in September to making a false statement to a federally insured institution. He admitted that he and business partner Danny Lee Beard Jr. applied for a $75,000 commercial loan from Town Country National Bank in Camden in November 2019.
Beaverstock sentenced Norris to five years on probation. Defense attorney Gordon Armstrong told FOX10 News that is a significant punishment for someone who until two years ago was Clarke County’s top law enforcement officer. Armstrong noted that his client has not admitted wrongdoing involving those other loans and that he repaid the loan that was the subject of the guilty plea before the grand jury even issued the indictment. He said none of the loans had anything to do with his position as sheriff and that he had no legal authority over Wilcox County, where the bank is located.
Several people testified on Monday to vouch for the defendant’s character, and Armstrong supplemented it with a lengthy sentencing memorandum. According to Armstrong’s sentencing memo, Norris grew up poor in Clarke County. His father and grandfather worked as loggers for Scotch Lumber Co., and the future sheriff worked for the same company during high school. Norris also drove a school bus at age 16, delivering his fellow students to Clarke County High School each day, while also working in the meat department of a Thomasville market.