Democratic nominee for sheriff: Son’s arrest was ‘by the book’
By Bobby Bryant
Editor
editor@newsandpress.net
When his 27-year-old son was accused of attempted murder last week, “We did everything by the book,” says James Hudson Jr., the Democratic nominee for Darlington County sheriff in November’s elections.
“My wife and I got our son to turn himself in because it was the right thing to do,” Hudson, who works for the Lee County Sheriff’s Department and is a former Hartsville police chief, told the News & Press in an Aug. 12 interview.
Jordan Hudson of Hartsville is accused of shooting an unnamed man in the back with a handgun during an Aug. 9 altercation in the 2200 Block of Center Road outside Hartsville; he’s been charged with attempted murder.
“We (drove) around until we located him,” Hudson said. “We found him, took him to our house,” and convinced him to surrender to State Law Enforcement Division agents who had been asked to handle the case by the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office to avoid any possible ethical conflicts.
“We cooperated with (SLED) 110 percent,” Hudson said. “We did everything by the book.” Jordan Hudson was booked into the Darlington County jail Aug. 10. The wounded man was being treated at an area hospital.
Hudson said he didn’t know what led to the alleged incident. But he said, “We always taught (Jordan) how to be responsible, and we told him, if it did happen, you need to own up to it.”
In the June primary elections, Hudson defeated incumbent Sheriff Tony Chavis to claim the Democratic nomination for sheriff. He will face Republican rival Michael August in November. Hudson said he believes fallout from the election and the sheriff’s race has played a role in local reaction to his son’s arrest.
Hudson said he has never seen the rumor mill cranked up as high as it has been on his son’s case. “I don’t remember (rumors) ever going to this extent,” he said. “It’s sad. It’s very sad. There’s people who don’t want to see me running for sheriff. … I know there’s some politics being played into this.”