Former Sampson County Fire Chief Convicted

Case involved theft of money from Autryville Fire Department

By Robert Jordan
Daily Record of Dunn

SAMPSON COUNTY – A former fire chief of the Autryville Volunteer Fire Department was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay nearly $65,000 in restitution for stealing money from his own department over a period of 14 years.

Thirty-six-year-old Andrew Paul Hawkins pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges involving theft from the Autryville department in Sampson County Superior Court on Monday. The alleged offenses indicated $64,904.55 had been misappropriated by Hawkins for his personal use.

Judge Henry L. Stevens IV accepted the plea and sentenced Hawkins to a period of six months to 17 months prison confinement, but suspended that sentence and placed Hawkins on probation, instead.

The court ordered Hawkins to remain away from the Autryville Fire Department.

He was ordered to pay $64,904.55 in restitution, a $40 probation supervision fee and $355.50 in superior court costs for a total of $65,300.05.

The court stipulated that once all restitution is paid in full, Hawkins may petition the court to be removed from probation.

Missing money, rising costs

The case started when the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from Autryville Volunteer Fire Department’s Board of Directors President Pittman Horne and Treasurer Lawrence Bernstein in 2022. The two noted a large amount of money missing from the department’s account. SCSO investigators conferred with Sampson County District Attorney Ernie Lee and joined Sheriff Jimmy Thornton in contacting the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for help investigating the complaint on Aug. 31, 2022.

Hawkins was a volunteer firefighter with the department prior to being selected its chief in 2016.

The board provided him with a bank card and a WEX card to use for fuel purchases. The bank card through PNC Bank was supposed to be used for emergencies, for rehabilitation supplies on fire scenes and for supplies for the fire department, according to a release from Lee’s office Monday. All major purchases required board approval.

The fire department employed a certified public accountant from Stedman to maintain the books and finances for the department. Discrepancies were noticed in the financial records.

Unauthorized purchases of gasoline for Hawkins’ personal vehicles in the amount of $4,187.22 were noted in the investigation along with unauthorized cash withdrawals by Hawkins on the bank card, according to Lee.

In August 2022, Hawkins reportedly admitted to the board of directors he had taken the money and offered to pay it back.

Lee’s release noted that other fraudulent actions were discovered during the investigation:

• “Hawkins purchased a golf cart from Victory Lane Golf Carts for personal use in the amount of $2,587.25 on the AVFD bank card and this purchase was not authorized by the AVFD.  
• “Hawkins leased a Kubota tractor from Cumberland Tractor using an AVFD card in the amount of $7,729.20 for personal use and this lease was not authorized by AVFD.  
• “Two payments were made for veterinary services with Riverside Animal Hospital in Fayetteville, NC in the amount of $555.90 and these vet bills (were) for two dogs owned by Hawkins.  
• “There were additional unauthorized charges on the AVFD card by Hawkins for personal items through Amazon and Lowe’s Home Improvement that were not authorized by the AVFD.  
• “There were numerous payments to BJ Williamson Gas of Clinton, NC for propane on the AVFD card for over $1,500 that were not authorized.  
• “Tires purchased from Kwik Change Tire and Auto in Fayetteville for Hawkins’ personal vehicles were charged to AVFD in the amount of $2,150 that were not authorized by the AVFD.   
• “The investigation (also) showed the purchase of services through Watkins Land Management in Fayetteville using AVFD funds for land clearing of defendant’s personal property the amount of $4,150.”

All of these transactions were “done without the consent, authorization, or approval of the AVFD Board of Directors or AVFD with the intent to go away with, embezzle, and convert to defendant’s own use after said money had been delivered to be kept for his employer’s use, AVFD, with intent to steal and defraud the defendant’s employer, the AVFD,” Lee noted in his release.

Hawkins was arrested in December 2023 on charges of: obtaining property by a false pretense on June 1, 2022;  committing three counts of larceny by an employee on June 9, 2020; committing four counts of larceny by an employee on April 3, 2020; committing three counts of larceny by an employee on Oct. 1, 2008; and committing three counts of larceny by an employee on Oct. 1, 2019.

The false pretense charge consisted of Hawkins reporting he had worked hours with the department that he didn’t really work between July 2016 and June 2022, according to Lee. “This amount was more than $24,000.”

From firefighter to felon

“The defendant had no prior criminal record and now due to his actions, he is a convicted felon with 13 Class H felony convictions on his record,” Lee wrote.

“This was a complex case involving financial records, receipts, and reports,” he added. “This case was investigated with the cooperation of the Autryville VFD Board of Directors” and with the help of Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton and the NCSBI.

Hawkins was indicted by a Sampson County Grand Jury on Dec. 5, 2023 and an order for his arrest was issued the same day. The indictments were served on Hawkins on Dec. 8, 2023 and he was ordered held on a $2,000 secured bond. The defendant posted bond the same day and was released pending a court appearance.

The accused was arraigned in Sampson County District Court on Feb. 5, 2024, nearly two years before his plea in court on Monday.