Pubdate: Mon, 11 Sep 2006
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2006 The Charlotte Observer
Contact:  http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78
Author: Andrea Weigl, (Raleigh) News & Observer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption - United States)

RURAL DEPUTIES FACE CORRUPTION CASE

Prosecutors Allege Kidnapping, Theft, Drug-Dealer Protection

Six men, some of them drug dealers, drove north from Robeson County in
southeastern N.C. a couple of years ago to kidnap two Virginia men,
prosecutors say. The would-be kidnappers thought the Virginia men had
$450,000 in cash hidden inside a black Chevrolet van.

At a gas station in Norfolk, Va., prosecutors say, the men jumped out
of a red, four-door sedan with badges around their necks and guns in
their hands, yelling that they were the police.

In fact, two of those eventually charged were in law enforcement --
deputies with the Robeson County Sheriff's Office.

The deputies also were on the payroll of the drug dealers, according
to an attorney for one of the deputies.

Corruption in law enforcement has long been suspected in Robeson
County, which is plagued by a high murder rate and a widespread drug
problem fed by trafficking along Interstate 95.

Robeson ranks 21st in population among North Carolina's 100 counties,
but its sheriff's department ranks first in the state in cash received
per capita as part of the federal drug forfeiture program in the past
three years.

History of Trouble

In 1988, Robeson captured headlines when Native American activists
Eddie Hatcher and Timothy Jacobs took employees hostage at the
Robesonian newspaper in Lumberton. The men demanded an investigation
into local and state officials' involvement in drug trafficking.Almost
two decades later, the Robeson County Sheriff's Office has been roiled
by state and federal investigations that have led to charges against
nine former deputies involving arson, assault, drug trafficking,
robbery and kidnapping dating back to 1997.

That includes the February 2004 kidnapping, where prosecutors say two
deputies helped drug dealers handcuff the Virginia men, cover their
eyes with duct tape, load them into the van and head south along I-95.
When one hostage complained about his handcuffs being too tight, he
was shot in the leg. When the caravan stopped for gas in Selma, the
two men escaped.

Selma police didn't know what they had stumbled upon. But a year
later, one of the drug dealers implicated the two deputies. At the
same time, federal and state agents were investigating deputies in the
drug unit in the Robeson sheriff's office.

One former deputy has admitted taking about $150,000 during traffic
stops along I-95. Another admitted embezzling $25,000 from the
office's drug asset forfeiture fund. Prosecutors are trying to seize a
Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a Ford truck that they say another
deputy purchased with stolen money.

Arson, Theft, Drug Dealing

The deputies in the drug unit were investigated as part of a federal
and state inquiry called "Operation Tarnished Badge." Among the many
criminal charges are allegations of setting fire to people's homes and
businesses, stealing tens of thousands of dollars seized during
traffic stops, and paying informants with drugs. In one incident, a
deputy is accused of giving an informant two trash bags full of marijuana.

"You just almost cannot make up the litany of things that it appears
this drug unit had been doing for years," said Raleigh lawyer Joseph
B. Cheshire V, who represented one of the nine deputies who have faced
charges.

Defense lawyers who represented drug defendants in Robeson County say
their clients had been telling them for years that the drug unit's
deputies were taking a cut of the seized cash.

"The first time you hear that, you are skeptical," said Lumberton
lawyer Carlton Mansfield. "The second time, you think this guy must
have talked to the last guy. The third time, you wonder if there is a
school out there for drug dealers. The fourth time, you wonder, 'What
are those guys doing?' " Mansfield said he expressed his concerns to
then-Sheriff Glenn Maynor in the late 1990s, but nothing happened.
Maynor, who resigned in 2004 citing health problems, did not respond
to interview requests.

Sheriff Ken Sealey, who came into office in 2005, did not return
repeated phone calls.

The two deputies who were accused of taking part in the Virginia
kidnapping were not members of the drug unit. They investigated crimes
involving juveniles. One of the two, Patrick Ferguson, has pleaded
guilty to his role in the kidnapping and is cooperating with
investigators, said his lawyer, Robert Nunley.

Here is how Nunley says the deputies assisted drug dealers: Tipped off
by local dealers, the deputies would conduct traffic stops on people
delivering drugs to the dealers. The deputies would seize the drugs,
deliver them to the dealers and be paid for their efforts, Nunley
said. At other times, the dealers would have the deputies stop people
who had made their drug deliveries and been paid in cash. The deputies
would seize the cash, return it to the dealers and get paid, Nunley
said.

Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt said more criminal
charges are possible.

Britt said his staff had to dismiss charges against as many as 300
drug defendants because they cannot prosecute crimes based on the
testimony of indicted deputies. They have discovered one man who was
wrongfully convicted in a drug case, Britt said.

Britt says suspicions rose as the deputies appeared to be living
beyond their means.

"They were not making a lot of money at the Sheriff's Office --
$30,000, $35,000 a year," Britt said. "But they were living lifestyles
that exceeded their apparent incomes."

[sidebar]

CASES INVOLVING ROBESON COUNTY DEPUTIES

Charles Thomas "C.T." Strickland: Former head of the drug unit. Strickland's
lawyer, Joe Zeszotarski Jr. of Raleigh, said, "His plea is not guilty, and
he looks forward to going to trial."

Roger Hugh Taylor: Former drug unit deputy. "What he has to say is he is not
guilty," said his lawyer James Parish. "He cared very much about being a
deputy. He took it very seriously. He considered it an honorable calling."

Steve Ray Lovin: Former drug unit deputy. Durham lawyer Jeff Welty said,
"The government is painting with too broad a brush. Steve Lovin is a
straight arrow. We're looking forward to our day in court and to clearing
his name."

The trio face federal charges of stealing tens of thousands of dollars
from a fund that held the agency's share of seized drug money, of
stealing money and property during illegal searches, of committing
arson and distributing drugs. All three are scheduled for trial in
December.

Taylor also faces state charges of felony obstruction of justice and
conspiracy to obstruct justice for what prosecutors say was lying to
investigators about his failure to turn in a seized handgun as evidence.

Vincent Sinclair: Former juvenile crimes investigator is charged in state
court in the kidnapping of the two Virginia men, the kidnapping of another
man who was held until a $150,000 ransom was paid, the kidnapping and
robbery of three others and assault. Sinclair's lawyer did not return
messages.

Patrick Terrell Ferguson: Former juvenile crimes investigator pleaded guilty
to two federal charges for his role in the kidnapping of the two Virginia
men. Ferguson's lawyer, Robert Nunley, said Ferguson is cooperating with
investigators.

Joey Brian Smith: Former drug unit deputy pleaded guilty in federal court to
misappropriating about $4,000 from a sheriff's office fund that held the
agency's share of seized drug money. He has agreed to testify against the
others.

James Owen Hunt: Former drug unit deputy pleaded guilty in federal court to
stealing more than $150,000 during traffic stops along I-95. He has agreed
to cooperate and testify.

Kevin Rudolph Meares: Former drug unit deputy pleaded guilty in federal
court to stealing $25,000 from a sheriff's office fund that held the
agency's share of seized drug money. He also has agreed to testify.

J.W. Jacobs: Former deputy pleaded no contest to a state misdemeanor charge
of failing to discharge his duties. He was accused of failing to report the
seizure of a handgun.
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