STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THE OFFICE OF
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
COUNTY OF WAKE 12 DOJ 00557
Angela Louise Giles,Petitioner,
vs.
N. C. Private Protective Services Board,
Respondent. / )
))
)))) / PROPOSAL FOR DECISION
This contested case was heard before Administrative Law Judge Beecher R. Gray on March 27, 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
APPEARANCES
Petitioner appeared pro se.
Respondent was represented by attorney M. Denise Stanford.
WITNESSES
Respondent – Private Protective Services Board Deputy Director Anthony Bonapart testified for Respondent Board.
Petitioner – Larry Wilson, Account Manager for Securitas Security Service testified for Petitioner. Petitioner testified on her own behalf.
ISSUE
Whether grounds exist for Respondent to deny Petitioner’s renewal application for unarmed registration for demonstrating intemperate habits or lack of good moral character.
BURDEN OF PROOF
Respondent has the burden of proving that Petitioner lacks good moral character or has demonstrated intemperate habits. Petitioner may rebut Respondent’s showing.
STATUTES AND RULES APPLICABLE TO THE CONTESTED CASE
Official notice is taken of the following statutes and rules applicable to this case:
N.C.G.S. §§ 74C-3(a)(6); 74C-8; 74C-9; 74C-11; 74C-12; 12 NCAC 7D § .0700.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. The parties both stipulated on the record that notice was proper.
2. Respondent Board is established under N.C.G.S. 74C-1 et seq. and is charged with the duty of licensing and registering individuals engaged in the private protective services profession, including unarmed security guards.
3. Petitioner applied to Respondent Board for renewal of her unarmed registration. A copy of Petitioner’s application was introduced as Respondent’s Exhibit 2.
4. A copy of Petitioner’s criminal record check attached to the renewal application showed that Petitioner had pending felony possession of cocaine charges, 11 CR 056779.
5. On August 25, 2011, Petitioner pled guilty to Misdemeanor possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance and was placed on 12 months supervised probation under G.S. §90-96(a). A copy of the criminal documents showing the conviction were introduced as Respondent’s Exhibit 3.
6. According to Mr. Bonapart’s testimony, Petitioner told him that the charge arose from an incident in July 2011. She agreed to give her neighbor’s son a ride home. On the way home, she went to a grocery store where she was stopped by three marked police cars. They asked her and the neighbor’s son to exit the vehicle and asked if they could search the vehicle. Petitioner consented to the search. During the search, the police found one rock of cocaine on the floor under the passenger seat of the vehicle. Petitioner denied that the cocaine was hers. Her passenger also denied that it was his. She was placed under arrest and charged with possession.
7. Petitioner testified that Mr. Bonapart’s testimony was correct and that the cocaine found in her vehicle was not hers. She chose to plead guilty under G.S. §90-96(a) in hopes of having the charge eventually discharged.
8. Mr. Wilson testified that he had known Petitioner for about thirty years, that she had been an exemplary employee, and that he was willing to hire her back, should she receive her unarmed registration.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. The parties properly are before the Office of Administrative Hearings.
2. Under G.S. §74C-12(a)(25), Respondent Board may refuse to grant a registration if it is determined that the applicant has demonstrated intemperate habits or lacks good moral character.
3. Under G.S. §74C-8(d)(2), conviction of any crime involving the illegal use, possession, sale, manufacture, distribution, or transportation of a controlled substance is prima facie evidence that the applicant does not have good moral character or temperate habits.
4. Respondent Board presented evidence that Petitioner had demonstrated intemperate habits and lacked good moral character through the guilty plea to the charge of Misdemeanor Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance.
5. Petitioner presented evidence sufficient to explain her guilty plea to the charge of Misdemeanor Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance.
Based on the foregoing, the undersigned makes the following:
PROPOSAL FOR DECISION
The North Carolina Private Protective Services Board will make the final decision in this contested case. It is proposed that the Board REVERSE its initial decision to deny Petitioner’s application for renewal of her unarmed security guard registration and grant the renewal for a one year probationary period.
NOTICE AND ORDER
The North Carolina Private Protective Services Board is the agency that will make the Final Decision in this contested case. As the final decision-maker, that agency is required to give each party an opportunity to file exceptions to this proposal for decision, to submit proposed findings of fact, and to present oral and written arguments to the agency pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 150B-40(e).
It hereby is ordered that the agency serve a copy of the final decision on the Office of Administrative Hearings, 6714 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-6714.
This the 18th day of April, 2012.
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Beecher R. Gray
Administrative Law Judge
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