Personnel Action Taken Against Four Oaks Officer Amid SBI Investigation

36 Comments

1. This certainly asks more questions than it answers.

   What is actually going on here?

   • The town could not financially afford to continue to hold her position. Reducing rank to officer and not paying her allows them more freedom to operate. They are not actually saying that she is guilty, but not saying that she is innocent either. She did violate the law and policy if she used her electronics to look up information for personal knowledge or personal gain. That could result in termination and/or criminal charges from the state.

   • I pray that this can be solved.

2. Time to open that bag and spill them beans. The bloodhound is on your trail!

3. This is really sad. There have been no charges filed and yet she is reduced in rank and had her paid leave taken away. I get it though. Four Oaks is holding that position, and paying her, while she is not able to work. The town could not continue to do that financially.

   You would think that after 22 years they would have either solved the case if she was involved. They must have had some pretty strong evidence to review this case again. I’m sure that she just wants it to be over. I’m sure the family of the victim does too.

   If she did it, then she should be punished. If she used her electronics illegally or against policy then she should be punished. I’m thinking that this is a last ditch effort to solve this case. She’s a good person now who cares about helping others.

   • This is really sad that someone has been free for 22 years to live their life and carry on as if nothing ever happened while the victims family has had to live with a void that cannot be filled. I’m sure the victims family would love for the cowardly person who is responsible for their sons death to come forward and face justice so this nightmare could be over for them. If as you say she were responsible and wanted it to be over she would come forward and give this family the peace they deserve. I’m sure I read in another article that she did use her work computer to access information on this case. That doesn’t appear to be the actions of an innocent person. I noticed you said she’s a good person now but the question remains was she a good person then??? 🤔

     • Possibly. I didn’t know her then. And, she has not been convicted of anything in 22 years. So, a reasonable person would think that maybe she is innocent until proven guilty? A lot people just want this to be over. They want someone convicted of the crime. Sometimes emotions get in the way and people just want anyone to be deemed guilty and convicted even if they are not guilty. It will provide closure, even if it’s wrong.

       The point of my post is that people need to let the SBI/Garner PD do their investigation and stop with the hypotheses of what they think, what they heard, or what they feel happened. Only the people there that day and God know what truly happened. If she’s guilty then let the justice system do its work.

   • I feel like if she was a good person who cares about helping others she would go talk to my detective and talk about the night my brother was murdered. Except she’s not talking smells a little guilty to me.

     • I’m sorry that you and your family have had to endure the pain and suffering of losing a loved one. That being said, just because someone doesn’t talk doesn’t mean they are guilty. That’s an assumption. Maybe she really has no factual knowledge of it. Maybe she does and is hiding it, which is never ok. I pray that you guys get the closure you deserve. The person(s) who did this will get judgement either here and/or when they meet Jesus.

   • “Caring” now for others doesn’t diminish her role in a murder. As a cop she should know she isn’t above the law. She should’ve been fired the second she looked up information she had no business accessing. I have zero sympathy for her whatsoever, your name doesn’t appear in a 22 year old cold case for no reason… the family deserves justice and closure. Letting her walk because of her status, doesn’t set a great example for our community. Sure you can cry all you want that she’s innocent until proven guilty, but when she has all of garner up her a** and she refuses to clear her name or even talk to detectives in the first place, that screams guilty to me 🤷🏻‍♀️ Why don’t you ask what her **** of ***** is?? Might get you a glimpse into that perfect past of hers…

   • How about if she has nothing to hide, she goes and talks to the police!!! And if you are a good person, you always want to help others! What kind of absurd comment is that! I’m sure if your loved one was murdered you would want answers also!

4. What in tarnations is going up with the piggies in joco. You got Four oaks with this mess and the baconators in benson raping people and breaking into their houses.

   • Your comment adds no value or baring in this conversation. Please find a hobby.

     I pray they solve this case so the family can have some sort of closure. If she is guilty, she’s the worst kind of human being hiding behind a badge.

