Pubdate: Wed, 02 Nov 2005
Source: Daily Reflector (Greenville, NC)
Copyright: 2005 Daily Reflector
Contact:  http://www.reflector.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1456
Author: Corey G. Johnson

BETHEL CHIEF TO STAY JAILED,JUDGE RULES

Suspended Bethel police Chief Reginald Roberts will remain jailed
while awaiting trial on drug and weapons charges, a federal judge
ruled Tuesday.

His co-defendant, Lt. Jerome Cox, can be released under house arrest
and a $100,000 bond, Judge David W. Daniel ruled during a hearing at
the Federal Courthouse in Greenville.

Citing what he determined to be Roberts' lack of financial incentive,
extensive weapons knowledge and alleged contacts with criminals,
Daniel made the ruling before a courtroom of more than 100 at the
afternoon detention hearing. He said the evidence suggesting Roberts
would be a flight risk outweighed any other concerns.

"This is a troubling case," Daniel said before he ruled. Roberts has
been suspended without pay by Bethel town commissioners.

Daniel said Cox had personal incentives -- like the upcoming birth of
a child and extensive community ties -- which mitigated some of his
concerns about the police officer running.

He ruled the Bethel police lieutenant, who also is currently suspended
from duty, could be released into his wife's custody on a $100,000
unsecured bond as early as today but cannot leave his home unless for
pre-approved court appearances, religious services and emergency
medical treatment.

Cox, who will be subjected to 24-hour electronic monitoring and
warrantless searches, cannot have contact with Roberts, the Bethel
Police Department or any employee of the town of Bethel while the case
is pending, Daniel said.

Daniel also instructed Cox not to contact the FBI's cooperative
witness, warning him that the slightest infraction would land him
behind bars.

"You're getting a break here," Daniel said. "Don't blow
it."

Tuesday's nearly two-hour court session also included a probable cause
hearing. Greenville FBI agent Donald Coward testified that his
agency's investigation of the two men began in August after a male
convicted felon -- unidentified but described as cooperative witness
- -- contacted Beaufort County narcotics detectives about a conversation
he had with Roberts. According to the man, Roberts said he wanted to
sell a kilo of cocaine that had been stored in the police department's
evidence room.

After agents listened to several subsequent recorded telephone
conversations made between the man and Roberts, they launched an
investigation.

According to Coward's testimony, Roberts had a Sept. 1 lunch meeting
with the witness, arriving at Logan's Roadhouse restaurant in
Greenville driving a silver Mercedes, with "De Man" license plates.
Roberts allegedly solicited the witness' cooperation in a scheme to
rob drug dealers. When the witness allegedly told Roberts that he
would need a gun, the police chief referred him to a Bethel police
officer.

Agents watched from a parking lot near the Bethel Police Department as
the Bethel officer sold the witness a .38-caliber semi-automatic
pistol for $250, Coward said.

The officer, someone other than Cox, did not perform a background
check before the sale, a federal violation, Coward said. Authorities
have not determined whether the Bethel police officer will be charged,
he said.

Five days later, the witness again contacted the FBI, claiming Roberts
wanted to be paid for allowing the man to participate in the drug
scheme. During a meeting in Stokes surveilled by the FBI, the man gave
Roberts $100 while in his police car, Coward said. The money was
provided by the FBI.

On Sept. 23, the witness, Roberts and Cox went to a storage unit in
Chocowinity supposedly owned by a drug dealer named "Alverez," Coward
said. After talking about potential valuables in the rented storage
unit, Roberts asked the witness to rent a unit in the facility as a
pretext.

Hidden cameras planted by the FBI, recorded Roberts waiting in a
nearby vehicle while Cox smashed open the lock to Alverez's unit with
a hammer, Coward said.

When Cox discovered $5,500 in cash stashed in a dresser and an
electronic scale, the group drove to a nearby parking lot. The witness
got $1,800. The officers took the rest, Coward said.

A month later, the witness told Roberts he needed a
gun.

Roberts, allegedly loaned the man a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol
that had been listed as stolen on the condition he return it the
following day.

When the man met Roberts outside his Winterville home to return the
weapon, Roberts sold it to him for $750, Coward said.

The next day, the two officers would be led by the witness to an
impound lot in Washington, N.C., this time to steal drugs and money
stashed in a supposed drug dealer's truck.

After Cox broke the truck's front window, Roberts supposedly found
underneath the passenger's seat a black bag containing $2,000 in cash,
10.7 grams of cocaine and an electric scale. Hidden cameras and FBI
agents monitored the event, Coward said.

Coward also testified about possible mishandling of drug evidence at
the Bethel Police Department.

During a search last week, Coward said a kilo of cocaine which was
listed on a Bethel police evidence sheet was not in the evidence room.
He said SBI agents said they never received a kilo from the Bethel
department.

Coward said drug envelopes which were supposed to be sealed were empty
and lab reports on those substances were often missing or switched
around.

Coward also said a substance that appeared to be crack cocaine was
discovered in a search of Cox and Roberts' offices.

A search of Roberts' home also turned up a briefcase that contained
substances that appeared to be cocaine and marijuana, he said.

Under cross-examination by Robert's court-appointed attorney, James
"Tony" Martin, Coward said the briefcase items had not been tested.

Martin argued there was no established evidence that the kilo even
existed, despite Coward's testimony.

The government's case now goes before a grand jury for an indictment
of the two officers. At press time, it was not known when that action
would proceed. 
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