JEFFERSON, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff has been indicted on charges stemming from a request by a television station for public records related to his appointment to the job.

WBTV in Charlotte reports the grand jury indicted Ashe County Sheriff Terry Buchanan on three counts of felony obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor charge of willful failure to discharge duties.

The television station has been investigating Buchanan and the Ashe County Commissioners' vote to appoint him to sheriff this past January. The station submitted a request for communication records in April, and then submitted a second request in July.

At the April commission meeting, Buchanan told the board, "We don't have time for this."

The station confirmed that the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation was looking into the matter in September.

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Information from: WBTV-TV, http://www.wbtv.com/