Billy Joe Carter, the beleaguered chief of the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department, announced today he is voluntarily resigning as chief, effective immediately. "It tears me to pieces to have to do this but I think it's the best thing for my department and the community," he said.
Carter, 34, said he will remain a member of the VFD.
"I don't have to be chief to help people," Carter said.
In recent weeks Carter has been in the news frequently.
He raised the ire of the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office when he intervened in a domestic dispute June 27. Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle has said Carter's actions that night could possibly be considered obstruction of justice. Carter has said he was trying to help a friend and fellow firefighter.
In a separate case, Carter faces a misdemeanor charge that he allegedly threatened Roanoke Fire Capt. Willie Wines Jr. during an allegedly profane phone conversation after Wines, a blogger, wrote posts that criticized Carter's actions as chief of the Buchanan VFD.
Carter said today that he regrets the phone conversation he had with Wines.
"I should have had a better head on my shoulders," he said.
And this week it emerged that Carter and another Buchanan man had sworn out warrants against each other, each charging misdemeanor assault, after an incident that occurred during a recent Buchanan festival. Carter has declined to discuss specifics of those allegations.
Carter was also an outspoken critic for months when the county decided to create a new position of director of the department of emergency services.
Copyright 2012 - The Roanoke Times, Va.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
