HAMLET — City Manager John Terziu is accused of threatening a resident during a recent council meeting.
That resident, Sean Patrick Smith, swore out a criminal summons on May 14, alleging that Terziu said to him, “Would you like to say that to my face and take it outside?” during the May 12 meeting of the Hamlet City Council.
The city’s video, posted to its Facebook page, appears to show Smith walking into the meeting around the 56-minute mark as Terziu is presenting an overview of the upcoming budget.
Following Esco Latimer’s address to the council during the public comment section of the meeting, the video appears to show that another attendee questioned about the need to sign up beforehand — which was a requirement listed in the Rules of Decorum adopted in January.
What was said next is inaudible on the city’s video, which shows Smith appearing to point at Terziu, saying something and laughing. Smith told the RO he referred to Terziu as “that douche.”
Terziu, who appears on the video to be reviewing a document, then looks up and says, “Excuse me? If you want to say that out- to my face outside, you can,” which prompted several in the audience to say that that appeared to be a threat.
Smith appears on the video to gesture back towards the front door and attorney T.C. Morphis extends his arm in an apparent attempt to try to deescalate the situation. Mayor Amy Guinn can be heard banging the gavel and saying “Stop it, now!”
Guinn then returns to the next item on the agenda, which is the city manager’s report, saying, “If we can’t remain calm, then you can be asked to leave.”
Following his report, Terziu is seen taking off his suit jacket before the camera switches back to the council.
In another video, posted to social media by Latimer, Terziu is seen rolling up his sleeves and appears to take off his watch.
While Councilman Tony Clewis urges residents to come to the council with questions — “Don’t listen to all this rhetoric and all this mess going on online … it’s not viable” — Terziu appears on the video to look towards Smith and motion his head backwards while slightly rocking back and forth.
There appears on the video to be another inaudible verbal exchange while the mayor mentions that May is National Military Appreciation Month.
As the meeting transitions to a closed session, Terziu stands up and walks out of view of Latimer’s camera.
As Latimer is walking out of City Hall, his camera is still recording. Several people are heard laughing with someone saying, “He stormed out like a baby.”
Smith is heard replying, “I thought he was coming to beat my ass. I thought an ass-beating was imminent."
Sheriff Mark Gulledge confirmed to the RO that the summons was served on Monday, May 18. The court record was updated May 20 to reflect the serve.
Both the summons and court records show a hearing scheduled for May 29 in Richmond County District Court.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
This complaint is the latest in an ongoing dispute between the two parties.
On Dec. 18, records show Terziu filed a civil defamation lawsuit against Smith and Latimer, as well as former police chief Dennis Brown, former major Hudson Chitwood, and then-officer Hufsa Lohdi.
Much of Terziu’s lawsuit centers around an allegation of sexual harassment against him by Lohdi, as well as comments made by Smith and Latimer.
In January, Terziu filed criminal charges of misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor cyberstalking against Smith in Scotland County, where the city manager lives.
Court records show both charges were dismissed without leave and with no plea agreement on April 1.
There are no online documents listing the reason for the dismissal of the case. However, in his May 6 motion for an expedited hearing in the defamation case, Smith says: “...at least one prior civil action and two criminal matters initiated against Defendant have already been dismissed due to lack of sufficient evidence and/or evidentiary deficiencies.”
(NOTE: The other referenced civil matters could not be found in online court records through a search of the parties’ names.)
