Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard is spending much of Friday night in Lowndes County Adult Detention Center after turning himself in to Columbus police on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.
Police responded to a disturbance call Thursday evening at Beard’s home. Police said that during an argument with his wife, Beard fired a gun into the air and fled before officers arrived.
Beard appeared before Municipal Judge Rhonda Hayes Ellis, who ordered him booked in jail and held there until 10 p.m., according to a city press release. He will be released at that time on recognizance with orders to stay away from the victim until a hearing can be held on the case’s merits.
Beard, an independent, first took office after winning a special election in September 2019 to replace Fred Jackson, who had resigned. Beard won election to his first full term in June.
He was cited in January for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, for which he publicly apologized.
The Dispatch will update this story in Sunday’s print edition.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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