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A Winnsboro man has reached a settlement with the Town of Winnsboro concerning his wrongful arrest in 2006 on charges that he committed armed robbery.

Shane Wilson filed a civil suit against the town after the criminal case actually was dismissed by Sixth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Ronnie Maxwell in December 2009.

The armed robbery of the old Cato’s store in Winnsboro took place in 2004.

In 2006 a warrant was served for Wislon’s arrest because a witness came forward at that time to claim that he had stolen money from the Cato’s register.

However, Wilson said there were in consistencies in her testimony.

Furthermore, in a sworn affidavit ,former Winnsboro Public Safety Patrolman Allen Lane McCoy, now with the Anderson City Police Department but worked in Winnsboro at the time of Wilson’s arrest, stated that, “the guy in the video is definitely not Shane Wilson; the depiction of the robbery suspect in the video was different from the suspect depiction in the sketch/flyer…. I am an honest person and I know what armed robbery carries. If Shane Wilson did the armed robbery, I would be the first to identify him, but the man in the Cato’s video is not him.”

Though the Cato’s store robbery and arrest occurred before Maxwell began his assistant solicitor position, he examined old cases as part of his duties and did not feel there was enough evidence for this one to proceed to trial.

Within three months of the assistant solicitor dismissing the charges, Wilson filed a civil lawsuit against Kenneth Tolbert, the arresting officer, and against the Town of Winnsboro.

A settlement was reached this July before the case ever went to trial.

Wilson, who grew up in Winnsboro, says he wants to make sure his name is cleared from the incident as he seeks to get his life back on track in this small town.

Court documents reveal additional testimony from an eyewitness to the robbery who stated emphatically that the robber was not Wilson.

He is thankful to have this matter resolved in civil court.

Wilson said he holds no ill feelings toward the Town, noting that the offending officer no longer is employed by the town nor is the man who was police chief in 2006.

Wilson merely wants to put this matter behind him and to move forward with the support of his family.