OXFORD, N.C. (WNCN) – Granville County Sheriff Brindell Wilkins was indicted Monday on two counts of felony obstruction of justice, according to a news release from Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.

Wilkins is accused of obstructing “public and legal justice by withholding knowledge of a credible threat made by an individual known to the Sheriff to imminently kill Joshua Freeman,” according to court documents released.

Freeman is a former deputy, according to correspondence between Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman and Granville County District Attorney Mike Waters. Documents allege that Wilkins “failed to properly execute his duties because of his personal animosity towards Joshua Freeman.”

The document further alleged that Freeman had expressed to Wilkins the intention to disclose to authorities a purported audio recording of him using “racially offensive language.”

Documents also said Wilkins encouraged this individual “take care of it,” and “if you need to take care of somethin’, just take care of something,” and “the only way you gonna stop him is kill him.”

Wilkins is accused of further counseling the individual on how to murder “in a manner as to avoid identification.” The document quoted Wilkins as saying “you ain’t got the weapon, you ain’t got nothing to go on” and “the only way we find out these murder things is people talk. You can’t tell nobody nothin’.”

Lorrin Freeman adopted the case at the request of Waters “following a determination by Waters that he had a conflict in the matter,” the release said.

The charges are the result of a 10-month investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The FBI assisted.

Wilkins was voluntarily served with the indictments Monday afternoon. He was released on a $20,000 bond, the release said. His first court date is scheduled for Oct. 9 at 9:30 a.m. in Granville County.

There is also a second investigation concerning the sheriff’s office’s “accounting practices and controlled substance interdiction efforts.” That investigation is pending, the release said.

The Granville County Board of Commissioners called an emergency meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.

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