HAINES CITY
Indicted on two perjury counts, Haines City police Capt. Mervin Stewart, left, is escorted by Polk County sheriff's Deputy Bryan Mixon to central booking at the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Bartow late this afternoon.
Haines City Police Chief Morris West resigned Wednesday and Capt. Mervin Stewart, the department’s second in command, was indicted Thursday as a lengthy investigation into the department came to a close.
Stewart was indicted and arrested Thursday afternoon on perjury charges stemming from statements he made denying claims of sexual harassment by a female officer as well as not admitting to having had a sexual relationship with a different female officer.
West, who was indicted Oct. 24 on two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution, was given an offer by the State Attorney’s Office to avoid prosecution if he resigned and gave up his police standards. That means he will not be able to serve as a certified law enforcement officer, said Chip Thullbery, a spokesman for the State Attorney’s Office in Bartow.
West’s charges were unrelated to those of Stewart.
Under the agreement, West must notify the State Attorney’s Office of any address change and not violate any federal, state or local law.
The Haines City Police Department has been under the direction of Maj. Mike Pruitt of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, who was appointed by City Manager Ann Toney-Deal after West’s indictment two weeks ago.
Stewart, 43, was arrested around 4 p.m. Thursday after receiving a grand jury indictment on two counts of perjury related to testimony made Nov. 6 before the grand jury. He had been suspended with pay on Nov. 7.
According to the indictment, the first count refers to false statements Stewart made before the grand jury about a sexual harassment complaint filed by Haines City police Officer Nicole Gusaeff. Stewart told the grand jury that he did not, during the evening of April 12, put his arm around Gusaeff at a local bar following the Policeman’s Ball.
In the second count, Stewart is accused of lying under oath about an alleged sexual relationship with Officer Emelynda Hernandez, the indictment states. Hernandez also was suspended with pay on Nov. 7 but she resigned Monday.
Stewart had been with the Haines City Police Department since 1991. Hernandez joined the department in 2003.
Though the indictments for West and Stewart are unrelated, they stemmed from the same investigation the State Attorney’s Office began in August, Thullbery said.
West’s indictment alleges that he solicited 31-year old Kimberly Latrice Willis Ambrose to commit prostitution three times in 2007 between Nov. 22 and Dec. 25. He was not arrested because the charges were misdemeanors.
West had been with the Haines City Police Department since 1985 when he was hired as a patrolman. He served as detective, sergeant and lieutenant before being appointed interim police chief when former Police Chief Tom Wheeler retired. West, a Haines City native, became police chief in August 2003. At the time of his resignation, he was paid an annual salary of $72,519.07.
More Information: http://www.newschief.com/article/20081115/NEWS/811150295/1021/NEWS01?Title=Interim_Haines_City_chief_staying_as_long_as_needed
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