VIDALIA — Charges that have been pending against Clayton Police Chief Clarence “Papa” Skipper since 2004 were dropped Wednesday.

“I feel like in the end, justice prevails,” Skipper said. “I am elated, so are my friends and family. It is a good thing for everybody.”

The charges were dropped after Seventh Judicial District Court Judge Leo Boothe granted a motion Skipper’s attorney had filed to quash the charges.

A motion to quash can be filed if the case against a defendant does not move along in a timely manner, and Skipper said that is why he filed the motion.

Assistant District Attorney Ann Siddall said the district attorney’s office has four years from the commission of any alleged felony offense to prosecute it.

Skipper was accused of malfeasance in office and public bribery in March 2004.

He was alleged to have accepted money in place of writing traffic tickets and accident reports, and he was arrested by the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office at the Concordia Parish airport.

Skipper is currently serving his third term as police chief.

“I never stopped doing what I was elected to do, and I just want to thank all of the people, all of my supporters and friends who stood behind me,” he said.

“I said I was not guilty. That was my stand on day one, and that is my stand today.”

Skipper was set to go to trial in November 2005, but the matter was continued several times, the last of which was in October 2006.