A former state trooper arrested last month for allegedly keeping up to $10,000 in cash from ticketed drivers instead of giving the fines to the court faces another similar charge.

William Kelly Pierce, 34, was charged Wednesday with misconduct in office and booked into the Aiken County jail, the State Law Enforcement Division said.

Pierce is accused of stopping a motorist on I-20 in Aiken County in April, according to an arrest affidavit. During that traffic stop, Pierce wrote three tickets and accepted $541 in fines from the driver. None of the money was turned over to the court, according to the affidavit.

Pierce, who had been a state trooper since 1993, was fired from the department last week, said Sid Gaulden, Highway Patrol spokesman.

-- J.R. Gonzales