Editor’s Note: Eugene Hunt was born in Cleveland County and lived in Casar all of his life. Eugene was a hardworking, Bible reading, family-oriented person who always believed in doing the right thing. He was also a person with self-developed critical thinking skills who got the facts before making decisions. Eugene Hunt was also a charter member of the Cleveland County Citizens For Good Government and, although not college educated, wrote this letter based on his personal experiences with the Cleveland County system of Justice. Or the lack thereof. Eugene Hunt passed away a number of years ago, but I am sure he is in Heaven looking down on Robert A with a smile on his face.
This is a true story that the Shelby Star refused to print!!
Lawyers Sell Out Client!!!
Judge Hamrick Overruled!!
by Eugene Hunt
“Everything Judge Hamrick did was WRONG!!”
“I’ll get the house and I’ll get the girls. I’ll get everything and you’ll have to pay for it. I’ve talked to Ruth Dedmon, the Judge, the District Attorney and Sheriff McKinney.” That’s what she told me right from the start. Right from the first time she left.
Ruth Dedmon was the Cleveland County Clerk of Court then and Linda’s First Cousin. So what? I thought. We’ve got Laws in Cleveland County. I didn’t want a divorce anyway. WE got back together. Maybe things could be worked out. I prayed a lot over that and asked her to too. But she was talking to other people. I didn’t know who at the time.
Linda had two sons from a previous marriage and we had two daughters together. I tried to raise them all the same, in a Christian home. I bought the boys a car to drive when they were old enough. I worked to provide us with a nice home. Linda worked too. But she spent all her money on herself.
Finally, she left for good. Her plans had been all worked out with some help from others. She filed Civil papers that were a barrage of lies. Mostly they were difficult to prove untrue. Linda even started making speeches for the Abuse Prevention Council. She would cry and get everybody else crying. It seems like that’s what you do when you go to court against a man. Make up statements that are bald-faced lies that can’t be proved either way. But the man has to prove them untrue anyway.
But, some of the biggest lies could be exposed. I thought that was enough. So did my lawyer, Jim Morgan. At first that is. He talked around and then came back saying that I should sign everything over to Linda. He was selling me out so I didn’t use him anymore.
I paid another attorney a $1,000 retainer. The story was the same. At first, he quoted the law saying she couldn’t do what she was doing. Then he talked around and came back with the same old story. I had tape recorded our conversations. Finally, I fired him.
Then I hired Dick Craver. My first cousin was his secretary. Maybe that would work for me. It didn’t. My kin folks’ connections were not as good as Linda’s. (She had another first cousin, Sadie Wright, who was Judge George Hamrick’s secretary) Craver said that Linda was not entitled to alimony, she wasn’t entitled to this and she was not entitled to that. I tape recorded Craver too. I was learning about our Court system all too well.
When we went to Court, Craver didn’t object to anything Fred Flowers, Linda’s attorney, said. Linda lied about a lot of things. She provided false financial statements about her salary and assets. Nobody cared about false documents and false testimony. Dick Craver never subpoenaed anything that he said he would. Craver took me to Court “empty-handed.”
Judge Hamrick counted everything I got (in the division of property) as very expensive. Things she was to get were counted very cheaply. Even things belonging to me before we were married went to Linda. Hamrick would say “Fred Flowers said, “Linda wanted that.” Even when Linda would have to pay me some money to keep the house, Hamrick took care of that by awarding her a “Lump Sum Rehabilitative Alimony” payment of $7,000. Dick Craver told me that I got a “good deal.” Dick Craver told me there was no grounds for an appeal.
The catch was there was there is no such thing as “lump sum rehabilitative alimony” in North Carolina Law Books. Maybe not in any other state’s law books either. Many other things Judge Hamrick did were illegal. Dick Craver sold me out too.
I went out of the county and hired another attorney. We appealed most of Judge Hamrick’s rulings. The Court of Appeals went a step further. They overturned it All. Every last part of Judge Hamrick’s ruling was overturned on appeal. The High Court ruled nothing Hamrick did was legal.
There is justice somewhere. It’s just not in Cleveland County. Now Linda has got the Cleveland County Department of Social Services providing her a lawyer at taxpayer expense. Although I am paying Linda $100 a week on a temporary agreement until our new trial comes up, DSS is trying to take me to court for more money for Linda. Even though DSS has 1,000 case backlog of mothers that are not ge4tting a dime in child support, even though child support is part of another trial, even disregarding the Appeals Court’s Order, DSS has jumped in to harass me and muddy the legal water even more. At taxpayers’ expense. At the expense of the other 1,000 children who are not getting anything.
The mess Judge Hamrick made goes back to Court sometime in the near future. I hired Nick Street from Gastonia to represent me this time. All I want is a fair trial by an honest Judge and a competent attorney that earns his fee. Is that too much to ask???
Editor’s Note: Robert A has heard hundreds upon hundreds of similar stories as this over the years. Most by men, but some by women. All with the same MO. It’s who you know or are related to that gets you “Justice” down at the CC Courthouse. Old and probably the New Justice Center too. Judge George Hamrick got a dose of his own medicine also. After Hamrick pissed-off the women’s groups around CC by dismissing too many “Assault on a Female” charges, the women’s groups raised hell. But, almost as soon as Hamrick weathered THAT storm, Robert A published this letter by Mr. Eugene Hunt and others; Judge George Hamrick had enough and “retired” in short order.
Editor’s Note Part 2: The New Justice Center was dreamed up in a hurry and with ZERO consultation with the citizens and taxpayers. Robert A believes it is NOT TOO LATE to bring sanity to that program. Especially during this Election Year.
This is what Robert A recommends, in honor of the late Mr. Eugene Hunt and those like him and her who have been done so terribly wrong by the “system” as practiced in Cleveland County.
Robert A recommends voting in the 2024 General Elections for the Commissioner and the CCS School Board d Candidates as follows:(Please vote for ALL of the Candidates listed on your ballot at the Polls to provide the maximum Ballot Security!!)
Cleveland County Commissioner Candidate recommendations:
Tony Berry
Stormy Mongiello
David Peace
Cleveland County School Board Candidate recommendations:
Kenneth A. Ledford
David Fisher
Gloria Sherman
Rod Powell
Tracy Ross
