Charges brought against trooper

By KAREN DAILY Staff writer

A state trooper terminated by the S.C. Department of Public Safety late last week has been booked at the Aiken County Detention Center on charges he collected more than $500 from an Aiken driver last spring and pocketed the money.

William K. Pierce, 33, of N. Chateau Road in Columbia was arrested in Richland County late last month on charges he collected up to $10,000 in cash in Richmond County from drivers he ticketed in 2003.

Pierce, who has been a state trooper since 1993, was suspended following the initial allegations and terminated late last week because of those charges, said Sid Gaulden Highway Patrol spokesperson.

State Law Enforcement Division agents arrested Pierce Wednesday morning and charged him with misconduct in office on the recent Aiken allegations.

According to SLED warrants the trooper stopped an Aiken man on April 8, 2004 on I-20 and issued him three tickets and accepted $541 in cash.

"(He) failed to turn the money into the court, converting it to his own personal use," the warrants stated.

Pierce is the brother of former trooper George M. Pierce II, of Columbia, who was charged with using his position for financial gain in 1991, Gaulden confirmed.

George Pierce was fined $700 in 1992 after he did not contest the charge, according to published reports.

That case stemmed form a 1991 traffic stop in which George Pierce agreed to charge a driver with first offense driving under the influence instead of third offense DUI, reports state.

The trooper agreed to the lesser charge in exchange for the driver's 1965 pickup, according to published reports.

The Aiken case will be prosecuted by the Second Circuit Solicitor's Office.

Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.

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