Mecklenburg County magistrate suspended after allegations of misuse of bond money
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – A Mecklenburg County magistrate is suspended following charges of misconduct over the last year involving losing bond money and overall substandard performance in her duties.
In allegations made by the Chief District Court Judge, Robin Baxter Sabio “failed to demonstrate a minimum level of competence” in performing her duties and failed to maintain professional competence in the law and judicial administration.
The specific allegations are related to the handling of cash bonds in January. They state that:
On Jan. 6, Sabio failed to place cash and receipts from two separate bond payments of $1,788 (from Cabarrus County case) and $500 into her secure money bag.
Sabio failed to tender the cash and receipts to the Clerk of Superior Court the next business day.
On Feb. 9, when contacted by the Cabarrus County Clerk of Superior Court, Sabio reported that she had lost her money bag and didn’t know where the contents were.
On Feb. 12, a clerk in the cashier’s office notified the Mecklenburg chief magistrate that Sabio dropped off all of the cash and receipts in question. This was after she told the chief magistrate she located the cash in her laptop bag.
After the cash was submitted, the Mecklenburg Clerk of Superior Court conducted an audit of Sabio’s transactions. It determined that Sabio did not accurately record the receipt numbers in Enterprise Justice.
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Further, the allegations state Sabio missed several weeks of work following the audit. She was still scheduled to work between Feb. 12 to Feb. 28 but did not report to her scheduled shifts during that period.
She claimed in a letter on Feb. 26 that she would “continue to be under the care of a doctor” and utilized her federal Family and Medical Leave Act absences. However, Judge Trosch said she was not eligible for leave nor was she covered by the FMLA.
Sabio was sworn in on Aug. 28, 2023, and Judge Elizabeth Trosch said her level of competence failed to meet standards from Oct. 16, 2023, to Jan. 22, 2024. She also allegedly failed to attend several courses for the N.C. Basic School of Magistrates in February.
Trosch signed into order Sabio’s suspension with pay on March 8. It will last until all charges are determined.
There was a hearing for the suspension on Wednesday.
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