HEADLINE: Missing drugs could jeopardize prosecution of cases 

DELAND -- Defense attorneys said this week the stolen narcotics from the Sheriff's Office evidence compound could be crucial to drug cases. One case could even be dismissed.

The narcotics were from six cases, four of which are still open. In some cases, a portion of the drugs were stolen, but in others all the narcotics are gone.

It's too early to tell what effect the missing drugs will have on the prosecution of these cases, said David Smith, first assistant state attorney. He said it would come down to evaluating the cases individually and the condition of the remaining evidence.

Nearly 900 grams of cocaine and several hundred pounds of marijuana were stolen from the facility by a Sheriff's Office employee, authorities say. An evidence employee has been suspended and an arrest is imminent, Sheriff Ben Johnson said last week.

Timothy W. Wallace, administrative coordinator at the facility, was suspended without pay Jan. 22 pending an ongoing internal investigation, sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. Officials would not confirm whether Wallace was the target of the criminal investigation, but none of the other full-time evidence employees have been suspended.

The theft was discovered when a sheriff's investigator found out during a Jan. 8 deposition that only a portion of seized cocaine was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab. While it's not unusual to send half of a large amount of drugs, the investigator went to the evidence compound Jan. 12 to reconcile the discrepancy and found all the drugs from the case were missing, Davidson said.

That case is against Francisco Mercado, from whom narcotics agents seized about 577 grams of cocaine.

Smith said he wasn't sure of the specifics of all the cases the thefts affected, but the missing evidence could have a negative impact.

"In a case where all the evidence is gone, that's going to be pretty hard," he said.

Mercado's defense attorney, Joseph Warren, said it's possible the state would be forced to drop the charges against his client because it doesn't have any evidence to present to a jury, or a judge could dismiss the case.

He said he intends to make a motion to dismiss the case after he receives details from the Sheriff's Office investigation.

"Regardless, the state has a lot of problems because this is not the only case with (a) theft," Warren said.

He added it could be construed that any narcotics stored in the area where the thefts occurred were subject to tampering. So it could affect more cases than the ones where drugs are missing.

"Unfortunately, that's a very real possibility," Warren said.

In another case, narcotics agents seized about 840 grams of cocaine from a DeBary home in May 2003 and arrested Ismael Velazquez. He was charged with trafficking cocaine , defense attorney Hal Uhrig said.

About 282 grams of cocaine is missing. "That missing evidence would have been substantial," Uhrig said.

Because the case isn't going to trial, the theft won't have a significant impact. But the loss would have compromised the state's case, Uhrig said.

He said with a third of the drugs missing, he would question whether the other two-thirds were tampered with.

"Clearly there has not been an integrity of the chain of custody," he said. "I would have had it all thrown out."

Smith said prosecutors must establish a chain of custody at trial to show the evidence was taken from where they said it was, was properly maintained and correctly sent to a lab. Then an analyst must show it is what they say it is -- such as cocaine or marijuana.

"If you don't have that, how are you going to say that's what went to the lab," he said, adding officials have to prove the chain of custody before the lab reports become relevant.

Drugs were taken from two other open cases, but the impact isn't known.

In March 1995, a package from Mexico intended for DeLand was intercepted. The package contained about 178 pounds of compressed marijuana. Salvador Trujillo and Teresa Estrada, who Davidson said either accepted the package or tried to hide it later, were prosecuted federally. A third defendant was never found so the case remains open. About 165 pounds of marijuana is missing.

In June 2000, narcotics agents seized about 515 pounds of marijuana and several items of drug paraphernalia during raids in Pierson and DeLeon Springs. They charged Celso Garcia and Domingo Molina with trafficking in cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. Garcia fled to Mexico and Molina stood trial. About 50 pounds of marijuana is missing.

Drugs also were taken in two closed cases. About 130 pounds of marijuana is missing from a 1998 case where 1,100 pounds were seized and all 25 pounds of marijuana from another case was stolen.

HEADLINE: Ex-undersheriff investigated over handgun; Weapon at center of new probe

Former Lincoln County Undersheriff Ed Williamson, accused of using county jail inmates to work on private property, is also under investigation for taking a handgun from his department's evidence locker for his personal use.

Williamson was charged Dec. 30 with embezzlement over the alleged use of county jail inmate labor.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Bob Harshaw executed a search warrant Monday and recovered a Ruger .45-caliber handgun from the sheriff's department. 

Authorities said they believe the gun was taken by Williamson three years ago and that he later loaned it to Mark Payne to wear with his territorial marshal parade costume.

According to a court affidavit, Sheriff Dale McNelly told a deputy to pick up the gun from Payne's residence May 13, two days before Harshaw questioned McNelly concerning its whereabouts.

McNelly's attorney, Miles Zimmerman, said McNelly has never attempted to hide the gun or deny its existence. He said OSBI officials have known for six months the gun was at the sheriff's department.

