I watched the opening statements in the trial of former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford Wednesday afternoon, and I have to say I was mesmerized. There was a lot of drama in the courtroom today.
Medford, as you know, is on trial facing federal charges related to an illegal gambling ring. The government has accused Medford of public corruption.
The prosecution, in its statement, essentially said it’s case comes down to “follow the money.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Edwards said the government will present documents and witnesses that show that Medford and his top lieutenants accepted cash, and sometimes asked for cash, from video poker machine owners and operators who wanted to do business in Buncombe County. Their multi-million dollar business was illegal – they were giving out cash pay-outs on the machines, despite state law that said the most a player could win was $10 in store merchandise.
The defense, in its opening statement, painted Medford as a down-home boy made good – he rose from a regular policeman to the top law enforcement job in the county – whose biggest mistake was trusting the wrong people at the wrong time. Defense attorney Steve Lindsay argued that a former Medford underling, Johnny Harrison, was the real bad guy. Lindsay said he’ll show that Harrison oversaw the administration of the video poker machines in Buncombe County and got tangled in corruption while Medford pretty much ignored all that to concentrate on other matters, such as solving major crimes and overseeing the county jail, courthouse security and civil processes.
During Lindsay’s statement, which verged on some prosaic rhetoric, I noticed that Bobby Medford was actually crying. He was pulling tissues out of a box on the table in front of him and wiping his eyes and nose. At one point, his co-defense counsel, Victoria Jayne, reached over and patted Medford on the shoulder – an apparent move to console him. It was quite a display of emotion from a man known far and wide for his toughness and reticence while sheriff.
Guy Penland, a former Medford captain who is on also on trial with Medford but represented by a different defense attorney, stared intensely at Medford, but as far as I could tell, Medford never looked up to catch the eye of his former captain and long-time friend.
All and all, an interesting first day.