Charges dropped against man accusing mayor of adultery
A Chattanooga judge has dismissed domestic assault charges against Bobby Stone, who is husband to one of Mayor Andy Berke’s top advisers, reports the Times-Free Press.
After the hearing, Stone charged that his wife, Lacie Stone, was having an affair with Berke, and that Berke’s office had orchestrated a coverup. Bobby Stone filed for divorce later in the day on the grounds that his wife committed adultery.
Both Berke and Lacie Stone have denied Robert Stone’s claims. Police have denied a coverup.
Judge Lila Statom accepted District Attorney General Neal Pinkston’s motion to dismiss the charges after reading it this morning in Hamilton County Sessions Court.
The dismissal wraps up Robert Stone’s criminal matter, which began when Lacie Stone called Chattanooga Police Department chief Fred Fletcher and said her husband was trying to kill her in late May.
Concerned by the “unusual concerns” that Berke and Fletcher’s comments were raising, Pinkston asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to provide an independent look into how the police handled the case.
… (According to Pinkston’s motion) Lacie Stone said no assault ever happened. She gave a written statement to that effect and said she was concerned about “her job, the publicity this event may garner and allegations of extramarital affairs.”
She “wanted all this to go away,” according to Stacy Richardson, the mayor’s chief of staff, the motion says.
Leave a Reply