The gun is registered to Richard Milton Dwiggins, who used it to kill himself in December 1999. McNelly and Williamson told former deputy Jared Prickett in July 2001 to clean the gun after Williamson made several comments about using it for Williamson's part with the Oklahoma Territorial Marshals, according to the affidavit.

The Oklahoma Territorial Marshals is a volunteer-based organization that does re-enactments of the historic Old West.

Prickett reportedly discovered May 4 that the gun was missing from the evidence locker.
Williamson told two OSBI agents he found the gun in his desk drawer when he moved into the office in January 2001. Williamson said he "understood" the gun had been given to the sheriff's department by the victim's family, according to the affidavit.

Court records show Payne told Harshaw that he "assumed" the gun belonged to Williamson when he loaned it to him. Dwiggins' son, Steven Dwiggins, reportedly told an agent in June he thought the gun had been destroyed and would have otherwise wanted it back, according to records.

Payne County District Attorney Rob Hudson could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

HEADLINE: FORMER EVIDENCE MANAGER ARRESTED IN THEFT OF DRUGS

DAYTONA BEACH -- A former manager of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office evidence compound was arrested Wednesday in connection with the theft of nearly $500,000 worth of drug evidence kept at the DeLand facility he once headed.

Tim Wallace, a 47-year-old Marine Corps veteran and three-year civilian employee of the Sheriff's Office, was arrested at a convenience store near his New Smyrna Beach home, investigators said. The pickup he was driving also was seized, investigators said. 

Wallace, who in court documents was accused of delivering stolen drugs to a friend from an unmarked sheriff's van, did not answer questions as he was led from a Florida Department of Law Enforcement office in Daytona Beach to a waiting sheriff's van.

Sheriff Ben Johnson vowed to push for the stiffest penalties possible for Wallace, who he said had "embarrassed the department." Wallace was arrested on charges of conspiracy to traffic marijuana and conspiracy to traffic cocaine, both felonies that carry prison terms of up to 30 years if he is convicted.

According to an arrest affidavit, area drug dealers told FDLE and sheriff's investigators that they were getting their drugs from a 44-year-old Edgewater businessman, who was named in the affidavit but has not been arrested or charged. The drug dealers said they were told he got the drugs "from an evidence guy in Tampa."

The affidavit shows that the businessman told investigators that he started helping Wallace "get rid of drugs" in January 2001.

Investigators know that at least 370 pounds of marijuana and 859 grams -- 1.89 pounds -- of cocaine is missing from the evidence locker. Wallace is the only suspect in the case. No one else named in the affidavit has been charged.

Reached by phone Wednesday, the businessman accused of helping Wallace said he has known Wallace for a "couple of years" and had spoken "a little" with police about the case but was not facing any charges.

Dave Donaway, an FDLE spokesman, said that no one has been given immunity and that "everyone is susceptible to being charged."

Investigators said that Wallace altered records at the sheriff's evidence compound and replaced with sod some drug evidence that was to be destroyed to try to hide the thefts. At least four pending cases may now be in jeopardy because of the missing drugs.

The thefts were discovered after deputies were told in January that only about half of the drug evidence they said they seized during a June arrest had been tested by FDLE. When they went to examine the evidence, investigators said, they could not find any of it. That discovery prompted the sweeping investigation by the Sheriff's Office, FDLE and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Orlando.

Investigators said Wednesday that about 7 pounds of marijuana Wallace is accused of stealing has been recovered.

Wallace was suspended Jan. 22 when investigators first found evidence of his possible connection to the missing drugs. On Feb. 5, sheriff's investigators hand-delivered a letter to Wallace telling him he was fired. He was being held Wednesday night in the Volusia County Branch Jail on $300,000 bail.

HEADLINE: Former policeman faces theft charge

Monticello police arrested one of their own Thursday, charging a former officer with stealing crack cocaine from a neighboring police department, according to Monticello Police Chief David Frisby.

Larry Bates Jr. was charged with grand theft, Frisby said in a news release. 

Here's what police say happened:

On Jan. 12, an informant tipped off Deputy Chief Bill Bullock that he had been supplying Bates with crack cocaine. Bullock asked Bates to agree to a urinalysis. Bates declined and quit instead.

Bullock then discovered that Bates had asked the Perry Police Department in December reportedly to lend him crack cocaine in its evidence room to use in a Monticello police drug investigation.

The release was not clear whether the investigation was bogus, but it said Bates "fraudulently used the MPD to get possession of the crack cocaine." The release also did not say whether the borrowed crack cocaine was recovered.

A deputy at the Jefferson County Jail Thursday said Bates was freed on bail but declined to release his bail amount.

It was not known how long Bates had worked at the department or how much he was paid, among other personnel information. Bullock was out of the office Thursday afternoon, and Frisby did not respond to a page or answer his home phone.

