing a single charge of vandalism, and another has her facing four counts of vandalism.Vandalism under $1,000 is a Class A misdemeanor.
Sugarmon's lawyer, Handel Durham Jr., said his client was not guilty, and he was unsure if the charges correspond to a video, posted to social media, appearing to show her removing campaign signs on the side of a road.
"What you have is a bunch of individuals who are sore losers, and they
get an opportunity, they try to strike back," he told reporters following the arraignment.
Sugarmon seemed reluctant to enter the courtroom, and waited outside before being called in by the judge.
She is scheduled to be in court next on Sept. 10 for a report date.
Shelby County DA recuses from case
The Shelby County District Attorney's Office has recused itself from the case, Director of Public Affairs Erica Williams confirmed to The Commercial Appeal. In court, General Sessions Court Judge Karen Massey said she would be recusing herself as well.
It is not uncommon for Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy to recuse his prosecutors from cases involving public officials. Among the earliest recusals came after the in-jail death of Gershun Freeman, and the case was assigned to Davidson County DA Glenn Funk. More recently, he recused his office from prosecuting now-former Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd.
The most recent recusal came during the prosecution of Samantha Marion, the woman accused of fatally shooting Memphis Pastor Ricky Floyd.
When a DA recuses their office from a case, the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference appoints a prosecutor.
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
Annie Goldman covers government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at annie.goldman@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Commissioner Sugarmon pleads not guilty in vandalism case
