Pubdate: Mon, 20 Dec 2004 Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN) Copyright: 2004 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. Contact: http://www.knoxnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226 Author: Scott Barker Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States) LOUDON DEPUTIES PLEAD INNOCENT LOUDON -- Two Loudon County Sheriff's Department deputies pleaded innocent to extortion charges today in Criminal Court. Also, 9th District Attorney General Scott McCluen is recusing himself from prosecuting Chief Deputy Tony Aikens, 46, and Deputy Paul E. Curtis, 35. It was announced before Judge E. Eugene Eblen that McCluen was stepping down. McCluen said last week that he would seek a special prosecutor outside his office to handle the case. More than 200 people, including a host of uniformed deputies, crowded the second-floor courtroom in the Loudon County Courthouse. Aikens and Curtis were indicted Dec. 14 on charges of coercing Eddie W. Witt of Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., into giving $9,649.25 to the Sheriff's Department's drug fund in 2002. At a press conference Dec. 15, Aikens accused McCluen of bringing a "politically motivated" case, even though the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had examined the incident and found no wrongdoing. "I had dealt with this case for many months, and it was not on the roster of cases we had prepared to present to the grand jury," McCluen told the News Sentinel last week. Aikens and Curtis are not accused of taking the money for their own use. The money was deposited in the drug fund, which is used to fund police antidrug operations. Witt, 54, listed as Eddie Whitt in Loudon County Sheriff's Department records, subsequently filed a civil lawsuit to get the money returned. Loudon County never filed an answer to the suit but settled the case by returning Witt's money and paying his legal fees. "It is never wise to jump the gun and draw conclusions without knowing all of the facts," McCluen said of Aikens' accusation. "(Aikens and Curtis) are innocent in my eyes until proven guilty. This is clearly not politically motivated. I do not operate with that in mind, ever." McCluen said the indictment came about because Witt's attorney, Jes Beard of Chattanooga, "called last week, spoke to our witness and victim coordinators and requested an opportunity for his client to appear before the grand jury. I am not about to deny citizen access to a grand jury if they want to speak to them." Previously, the grand jury had reviewed some information about the case, but "we never presented it to the grand jury for indictment," McCluen added. The grand jury heard the presentation, "and requested that I draw an indictment, which I did," McCluen said. He said he has the option to nolle pros the case, or dismiss it, but "out of respect for the action of the grand jury" will not do so. He will let it be decided in court. Aikens' attorney, Scott Jones, described McCluen's account as "disingenuous," and said he still believes the case is politically motivated. "I don't think Scott McCluen can divorce himself from all of this by saying, 'Oh, I just signed off on a document,' " Jones said. "The reality is that the grand jury acts as a functionary of the attorney general's office. For all intents and purposes, the DA controls what is presented to a grand jury and acts as a filtering agent. Otherwise you would have every Tom, Dick and Harry taking something to the grand jury." Beard told the News Sentinel that he called McCluen's office after much time had passed and no action was taken against Aikens and Curtis. "(McCluen) made it clear he was just getting out of our way and letting us present our case," Beard said. "He could have made (it difficult for us) if he had wanted too." "My goal and Eddie's goal, was to get (Aikens and Curtis) criminally charged," Beard said. "I want to see them in prison, and so does Eddie. We would also like to see the law changed. The forfeiture and seizure laws not only allow law enforcement to shake folks down, they encourage it, and it is perfectly legal." Money or property suspected of being tied to the drug trade can be seized and held, pending a Tennessee Department of Safety Hearing. A seizure may be avoided by settlement, also subject to Safety Department approval. A settlement does not prevent or require officers to file criminal charges. The agencies may keep the property even if they never file a charge. On June 20, 2002, Curtis stopped Witt for a traffic violation. A handgun, a switchblade knife and a bank bag containing $19,649.25 were in the car. A drug dog "alerted" on the car, but no drugs were found. Witt was charged with several traffic and weapons offenses, which are still pending in court. The next day, according to Aikens, Witt initiated an offer by which his car and $10,000 of the money would not be seized in exchange for the balance of the cash going into the drug fund. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin