Thursday, January 07, 2010

Officer Stacy Conway Arrested for Trying to Hire Someone to Commit Burglary

A rookie Hereford police officer was behind bars Wednesday evening accused of trying to hire an undercover Amarillo police officer to burglarize then burn down the home of two employees of the Randall County Sheriff's Office.

Stacy Lavon Conway, 24, of Hereford, was arrested Tuesday evening outside an Amarillo business where, police allege, she was meeting the undercover officer to arrange the deal. She was arrested and charged with second-degree felony solicitation to commit burglary to commit another felony, said Randall County Criminal District Attorney James Farren. She remains in the Randall County jail on $50,000 bond.

Farren said police launched an investigation into Conway about two weeks ago. The undercover police officer was "playing the part of a bad guy," who posed as an experienced criminal, Farren said. Conway reportedly offered the officer an undisclosed amount of money to burglarize and torch the residence in Randall County.

"Obviously she's unhappy with the folks that live there, but I can't reveal why," Farren said.

A Randall County Sheriff's official identified the two intended victims listed in the criminal complaint as a female dispatcher and a female deputy jailer.

"For a police officer to solicit someone to commit an offense is very rare," Farren said. "Obviously it is very disturbing. No group of people are more concerned and upset about this than police officers and prosecutors. But at this point it is an accusation, and nothing has been proven."

Amarillo police spokesman Cpl. Jerry Neufeld deferred questions about the arrest to Hereford officials.

"They've asked to pretty much handle any media request," he said. "It is their incident. We're respecting their request to be able to give out information on their employees."

The city of Hereford has suspended Conway indefinitely without pay, said Hereford City Manager Rick Hanna .

Hanna said Conway started with the Police Department on Sept. 4, just days after she graduated from the Panhandle Regional Law Enforcement Academy.

Hanna said Conway had not faced any disciplinary action for her work with the city.

"Actually she was doing a pretty good job," he said.

Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education , which regulates peace officers in the state, issued a peace officer license to Conway on Sept. 9 , according to state records. Conway has been a peace officer for four months, and her only law enforcement job was with Hereford.

If convicted, Conway faces two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

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