Trial begins for Brookford police chief accused of altering evidence in 1992 cold case

BROOKFORD, N.C. — The first witnesses took the stand on Tuesday in the trial for a police chief accused of destroying evidence in a 30-year-old cold case murder.

Brookford Chief Willie Armstrong calls the charges against him politically motivated.

Channel 9’s Dave Faherty was in court and heard the arguments on Tuesday. Prosecutors say Armstrong left his cell phone behind in a home where he tried to record a man he questioned in the 30-year-old murder.

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Prosecutors say this case comes down to the importance of “trusting” law enforcement.

Armstrong wasn’t talking on his way into the justice center, where he’s on trial for the felony of altering, destroying or stealing evidence along with the misdemeanor of willful failure to discharge duties.

Both of the charges are in connection with the Brookford Police Department reopening the 1992 unsolved murder case of 13-year old Dee Dee Dawkins.

Prosecutors say Armstrong went to the home of William Crooks to question him about the case but then the chief left his cell phone behind and kept recording.

“They’re false ... they’re fabricated,” Armstrong says.

Armstrong has posted on social media that the allegations against him are untrue after he announced plans to run for sheriff in 2025.

“These people have put so much money and resources into the investigation of me that they would have put them these resources into solving this 13-year old juvenile’s case we may have could have solved it by now,” Armstrong said.

But sheriff’s deputies say they reported the allegations to the State Bureau of Investigations months before Armstrong announced plans to run for sheriff. A Brookford police officer told Capt. Michael Hoyle what had happened, and that the recording had been deleted.

In court on Tuesday, we saw family members of Dee Dee Dawkins and the Brookford mayor supporting Chief Armstrong. His attorney told jurors that what happened was a mistake.

It’s important to note that the Dee Dee Dawkins case remains unsolved.

Armstrong lost his bid for sheriff in the primary.

The judge expects the case to last 2-3 days.