Former Catawba County Sheriff’s Captain Jason Reid, 47, pleaded guilty Monday to several charges related to a 2017 stalking case involving his ex-girlfriend.
The crimes took place in North Carolina. Reid pleaded guilty in Lincoln County Superior Court to charges of felony larceny by employee and one misdemeanor count each of cyberstalking and willfully failing to discharge his duties. He was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation and 240 hours of community service.
Reid will also have to permanently surrender his law enforcement certification.
In 2018, Reid was indicted on several charges related to a stalking case involving his ex-girlfriend.
Reid unlawfully and knowingly installed an electronic tracking device on his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle without her consent in July and August of 2017. The indictment indicates that Reid obtained the GPS tracker from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office for the purpose of tracking his ex-girlfriend.
The indictment also states that Reid repeatedly contacted his ex-girlfriend and sent her messages detailing her location, leaving her wondering how he knew her whereabouts. The grand jury determined that Reid should have known his actions would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety by placing the person in fear of bodily injury of more harassment.
Reid unsuccessfully ran for Catawba County Sheriff in 2018. Reid resigned from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office in February of 2018. Reid is the son of Coy Reid, the former Catawba County Sheriff.
The Catawba County Sheriff released the following statement on Reid’s plea:
“Today closes an unfortunate chapter which has effected the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement and the County as a whole. Events like this have a profound impact on the public’s trust in law enforcement. When I took office in December of last year I immediately ordered an internal investigation into this matter and other allegations of criminal conduct. Today, with the conclusion of our investigations and the guilty plea in Lincoln County, we can now move forward. It has been and will continue to be a priority of mine to restore and build public trust and confidence in the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.”
