The trial of Brookford Police Chief Willie Armstrong is now underway in Catawba County. Armstrong faces a felony charge of altering, destroying, or stealing criminal evidence and a misdemeanor charge of willful failure to discharge duties.

Prosecutors allege Armstrong improperly altered an audio recording connected to the 1992 murder investigation of 13-year-old Isis Denise ‘Dee Dee’ Dawkins. The investigation began after allegations were reported to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office by a Brookford police officer.

According to published reports, court filings say that Armstrong maintains he only trimmed a portion of a recording that captured background audio from the television show Gunsmoke after an interview had ended. Reports say the defendant argues the interview itself was preserved in full and claims the prosecution is retaliation for his efforts to reopen the decades-old cold case and his campaign for sheriff.

The case centers on whether Armstrong intentionally altered criminal evidence or merely removed non-evidentiary audio from the recording.