Albert Turner Jr., vice-chairman of the Perry County Commission and candidate for Congress, responded Tuesday to his arrest April 19 for harassment, stemming from an incident during an April 22, 2003 closed-door meeting of the commission.

A probable cause hearing was held April 16 in Marion. “It’s a dead issue,” Turner said. “…Harassment is offense communications; it’s not a touching. It proves that I didn’t beat up no woman.”

Vinnie Royster, a long time critic of Turner and the county’s plans for a Uniontown landfill, has told authorities and media that Turner had choked her and wrestled her to the floor during the 2003 meeting.

Royster was in attendance at Tuesday’s

“There was a conflict in testimony (at the probable cause hearing), therefore, that raised a probable cause for a jury to hear it.

“They found that there was no assault. That was what they (Royster) was seeking. There was no beating of no woman. Harassment is a misdemeanor.”

There is yet no court date set. Turner said in court he would be exonerated. “There’s no way they can prove harassment,” he said. “They’ve got much more important criminal cases to be dealing with than harassment cases.”

Turner will face incumbent Artur Davis in the June 1 Democratic primary for the Seventh District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Both candidates have filed financial reports with the Federal Election Commission. The Committee to Elect Artur Davis to Congress filed their State of Organization on Jan. 29 and their quarterly report April 15.

The Friends of Albert Turner filed a Statement of Organization on March 9 and a quarterly report April 15. Details of the

“We’ve filed them,” Turner said of the financial reports….We’ve just been in existence 10 days – our campaign. We filed our financial report. We mailed it.

“We’ve got to make an amendment because we made a mistake on checking one of the boxes for millionaires. So we’re in the process of amending that…for that to be accurate. We filed it on the 15th (of April) – in time.

“We just haven’t raised as much as they (the Davis campaign) have raised,” Turner said. “They’ve got all the special interest money.”

Details of Turner’s quarterly report were not yet available from the FEC web site.