Ex-East Spencer Officer Still Awaiting Trial on Incident 13 Months Ago

BY JOHN PATTERSON
SALISBURY POST

Remember Derwin "Toby" Holland?

That's the question Holland, the former East Spencer Police officer accused of shooting his own police cruiser back in October 1997, is asking out loud these days.

More than 13 months after the incident, Holland said he still isn't sure when his case will get to court. The waiting has caused complications, especially with getting a job and supporting his four daughters, Holland said.

"I haven't been able to get back into law enforcement because of these charges," said Holland, who maintains his innocence. "These charges are ridiculous ... there is no evidence to support charges against me."

Still at the heart of the incident is what happened on a dark, deserted street in East Spencer around midnight on Oct. 22, 1997. Holland told authorities that two men assaulted and doused him with pepper spray during a traffic stop on Pinetree Drive.

Blinded by the spray, Holland said he heard gunshots and returned fire as the men fled in their vehicle. But SBI investigators, along with Leon Scales, chief of East Spencer Police at the time, didn't believe Holland's story. They thought the bullet holes in his police cruiser came from Holland's service revolver.

So, after talking with the Rowan County District Attorney's Office, officials charged Holland with injury to personal property, a misdemeanor. But a few months later, a ballistics test from the SBI's crime lab in Raleigh apparently showed that the bullets found in Holland's cruiser didn't come from his service revolver.

But instead of clearing Holland of all charges, authorities charged him with obstruction of justice, a felony. Holland says the latter charge was filed because he refused to give up his badge.

"This has always been a personal vendetta against me," Holland said. "They never had the evidence to charge me, so they offered to drop the charges if I quit. But I wouldn't do that."

Holland, who was fired from the department shortly after Scales, too, was fired by town officials, said his office should have backed him up during the investigation. Instead, Holland said, the others turned against him.

Holland's brother, Ralph, said the case needs to be heard soon so his brother can get back to supporting his daughters.

"We're ready to go to court," Ralph Holland said. "We're ready to handle this thing in a timely manner. ... We'd like to have this done in the next 45 days. And the way it's looking to me, this thing might not last more than hour."

Holland and his brother both said there is no evidence to support the charge against him.

"Every avenue they've pursued has led to nothing," Holland said. "The ballistics test, the injuries ... everything was consistent with what I said. They don't have anything, that's why it's taking so long to try."

However, District Attorney Bill Kenerly said the case has been delayed at the request of Holland's attorney, Noel Tinn.

"I talked to his attorney back in the fall and he said he was busy with other trials," Kenerly said. "He said he wouldn't be able to get to it until after the start of the year."

Kenerly also said Holland's case didn't have the highest priority.

"This is not a violent crime and he's not in custody," Kenerly said. "Frankly, with 14 murder cases waiting to be heard, Toby Holland doesn't get the highest priority. But it will be tried, probably sometime after the first of the year."

Meanwhile, Holland said the charges against him should be dropped.

"The evidence itself doesn't stand on its own merit," Holland said. "If I've been charged and it's a mistake, then they need to say so ... everyone can make mistakes, but they need to be able to say that."