5. Just another day out here in the country with the craziest things going on around us in JoCo

6. I did not realize that the whole “Innocent until proven guilty” or even charged in this case, has been lost. I guess until you know what it feels like to be innocent and be railroaded by investigators and have your job and financial stability taken away because of a lie told by a disgruntled ex would tend to believe they are the investigators, judge and jury. Would you hire an attorney if you were being pushed and knew the domino effect of the alleged accusations? My bet is that you most certainly would. Who says she was even the driver? Well, other than the ex…who is obviously still bitter that she left, had his paternity rights removed and was jailed for domestic assault and disregarded multiple restraining orders. If you are going to armchair investigate, do it! Pretty easy to figure out who the ex is and what his “public” criminal records show.

   You might also look up the definition of slander.

   I certainly hope that the family finds closure. Josh’s death is a tragedy and the family deserves to know what happened. I am not discounting this at all. But perhaps you should think a bit deeper than the “facts” reported. I have lots of questions, and you should too.

   I hope this case gets solved. I hope the perpetrators face consequences. But let’s keep the witch hunt in check. Maybe she has told her story multiple times to law enforcement and actually doesn’t have anything more to add.

   And the whole her story changed from her initial statement to now. Let me ask you how many specific details you recall after 22 years. Anyone?? And honestly, the police have changed their story a few times as well…homicide…hit and run…back to homicide. Which is it?? What exactly are you investigating today? I don’t envy those trying to figure things out. I’m sure there was a ton of teenage gossip to sort through.

   I hope the investigation teams are doing their jobs correctly and certainly not basing their entire efforts on hearsay from someone who had many reasons to be vindictive.

   Think. Don’t blindly be led. That’s all I am encouraging you to do.

   • ALL SHE HAS TO DO IS GO TALK TO THE POLICE!!! It’s her FREE WILL TO DO THAT! Then she can put to rest all the allegations that are being said about her! SHE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS THE POWER TO CLEAR HER NAME IF SHE HAS DONE NO WRONG!!! So why doesn’t she speak up???

   • You are absolutely absurd to think that Megan didn’t participate in the same lifestyle choices that makes said witness an “unreliable” source. If she’s so innocent why not take the time to clear her name? She’s a detective, and a good person now 🤣🤣 her word should mean something then, right?? The truth shall set you free 🙂

   • You are making too much sense. They won’t believe anything you say because they think you are siding with her, when actually you are siding with the law and due process. Too many people on here acting on emotion and what they feel or believe should happen. You throw facts at them, such as the ex’s domestic and criminal history but they don’t acknowledge it or they diminish it because they are wanting it to be her so badly.

     • You are correct, but the struggle is real to try and encourage solid and fair thinking. And I get it, in a similar situation I might grasp onto the first person that appears guilty.

       I still have questions about this case and have some trouble even understanding what everyone is saying happened. It seems odd to me that someone(s) could orchestrate this attack at the very moment that his friend went back to the house for a CD. From what I hear, the friend was only gone a few minutes. How would someone know the exact moment that he would be a) walking down the street, and b) would be alone. To be clear, I am not saying this couldn’t or didn’t happen, but the circumstances lead ME to wonder.

       #teamtruth

       • My heart truly does go out to those tied to the victim, especially his family. To lose a loved one in such a senseless manner and not have anyone held accountable for it adds pain that can’t be described.

         I have some of the same questions. People keep saying that there is all of this extra information about the case that we don’t know, yet nobody will share what that information is. Hopefully they have shared it with investigators and the information has been followed up on.

         With the timing and circumstances surrounding the actual death, it does make you wonder if it was in fact an accident, a set up, or the killer(s) were watching him. I don’t want to speculate because none of us were there, but I’m sure the investigators have looked at it from every angle. Either way, someone was responsible and I hope they find whoever it was.

7. so she had been questioned of a murder in 2006 and the town of four Oaks hired in 2024? One would have to beg the question why would they hire someone that’s being investigated in connection with a death?

   • Do you think possibly she might not have been honest about being questioned about that?! I’m sure that’s not something that automatically pops up in a resume!!!

     • Pretty lengthy background check when applying for a law enforcement job. Seems to me like the four oaks pd would have been more thorough. Maybe they just check resumes……

       • Just to be clear, this was reopened AFTER she was hired. There have also been a handful of police officers in JOCO that have slipped through the cracks because of improper background checks. Crooked cops do exist, it would be a perfect cover for murder if you ask me…

8. ONCE AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU PEOPLE, she has the free will to clear her name by speaking to the police!!! NO ONE HAS FORCED HER!!! She has not spoken to them at all. GO IN TELL HER SIDE OF THE STORY, AND PUT AN END TO ALL OF THIS!!! THAT SIMPLE!!!

