Monday, January 05, 2009

Another Cleveland City Officer Arrested

There have been two more arrests in an ongoing series of investigations at the Cleveland Police Department.

A former police officer was arrested Monday on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Dennis Hughes, 33, had already been arrested last month in connection with a shooting investigation and drug investigation. He resigned his position at that time.

Also arrested on Monday was Cleveland Police Officer Nathan Thomas, 37.

Thomas was arrested in connection with the shooting and drug investigation, which has so far resulted in the arrests of three city police officers and a Cleveland physician.

A fourth Cleveland police officer, Chris Mason, remains on leave as a result of an injury to his hand when he was shot by Hughes.

Arrested Monday, shortly before 1 a.m., Hughes was leaving the home of Cleveland Officer Nathan Thomas with a 16-year-old girl in his vehicle, according to court records.

Court records state the girl's mother contacted the Cleveland Police Department Sunday afternoon and reported her daughter missing.

The woman told officers she thought her daughter was with Hughes.

According to reports, a Bradley County Deputy located Hughes early Monday morning, leaving Thomas' home with the girl.

The deputy initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of Lauderdale Highway and Mouse Creek Road and alerted police he had located the missing teen-ager.

According to court documents, several empty beer containers and various prescription medication belonging to Hughes were found in the vehicle.

Reports state the girl was under the influence of alcohol and was charged with consumption of alcohol by someone younger than 21.

Hughes was also arrested Dec. 18 and charged with aggravated perjury, filing a false report and two counts of aggravated assault by reckless endangerment as a result of an investigation into the shooting Nov. 30.

That incident was first reported as an accidental shooting.

According to initial reports, Mason and Officer Jonathan Hammons -- who were on duty -- were at the home of Hughes, who was off duty, shortly before midnight on Nov. 30.

An internal investigation into that incident by the Cleveland Police Department continues.

Both, Hammons and Thomas were suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation, after the investigation into the shooting resulted in a prescription belonging to Thomas being found in Hughes' vehicle.

Thomas was booked into the Bradley County Jail Monday and was charged with prescription fraud, possession of Schedule II and III narcotics for resale and simple possession of a Schedule V narcotic.

Thomas has been under investigation by the 10th Judicial Drug Task Force and is accused of selling prescription medications he has received by prescription from Dr. James W. Sego. Sego was arrested Dec. 18 and charged with felony counts of illegally selling prescription painkillers and other drugs.

According to reports, Sego prescribed Thomas more than 6,000 oxycodones and 1,100 hydrocodones within one year's time.

According to the search warrant served by the Drug Task Force, when agents searched Thomas' home in December they found "a large cardboard box with extremely large amounts of various drugs, samples, etc. (too numerous to list individually)," weapons, syringes and cell phones. The search warrant also indicated agents found, "one white plastic snorting device (ink pen) with yellow residue" in the master bedroom in a decorative drawer near the top of the dresser, along with several other items, such as "one prescription box w/1 glass vial inside labeled DEPO-Testosterone."

Thomas was released on a $10,000 bond Monday.

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