Former school board member in court for charge of evading arrest
DOWNTOWN JACKSON — A former Jackson-Madison County School Board member pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of evading arrest and running a stop sign. Linda Pride appeared in general sessions court Tuesday morning. According to new court documents, Pride nearly hit a Madison County deputy and despite being chased did not pull over for the officer. The court papers say she pulled into a driveway to try and elude the deputy. Pride’s attorney, Mark Donahoe, disagrees. “My client takes the position that she didn’t know that, and didn’t know she was there,” he said. Reports show Pride, who is married to former circuit court judge Nathan Pride, actually called her husband while she was stopped Thursday. The deputy reports when he arrived, he asked Linda be cited for a lesser evading arrest instead of the felony count. An offense that could put a person in jail. Jackson attorney Mike Weinman said even though it is unusual that someone charged with evading arrest would not actually be arrested, it is left up to the deputies’ discretion. “The decision to issue a citation or arrest her certainly could be determined based on whether or not he’s familiar with this person and based on his knowledge whether this person poses a threat if not immediately arrested,” Weinman said. “We had hoped to resolve the case today,” Donahoe said. “However, [District Attorney] General Woodall decided that he would not prosecute the case, and he’s going to ask that another prosecutor be assigned.” Pride pleaded not guilty to both counts and is scheduled to return to court in November. WBBJ requested the dash cam video from the traffic stop. Madison County Sheriff John Mehr said it would not be released. He also declined to comment on the incident.
