FRANKLIN COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY
101 WEST NASH STREET
P.O. BOX 909
LOUISBURG, NORTH CAROLINA 27549
(919) 496-1469
www.FranklinNCGOP.com

August 18, 2007

'What Mr. Foy does in his personal life is his business.'
- Commission Chairman Lynwood Buffaloe

'I didn’t want to press charges.'
- Laurie Boemper

August 18, 2007 The Franklin Times
Foy faces assault, marijuana charges, claims innocence
By CAREY JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer

A commissioner who was arrested this week on charges of drug possession and assaulting a woman said he is innocent and looking to turn the tables.

Dare County Sheriff Rodney Midgett said Harry Foy was arrested with three of his employees a few miles off the coast of Hatteras in the Pamlico Sound Aug. 15 after one employee, Laurie Boemper, called 911 alleging that Foy assaulted her.

Foy said he also had a personal relationship with Boemper. He said his professional relationship ended with her following his arrest on Wednesday evening.

Foy was charged with assaulting the 37-year-old woman and possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana.

He posted a $2,000 bail Thursday morning.

“There are a lot of accusations that are not true,” Foy said when reached by telephone in Hobucken on Friday. “I’m in the process, myself, of taking out charges on (Boemper), as soon as they let me.”

Foy said he is also looking at pursuing a restraining order.

According to Midgett, the Coast Guard responded to Boemper’s call for help at about 7:45 p.m. Midgett said the report did not indicate any bruising on Boemper and it appeared that Boemper was under the influence.

Foy said Boemper was responsible for the brouhaha.

Foy said he took Boemper, and two other employees, Chris Zimmerman and Bobby Taylor, out on the water as a thank-you for the work they had done at his marina in Hobucken.

As they were preparing to leave, Foy said, Boemper became irate and began to assault him.

“She started to throw a fit because she wanted to go back to Hatteras to get something to eat,” Foy said. “She went ballistic.

“She ripped my shirt off and began clutching at my neck and face and tried to turn the wheel,” Foy said. “I tried verbally to get her to leave me alone.

“I never hit her,” Foy said. “I removed her off of me and pushed her away. It was all in self defense.”

When reached by telephone on Friday, Boemper said she was bruised up from the incident.

She also said it was unreasonable to think that a 5-foot-tall woman could assault Foy, who stands more than 6 feet tall.

She also said she wanted to put the incident behind her.

“I didn’t want to press charges,” she said, noting that law enforcement took that step when they arrived.

“I don’t want to get Harry in anymore trouble.”

Zimmerman and Taylor, who both continue a working relationship with Foy, corroborated Foy’s account.

“She was hollering at him,” said Taylor, who was also arrested and charged with possession of drug paraphernalia after the Coast Guard crew found marijuana in a bag on the boat.

“The next thing I know, she was pulling on him and snatched his shirt off.”

Zimmerman, who told police the drugs were his, said his friendship with Foy has not colored his recounting of events.

Zimmerman and Taylor said Foy did not know drugs were on the boat, and Foy said he was unaware that his employees brought drugs on his 25-foot boat.

“I call things like I see them,” Zimmerman said. “I’ve always been like that. Harry is not the bad guy, here.”

Foy is slated to appear in Dare County District Court in October to face his charges.

“Commissioner Harry Foy spoke to me and assured me that the charges and allegations against him are false,” said county Republican Party Chairman John Edwards. “Commissioner Foy has always been a man of his word, and you can take that to the bank.

 “I will support him through this matter, and I encourage everyone who knows Harry to support him too.”

Commission Chairman Lyn Buffaloe said he doesn’t expect the matter to become the business of the board.

“What Mr. Foy does in his personal life is his business,” Buffaloe said.

Staff could not recall any incident in recent memory involving a commissioner getting in trouble with the law.

David Guin, an attorney with the county’s legal representation, said the county has a code of ethics policy, but it doesn’t specifically address any action or disciplinary matters.

“I didn’t see anything that addresses, it either way,” Guin said.

Franklin County sheriff’s deputies did respond to a domestic dispute call at Commissioner Sidney Dunston’s home in June 2006.

According to records, Dunston’s wife  called 911 on June 30, reporting that Commissioner Dunston hurt her hand during an altercation.

Commissioner Dunston was allowed to leave the house to calm down, according to the report.

Dunston was not arrested.