WWAY (Wilminghton)  News Director Scott Pickey said Thursday he agreed to take a defensive driving class before his next court hearing in July in an attempt to end the saga of his brief arrest during the Martin Luther King Parade.

Pickey is accused of driving onto the parade route in violation of a police officer's order to stay put. He is charged with failure to obey a traffic officer, and careless and reckless driving.

On Jan. 21, Pickey tried to leave the television station parking lot along the parade route at 615 N. Front St., when he was stopped by an officer who told him he couldn't leave, Wilmington Police Department spokeswoman Lucy Crockett said.

Crockett said Pickey ignored the officer and drove out of the parking lot onto the parade route.

He was arrested a short distance away and released from jail on an unsecured $1,000 bond.

According to WWAY, station reporters were being made to wait two hours until the parade was over before they could leave the parking lot to cover news events elsewhere.

"When Pickey got in the car and drove out of the parking lot during another break in the parade, police arrested him," WWAY reported.

Pickey said Thursday his hearing has been continued to July 2. In the interim, he has agreed with a prosecution suggestion he attend a defensive driving class.

"I'm looking forward to coming to some sort of agreement with my next court date in July," Pickey said.

​Star News