Danny Mayberry says this was from an altercation with a sheriff’s deputy.
Andrews – A week in the life of 56-year-old Charles Danny Mayberry unfolded like a movie plot.
Drunken driving, a five-hour search, a struggle with police and a near-deadly crash, possibly two. Yet, this is not a tale of fiction.
Mayberry’s adventure is more of a cautionary tale for all who struggle with substance abuse, and their loved ones. It’s also a lesson for police, regardless of whether law enforcement crossed the line.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an internal affairs investigation regarding a struggle with Mayberry, which allegedly left him suffering from facial fractures, a broken nose and fractured ribs. However, the ordeal is not exactly black and white.
The following account was pieced together through 911 calls and police radio communications obtained through public records requests, along with interviews with the Mayberrys that took place before the near-deadly crash that sent Danny and his wife to the hospital with extensive injuries.
How it began
Around 9:20 p.m. Feb. 6, Danny’s wife Katherine Mayberry called emergency 911 and reported that her husband was in danger.
“My husband took my truck without my permission, and he’s been gone for a couple of hours,” Katherine told a dispatcher. “He text me just now and said, ‘Sweetie, call 911.’ I don’t know what’s going on. … He’s never sent a message like this.”
Communication between Katherine and law enforcement continued over the course of five hours. Sheriff’s deputies from Cherokee and Graham counties were dispatched to Tatham Gap Road and other areas throughout Andrews in search of her husband.
During one conversation, Katherine told dispatch that Danny left their home on U.S. 19 Business around 1 p.m. to see a probation officer. She said Danny sent her the text seeking help around 8:45 p.m.
“I’ll be honest with you, he’s drinking, and he wouldn’t want the law involved,” Katherine told dispatch. “But something has happened or he wouldn’t have text this.”
Police focused most of their search on Tatham Gap Road because a cell tower in that area kept receiving signals sent to his phone. The rain and fog provided little visibility, placing deputies in dangerous situations as they searched for Danny.
About two and a half hours into the search, deputies received information that added more confusion to the matter. A woman related to the Mayberrys told them Katherine left a key piece of information out of her story.
“She said that [Katherine] called her at 9 o’clock today stating that Danny frantically called her saying, ‘Hey I’m drunk. I just wrecked this truck and I possibly killed someone,’ ” an officer told dispatch. “She’s told three people the same story that he may have killed someone in a wreck.”
The new information caused police to worry that a passenger in the truck with Danny was dying on the side of a mountain following a crash. Police contemplated using a helicopter with thermal imaging to search for bodies, but inclement weather adversely affected flying conditions.
As a result, deputies continued their search by car and on foot. Meanwhile, dispatch notified detectives and department brass, who were asked to return to work.
Deputies initially speculated that while Katherine was genuinely searching for her husband, she was also covering up a vehicular homicide. But when they confronted Katherine about the call from her relative regarding a death, she allegedly denied saying anything to that effect.
“None of it is true,” Katherine allegedly told a deputy according to police radio communications. “If it’s coming from the Mayberry side of the family, they’re lying.”
Police then decided to interview her again, but this time at the sheriff’s office. Shortly after arriving at the building on Regal Street in Murphy, Katherine received a call from her missing husband.
“Danny just called her and said that he’s on Mission Road near Mission Dam, and he could see a tower and he’s in that truck,” dispatch told a deputy.
When the officer asked whether Danny had been in a wreck, dispatch replied, “No, but he can barely drive; he’s so drunk.”
That alleged drunken state didn’t prevent Danny from driving himself home. He pulled into his driveway about 30 minutes after Katherine received his call, according to police communication logs. A detective arrived at the property almost simultaneously, and that’s when the situation escalated.
Danny’s side of the story
The Cherokee Scout interviewed Danny and Katherine on Feb. 12, about four and a half hours before they were involved in a severe accident near the intersection of Connahetta Street and Valley River Avenue in Murphy.
During the conversation, Danny said he was “toying around” with the truck across from Hardee’s in Andrews when he lost control of the vehicle.
“I was out in the field doing donuts and stuff,” he said. “I landed on the side of a riverbank and got stuck, then the water started rising.”
When asked whether he was intoxicated while driving, Danny replied, “I had my last drink around 9:30 p.m. I only had a few beers with me, and I ran out.”
Danny said he started to text his wife after losing control of the truck, but a Good Samaritan stopped and pulled him back onto solid ground.
“Before I could finish the rest of the text, someone pulled up,” he said. “I put my phone in my holder, and I [accidentally] hit send.”
Danny implied that he went home immediately after being pulled out of the water. He said he pulled into his driveway “around midnight.” Police communication logs show he actually arrived home around 2:30 a.m.
A deputy arrived at the Mayberrys’ home around that same time.
“I got out of the truck and he said, ‘Where you been, you old (strong expletive)? We’ve been out all night looking for you,’” Danny said. “I said, ‘I was stuck.’ And he picked me up and started choking me.”
Danny said the officer eventually released his grip after he pleaded for air. He then asked the officer if he was under arrest, to which the deputy allegedly replied, “No.”
“So I said, ‘Well, I’m going in my house. I’m sorry you had to look for me tonight, but you can go back to the sheriff’s department now,’ ” Danny recalled. “I turned to walk off from him, and that’s when he grabbed me and hit me.”
A witness related to the Mayberrys was sitting in a truck in the driveway at the time of the confrontation. That witness told the Scout the deputy grabbed Danny after he resisted further questioning.
“Danny just wanted to go back home,” the witness said. “He said he didn’t want to talk. The officer grabbed him and said, ‘No.’ And Danny tried to resist. Danny tried to get away from him, but the officer grabbed him.”
When asked to further explain the struggle, the witness said, “Danny tried to resist ... like shook him or something ... he just, like, tried to throw his hands off of him. The officer said, ‘If you ever touch me again, your face will be smashed up against that concrete.’ ”
The witness said he never saw the deputy throw a punch. After the officer released Danny and walked back toward his patrol car, the witness climbed back in his own vehicle, while “Danny went back in the house,” he said.
Police communications show the deputy indeed walked back to his car following what may have been a struggle with Danny. During a conversation with a fellow officer, the deputy seems to be breathing heavily. After the officer asks whether he is “all right,” the deputy replies, “I’m fine. He’s belligerent.”
Police communications show a patrol car containing two deputies arrived on scene about two minutes after Danny and the first deputy arrived. About 15 minutes later, paramedics were dispatched to treat a laceration on Danny’s face. Police communications do not indicate how the laceration occurred.
Severe crash
Around 6:35 p.m. Feb. 12, Danny and Katherine were among four people injured in a three-car pileup in Murphy. Officials say Katherine was driving with Danny as a passenger when she blew through a stop sign and never hit the brakes prior to a collision with another vehicle. Police say neither Katherine nor Danny were wearing a seatbelt.
Both Mayberrys are in the intensive care unit as of the Scout’s press time Tuesday. Katherine suffered multiple broken bones. Danny suffered two punctured lungs, multiple broken ribs and facial fractures, according to Murphy police.
Police also found alcohol in the vehicle, and medical personnel found drugs on Katherine while loading her into an ambulance that night. Officials say charges are pending.
Chief Deputy Joe Wood of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the alleged confrontation between Danny and a deputy. It’s unclear whether the struggle was caught on tape.
“A report was filed for excessive force during an arrest,” Sheriff Derrick Palmer said. “There is an internal investigation going on.”
The District Attorney’s Office and State Bureau of Investigation have been notified about the matter.