York SC code officer punches landowner in portable toilet dispute, sheriff says
A code enforcement officer in York was charged with assault Wednesday after police said he punched a landowner at a construction site in a dispute over a portable toilet, according to law enforcement officials and court documents.
Franklyn Antonio Barrera, 56, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault and battery, according to incident reports.
The landowner, who owns the land where the house is being built, told deputies that he and Barrera got into an argument that turned physical after Barrera ordered construction to stop because a portable toilet was not on site, according to the report.
Barrera was fired from his job with the city Wednesday, York City Manager Seth Duncan said in a message to The Herald.
Deputies were called Wednesday before 2 p.m. to a construction site on Education Lane inside the city of York, the report said. Deputies responded to the incident instead of York Police Department officers to avoid a potential conflict of interest because the incident involved a city employee, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.
The landowner told deputies that he had arrived at the site to check on construction when workers told him about Barrera’s order to leave “immediately.” The landowner spoke with Barrera, who was in his car, and they began a verbal argument. The landowner told Barrera he wasn’t leaving the site, the report said, and Barrera got out of his car.
“At this time the altercation became physical,” according to the report. “Barrera removed his code enforcement badge from around his neck and struck him (homeowner) several times in the head with a closed fist.”
Construction workers on scene intervened and York city police were called, the report stated.
Charged with assault
Barrera was arrested and charged at the scene, according to sheriff and court records.
South Carolina law defines third-degree assault and battery as when “a person unlawfully injures another person, or offers or attempts to injure another person with the present ability to do so.”
A conviction for the offense carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine, state law shows.
Barrera was released on a $1,087.50 personal recognizance bond, sheriff and court records show. He is required to have no contact with the victim as a condition of bond, court records show.
Court records do not show if Barrera has a lawyer. No trial date has been set.
The city of York, located west of Rock Hill and southwest of Charlotte, is the York County seat and has about 9,000 residents.
The city of York website shows the code enforcement officer works under the city’s planning and development department. The department “includes enforcement of the City’s zoning, subdivision, building and property maintenance codes.”
Barrera was listed on the York city website as the code enforcement officer through Thursday.
It is unclear Thursday how long Barrera had worked for the city.
This story was originally published December 2, 2021 at 7:08 PM.