Perry Police Chief Wayne Putunal was out of the office until next week, a police dispatcher said. His home phone was unlisted. Bates could not be reached at his home Thursday night.

HEADLINE: Sergeant, deputy resign

A Richmond County sheriff's sergeant has resigned after admitting he took a computer from the property room, Sheriff Ronnie Strength said Monday.

Sgt. Jimmy Vowell, 42, the head of the property crimes division, resigned Friday rather than "bring further embarrassment" to the sheriff's office, Sheriff Strength said. A criminal investigation is pending. 

The computer system Sgt. Vowell took home was seized in a 2000 raid and determined to be stolen. The sheriff's office couldn't find the owner and was preparing to destroy the equipment in January 2003, but Sgt. Vowell signed for it and carried it home, Sheriff Strength said.

The sergeant's ex-girlfriend called internal affairs this month about the computer. When Sgt. Vowell returned the equipment, the serial numbers were scratched out, the sheriff said.

Sgt. Vowell, a veteran officer for 20 years, could face criminal charges if investigators determine a crime was committed. Their findings will be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office. Sgt. Vowell was not asked to resign, the sheriff said.

"(Sgt. Vowell) said he thought about it, and once he thought about it, he knew it was wrong," the sheriff said.

In an unrelated case, Deputy Dwayne Flowers, 34, has resigned after using money raised by an Explorer scouting group to make a car payment. The issue was unrelated to his job at the training center, but Sheriff Strength said the officer quit in December after it was reported to the agency.

Deputy Flowers' estranged wife called the sheriff's office and said he had made a past-due car payment with money raised by a scouting troop he was helping.

A troop leader declined to prosecute, telling police he just wanted the money back. No charges were filed against Deputy Flowers, who had worked off and on for the agency. He has since taken a job with the Hephzibah Police Department.

HEADLINE: Zebulon assistant police chief charged with embezzlement

The former second-in-command of the Zebulon Police Department was charged Thursday with embezzling more than $15,000 from the evidence room.

Gary S. Driver, 39, of Zebulon was charged with a felony count of embezzlement by a public official Thursday and turned himself into the Wake County Magistrate's Office. He was released on his own recognizance. Driver was scheduled to appear in Wake District Court on Friday.
Driver had been with the Zebulon police for 21 years, making him the longest-serving town employee. During his tenure, he worked undercover, headed the drug task force and briefly served as interim police chief in 2000.

For the past nine years, Driver was Zebulon's only police captain, a job that included responsibility for the evidence room, where stolen merchandise and cash seized during investigations are stored.

Last November, the department received several complaints about Driver not repaying sums of borrowed money and writing a number of bad checks at least two of which were for more than $2,000, a felony amount.

Chief Tim Hayworth said that after reviewing the complaints, he conducted an audit of the evidence room, which revealed a shortfall of $15,114.

On Nov. 7, after a five-day suspension, Driver was fired from the Police Department. Hayworth then asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter.

"We have never had anything at this level happen," Hayworth said. "Normally when a police officer is arrested, it is a young officer who maybe takes something from a vehicle they've towed or written a misdemeanor bad check, not your second-in-command."

If convicted, Driver faces punishment that ranges from intensive probation to a maximum of 33 months in prison. His only previous offense in North Carolina was a misdemeanor for fishing without a license in Nash County in 1981.

HEADLINE: FBI focus attention on police commander

A federal investigation into missing drugs and money at the police department here say a department commander has become a suspect in the thefts.

Inspector J. D. King, commander at the North Precinct, is the target of the criminal investigation into the mishandling of evidence at the facility, Police Director James Bolden said in a statement.
King was relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the investigation, after being questioned by federal agents Thursday morning. 

"This is part of our continuing efforts to maintain our standards of integrity and ethical behavior" within the department, Bolden said in the statement.

The scandal broke in September when 16 people were named in federal grand jury indictments linking thefts from the property and evidence room to an Atlanta-based cocaine ring. Many of them were civilian employees.

The investigation is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Memphis police.

"Great strides have been taken to bring integrity to the department, and part of that includes the prevention of public corruption," Bolden said.

King, a 25-year-veteran of the department, was in command of the property and evidence room and the supply room from 1998 to 2000.

Even though the agency was warned in 1999, during an audit, that the property and evidence room suffered from lax security and sloppy controls, little was done to correct the problem while the thefts were taking place.

Another audit report from state auditors is due within weeks.

Kenneth W. Dansberry, the civilian day-to-day supervisor of the property and evidence room, cooperated with investigators after pleading guilty in federal court last month to an array of drug conspiracy and money laundering charges.

He told investigators that he once sold a 10-kilogram load of cocaine to an accused drug dealer off the loading dock under the Shelby County Jail. Others await trial in the scandal.