9. Potter needs to go talk to the investigators and tell the truth. Get it off her conscience. Maybe she’s protecting someone else. A family member. Her not talking is shady. If I’m innocent and know nothing I would cooperate.

10. If you have been told that she hasn’t spoken with both the Garner Investigator and the (previous) SBI Investigator, you have been lied to. How else would they make a statement that “points of her story has changed”. They can certainly still request to speak with her through her attorney.

    • Well with out a doubt you are team Megan!!! I’m sorry, my son died for a stupid reason!!! I would like to get to the bottom of this! Hiring a lawyer to me means she is afraid she is going to say something that will incriminate her. Just a thought, not a fact!!! I hope you do realize he was a human being that we lost! Look at your loved ones, and think what it would be like to lose one of them for no reason!!! It’s a bit hard to live with!!!

      • I am truly sorry for your loss. If you read my initial comment, I said the same. I never said that your son died for no reason, or anything remotely close to that. I do hope that you and your family find the truth and have closure.

        What I did say is that there are many things that should be considered in due process. We (public) don’t have all of the facts of this investigation, nor should we, especially seeing how quickly some will condemn and criticize based on very little information about a case and how many will spread rumors and shame someone with few facts.

        I am sorry if you feel that I have not been considerate of your loss. There was no malicious intent behind my comments.

    • I really don’t know why I’m responding to you. You have your thoughts and opinions. And I’m going to let you have them! We all have that right!!

11. You guys are really letting your emotions get the best of you in this. I might be the same way if this had happened to my loved one. It is a very tragic thing that should never have happened and I pray for you and your family.

    That being said, again, if she is guilty then she should pay for it. She definitely will when she stands at the gates of Heaven and has to talk about her sins, IF she is guilty. Nobody on here is saying that she shouldn’t be punished if guilty. I can only speak for myself in saying that it has been 22 years, she has spoken with investigators in the past (several articles saying that her story has changed when talking to them) and she has not been convicted. If there was enough evidence to do so, they would have issued a warrant and brought her in for questioning and the arrest process.

    Take yourself out of the situation for a second. I know it’s hard because it was your loved one, but just try. Now put yourself in her shoes. The rumor mill is telling everyone you did it. Your ex, who has a lengthy criminal history and is scorned from being left due to his violent and criminal behavior, comes out and says you did it. People believe him because, again, the rumor mill says you did it. I’ve lived in the Wake/Johnston area my whole life and know the ins and outs of which towns were small and had people in positions that made things happen. I even know some of the ones involved in this case that could never get their stories straight. Would you want this to happen to you if you were her and didn’t do it? Reputation ruined. Career close to ruined. Walking around having everyone looking at you like you are a hardened criminal and disrespected the badge and community trust. Remember the telephone game in school? I would almost guarantee that this story has had things added to it and maybe even taken away from what really happened. I know because it happened at a high school in Raleigh. A friend of mine provided a gun to someone who ended up shooting and killing an innocent person at a fight. By the time we got to school the next day, the rumor was that my friend had shot the person, fled from police, and shot at them while fleeing, which none of that was true. It was conjured up like so many other rumors.

    It seems like everyone wants someone to blame and she is the only one currently mentioned in the investigation. What about the others that were supposedly with her when this happened? Is anyone blaming them or trying to ruin their career without factual basis?

    • I understand playing devils advocate, but there’s no redemption in this one. Rumor mill or not, if I was completely innocent and my name was being blasted all over town, I’d work my butt off proving my innocence. Especially as a detective, I’d put in overtime trying to find who actually caused all this senseless heartache. I appreciate the innocence in your belief that her being a cop automatically makes her a great person, but that’s not reality. Whether her role in Josh’s murder is true or not, she’s made plenty of poor choices that in my book make her a shi***y person regardless. Slapping a badge on a steaming pile of sh*t doesn’t change what it actually is 🤷🏻‍♀️”bitter” ex husband also seems like a stretch, if she was the one searching him out. Sure he may not have the best track record… but guess who spent a lot of time together?!! I can promise you she was just as sketchy. As for the “others” it would’ve been so easy to turn them in, Why not do that to prove your innocence??

