More than 100 DWI cases involving Wake County deputy thrown out

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman is tossing out more than 100 pending drunk driving cases after a judge found a Wake County deputy who was a member of the DWI task force lied on the witness stand.

District Court Judge Jacqueline Brewer found Deputy Robert Davis was untruthful in three cases and disqualified him as a witness in any other cases.

Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison told ABC11 Thursday that Davis is no longer with his department.

After reading Judge Brewer's order related to the three cases in question, Harrison initially removed Davis from the DWI task force. But when Freeman told the sheriff how many cases were affected, he said he had no choice but to fire the 18-year veteran of the sheriff's office.

"He testified consistent with the paperwork that he had filed in the courthouse but inconsistent with the video evidence that we had uncovered," said defense attorney Bill Finn. "So I think that's really when this thing first started to take shape."

"It's crushing anytime I hear something negative about a law enforcement officer. I makes me sick to my stomach. Do we make mistakes? Absolutely. You get this type of information it really hits hard," said Sheriff Harrison.

The fallout doesn't end with the 104 pending DWI cases. Davis also had another 71 traffic cases, and they will also be dismissed.

"It's heartbreaking to have this kind of thing happen," said Freeman. "We think that deputy David needs to find another line of work."