Wilmington City Council member responds to contempt of court charge

Wilmington City Council member Kevin Spears, who has been charged with contempt of court, responded Tuesday night.

"Freedom of speech is not always free, and I'm a Black man in America so there's always a high probability that I could end up in jail," Spears said. "And that is not necessarily my issue, but more so America's issue."

Spears, 47, was charged with criminal contempt of court on Monday, according to the Columbus County Detention Center.

Judge Heath Nance found Spears to be in contempt of court, according to the case details. District Attorney Jon David confirmed Spears' charge was related to his conduct in a child support hearing.

Spears refused "to answer basic questions about his own exhibits," continued "to ask questions to opposing counsel...which showed a lack of respect to the proceedings," and "he voiced continued irrelevant banter...which he was already warned was...improper" during witness testimony, according to the criminal contempt order provided by the Columbus County Clerk's Office. The order was filed at 12:37 p.m. Monday in Columbus County District Court.

Spears was held in the Columbus County Detention Center for 24 hours, according to Ashley Strangman, executive assistant to the district attorney.

Spears addressed the situation at Wilmington City Council's meeting Tuesday.

"I would ask a question of what does irrelevant banter mean and to whom? And how is any banter about a person's life irrelevant?" Spears said.

He also said he had a busy morning and wanted to thank Judge Heath Nance from the Columbus County Detention Center for helping him to shine a light on issues of jail overcrowding, clean and safe conditions for inmates and staff and better access to resources.

Finally, Spears said he wanted to thank everyone who has been supportive of him.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Kevin Spears, Wilmington city councilman, charged in Columbus County