      • Learn to read and comprehend what I am saying. You are making an assumption that she is guilty. It’s innocent until proven guilty. Just because someone doesn’t talk about it doesn’t make them guilty. You obviously do not understand how investigations and the criminal process works. Again, since you are having difficulty understanding this, there has to be factual basis you know, probable cause, to arrest someone and charge them with a crime. All that everyone on here is going off of is simply hearsay and emotions because they are tied to the victim or don’t like her. If anyone on here has factual information to share, they should have done that with the detectives already. I assure you that if there was any factual information, the SBI would have already made an arrest.

        Also, what are her poor choices that you are speaking of? It’s pretty easy to put that out there without any information on your reason for thinking that she is a bad person. And bitter ex is not a stretch by any means. There are quite a few people who will tell you that ex’s lie all the time to get their spouse, former spouse, significant other, or whatever other relationship status they have, in trouble for retaliation purposes or just out of spite.

        Your “innocence” comment is cute by the way. There is not innocence in what I post. There is the law and common sense. You seem to be tied to this case in some way and just want someone charged. IF she is guilty, as I said before, she should be punished. I’m team justice, not team anyone else. Part of being team justice is being fair, impartial, and withholding judgement. Something that many of you on here don’t seem to understand.

        Finally, your comment about working overtime to find out who did it further shows your lack of knowledge on the matter. She, as a detective of Four Oaks, cannot investigate a crime outside of her jurisdiction, unless it is for a crime that happened in her jurisdiction and she is working in conjunction with another agency. I get what you are saying, but what if she did that and it interfered with the SBI and Garner’s investigation? Then she could be charged for that. It could also be misconstrued that she is trying to witness tamper or something of the like if she is guilty. And while on the topic, maybe that’s what she was doing by looking up the involved parties in the state database.

        Anyway, I know you won’t ever see that I’m actually impartial in this and only made my comments to help provoke thoughts that maybe you didn’t have before. I do pray that the person(s) involved is/are identified and charged and that the family can have some type of closure to this. And to Josh, who I didn’t know, I’m sorry that he was taken from his family.

        • Sure, you’re right. We all want someone charged. You’re also right that we’re all emotionally charged because we’re tied to the victim. I am aware that she is innocent until proven guilty, I am also aware on how law and order works. My opinions and view points don’t just come from hearsay, so at this time all I can say is we’ll have to see. I would like to mention that the working overtime comment was not a literal one, she’s currently in this mess for accessing something she had no business knowing. Of all people to solve his case, I don’t think someone questioned several times over it should be the one to do it. Regardless if she is innocent or not. I appreciate you getting us all to think and reminding us that emotion based responses just hurt us. It’s very exhausting living in an ongoing murder investigation, something I pray you never have to experience. Justice and closure is all we want.

          • I want justice and closure for you all as well. I can’t imagine what this has done to his friends and family from the initial incident to having to relive it several times over as new evidence or new leads come to light. Hang in there and know that the person may pay for it in life, but will definitely pay for it in death.

12. I dont think she’s currently in this mess for accessing something she had no business knowing.
    She is in this mess after they re-opened this case and talked to her again from a previous statement her “EX” told the police that she had information regarding Josh’s case back in what 2010. Obviously she was looking up her crazy ex. I’m sorry but I can’t say I wouldn’t have looked him up myself , ecspecially with his criminal record. Lets look at the charges of the ex .. its public information , assault on a minor, domestic violence from almost killing someone , violating a restraining order, stalking etc and then he makes a statement to law enforcement for a “tip” ?? He has also been charged with, filing a false police report, another assault on a female and arson “trying to set her house on fire maybe?? “, more assaults on a female, felony drugs etc.. the list goes on. I’m not holding a candle to anything this person has to say and if this case goes to trial .. how in the heck would anyone think he has anything CREDIBLE to say. Is anyone perfect no , we all have pasts, failed relationships etc. But the court of public opinion is just trying to string her up because they think she “knows” something. Multiple statements have been made by Mrs. Potter and obviously someone can have inconsistent statements after 22 years etc , and getting an attorney doesnt mean your hiding something , maybe watch some Dateline and see how many “innocent people hire attorneys” .