Black Mountain alderman pleads guilty to charges stemming from May arrest

A Black Mountain alderman, on Aug. 1, plead guilty to charges related to his arrest in May, according to town officials. 

Jeremie Konegni was charged by Black Mountain police in the early morning hours of May 13 with assault on a female after officers responded to a domestic disturbance at his home.

Konegni first appeared in Buncombe County District Court on May 14 to face the misdemeanor charge. His case was continued to June 27 and then to Aug. 1, when town officials learned of his conviction. The town received no additional information on the case at the time, according to town clerk Angela Reece.

Konegni has declined to comment publicly on his arrest since the incident, but did attend the regular board meetings for June and July. He did not attend the meeting in May, which was held the day he was scheduled to make his first appearance in district court related to the charge.

In June, the board of aldermen directed town attorney Ron Sneed to open an investigation regarding Konegni’s criminal charge. The matter was continued at the July meeting due to the case being a pending court matter at the time. It will be placed on the agenda for the August meeting.

Konegni received 791 votes in the aldermen race last November to win a seat vacated by Carlos Showers, who did not seek re-election (Showers was appointed to the seat vacated by current mayor Don Collins).

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.