COTTAGEVILLE - A Colleton sheriff's deputy didn't give a speeding ticket to a man with an extensive history of traffic violations after discovering the speeder was Mayor Bert Reeves, the sheriff said Wednesday.
Sheriff George Malone said the deputy, whom he did not identify, gave Reeves a verbal warning last week for going 71 mph in a 55 mph zone because the deputy didn't want to get involved in town politics.
It was the second time in four months that a deputy stopped Reeves, who made national headlines earlier this year when he was ticketed for going nearly 50 mph over the speed limit near Green Pond. That case is still pending because Reeves has requested a jury trial.
A state Department of Motor Vehicles records check shows the mayor is on the road to losing his license next month if he doesn't rectify the latest of his eight convictions for failure to pay a ticket.
The records show Reeves' license is to be suspended again July 10 unless the 34-year-old contractor pays a traffic ticket he received in Summerville in February for driving 25 mph over the speed limit.
Reeves said Wednesday that the last record is wrong, that he was found not guilty of the ticket in Summerville and that his license will not be suspended in July. "The reason it wasn't paid is because I wasn't (required) to pay it," he said.
The records show Reeves has a conviction for driving under suspension. His license was suspended for two years in February 1997 after he was declared a habitual offender.
Malone said Wednesday he didn't tell the deputy to not write Reeves a ticket but does not fault the deputy for using his discretion.
"On one point of view, I'm glad he did what he did because of all the politics back and forth," Malone said. "But at the time same, if he had written the ticket, he would have still been right."
Malone said the deputy clocked Reeves at 71 mph in a 55 mph zone outside town limits. The deputy pulled him over in front of town hall as a meeting was starting.
When the deputy realized whom he had pulled over, he gave Reeves a verbal warning, Malone said.
"He found out who it was and with all the political stuff in Cottageville, he decided he didn't want to get involved in politics," Malone said. "He tried to stay out of this because he was going to get criticized no matter what he did."
The story of Reeves being ticketed in March made headlines because the town, centrally located on U.S. Highway 17A between Summerville and Walterboro, has a reputation as a speed trap.
In December, the town was recognized by AAA Carolinas as one of the top five traffic safety communities with populations of less than 10,000.
At a Town Council meeting in March, about five residents asked Reeves to step down. But other residents and council members defended him and his record of doing positive things for the town.
Reeves said in March that he was not seeking another term as mayor but recently told The Press and Standard in Walterboro that he has changed his mind.
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