No criminal charges will be filed against the man who shot and killed Swain County community leader Lambert Wilson in October 2022.
District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch announced the decision last week following an investigation she said showed South Carolina resident Leo Pruess acted in self-defense after Wilson brandished a handgun.
It took more than three months for officials to share public documents about the incident. In April, an autopsy report released by the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.
“Although we will never know exactly what occurred that night, after meeting numerous times with the district attorney and Cherokee Indian Police, we understand why the decision not to charge was reached,” Lambert’s family members said in a prepared statement shared by the District Attorney’s office.
“We have suffered a tremendous loss that the family and this community will never recover from,” the statement continued.
Wilson worked as an educator in Swain County for 31 years, serving as a teacher and principal, and eventually holding a seat on that county’s Board of Education for more than a decade, according to the Cherokee One Feather.
He also served for 13 years on the Southwestern Community College Board of Trustees, including three years as Chair of the Board.
The Long Leaf Pine Order, North Carolina’s highest civilian award, was posthumously presented to Lambert in March.
In a press release, Welch thanked Cherokee Police officers for their work, specifically lead Detective Jesse Aiken.
“The District Attorney’s Office and Cherokee Indian Police must follow the law and evidence as dictated under North Carolina’s stand-your-ground law,” Welch said in a press release. “Based on the evidence and witness accounts, we determined Mr. Preuss was legally justified in using deadly force.”
Welch also thanked Preuss and his wife for their cooperation with the State Bureau of Investigation during the process.
The couple’s blood samples showed no evidence of either alcohol or narcotics on the night of the incident. The DA’s office says that Lambert had a 0.17 blood alcohol content, according to a toxicology report.
“This tragic event has resulted in the community losing a beloved and well-respected person in Mr. Wilson,” Welch said in a press release. “Our sincere condolences go out to his family.”
