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CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, SC — It’s a trial, and verdict, dividing Chesterfield County residents.
Chesterfield, South Carolina is small town America. A scenic Main Street downtown. A county sheriff’s office just around the corner, that used to be run by a man almost everybody knows.
“I’ve known Sam a long time, and I liked him, I mean,” says Chesterfield resident Robert Adams.
Robert and Tammy Adams are like many here. People who like “Big” Sam Parker, but know that what he did was wrong.
“For all eight counts, two years is light,” says Tammy Adams. “But, was he really guilty of all that.”
Parker was convicted on five counts of misconduct in office, two counts of furnishing contraband to inmates, and one count of embezzlement. There are some locals who felt he would walk away from the charges; that he wasn’t doing anything that isn’t being done in other counties across the state.
“I was one that didn’t think he would be guilty and everything. I really didn’t. And he didn’t neither, because he actually filed to run for sheriff again,” says Robert Adams. “And to be honest with you, I’d probably consider voting for him again.”
“I feel it’s important for everybody in the state of South Carolina to know that we don’t do things like we did in 1975,” says South Carolina Deputy Attorney General Solicitor Heather Weiss. “This is the way you have to follow the law. You’re expected. You’re held to a higher standard when you’re elected.”
Sam Parker was Chesterfield County sheriff for ten years. Sometimes flamboyant. Sometimes unorthodox. Certainly controversial. As he prepares for prison, his tenure and legacy are still hard for many friends, neighbors, and former constituents to put into perspective.
“He’s done a lot of wonderful things for this county. I mean, you know, he’s upgraded it. You know I think that was good but…” says Tammy Adams.
“He done a lot, you know, as sheriff. You know he straightened out some things around here. People might not realize it, but he took care of some business now,” says her husband, Robert.
There is no word yet on if Sam Parker will appeal his conviction. The former sheriff is being transferred to the state prison in Columbia.
