Officer Lacy Ward Arrested for Selling Oxycodone

The Warsaw police officer arrested by the SBI, accused of conspiring to sell Oxycodone, has been fired according to the Jones County Sheriff's Office. Deputies continue to search for another drug suspect in the case.

Jones County deputies say Officer Lacy Ward, who works for the Warsaw Police Department, was arrested just before 5:00 p.m. on charges of conspiracy to sell and deliver Schedule II controlled substances, that being Oxycodone. She is also arrested for interfering with an investigation.

Det. Timothy Corey says Ward was caught on video in a truck with James Parker III of Kinston while they say he was selling drugs to an undercover officer. Corey says at that point they notified the SBI and the FBI.

Ward at one time was a narcotics officer with the Warsaw Police Department, but was on regular patrol at the time of her arrest.

Deputies are still looking for the 29-year-old Parker, who was the subject of the original drug investigation.

Officer Tyrone Jenkins Arrested for Dealing Drugs

A Tulsa Police officer has been arrested on suspicion of dealing drugs.

Officer Tyrone Jenkins was booked into the Tulsa County jail on complaints of Possession of Firearm in Commission of a Felony, Conspiracy to Traffic Cocaine and Violation of the Computer Crimes Act.

According to a press release, Tulsa police received information regarding alleged criminal activity involving Jenkins and launched an internal investigation.

Police said more information would be released later.

Former Officer Mark Fisher Arrested for Distributing Prescription Pain Narcotics

Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane today announced the arrest of a former Allegheny County police officer on charges that he participated in and directed the activities of an illegal prescription drug ring.

Evidence and testimony regarding the alleged illegal activity was presented to a statewide investigating grand jury, which recommended the criminal charges being filed today. The grand jury identified the defendant as Mark Fisher, 34, currently incarcerated in the Westmoreland County Prison. Fisher is a former police officer with the Turtle Creek Police Department.

According to the grand jury, Fisher, who developed an addiction to pain medications following an injury, recruited several individuals to assist him in distributing prescription pain narcotics throughout western Pennsylvania. After a period of time Fisher allegedly stopped using other individuals and began to pass prescriptions at various pharmacies in either his own name or the name of his wife.

The grand jury found that Fisher obtained the pills by using illegal prescriptions that were passed at several pharmacies throughout Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.

Pennsylvania has the fourteenth highest rate of drug overdoses in the country, most of which are caused by prescription drugs. Attorney General Kane reiterated her support for a prescription monitoring program in the Commonwealth because it would serve as an additional tool to enable health practitioners and law enforcement in identifying individuals involved in the illegal trade of doctor shopping and dealing in fraudulent prescriptions.

Attorney General Kane noted that this is an active and ongoing investigation and additional arrests are anticipated.

Fisher is charged with one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge; one count of possession with the intent to deliver; one count of criminal conspiracy; and one count of impersonating a public servant.

The case will be prosecuted in Westmoreland County by Senor Deputy Attorney General Mark Serge of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section.

Former Officer Mitchel Wright Arrested for Selling Meth

Authorities say a former Washington police officer who spent time working for the DEA was arrested for the second time in less than a year last month after his life took a dark turn and he planned to become a drug kingpin.

Mitchel J. Wright, who joined the King County Sheriff's Department in 2002, was fired last year after being accused of stealing drug evidence while working undercover for the DEA. He was arrested on Feb. 11 after selling drugs to undercover officers on separate occasions. He reportedly bragged that he'd never be caught because knew every police tactic. His hubris was his downfall.

Wright, 33, resigned last July after a cop discovered a woman injecting herself with heroin inside of a vehicle registered to Wright. She told police that she lived with Wright and worked for him as an informant, and a subsequent search of the vehicle produced drugs and drug paraphernalia.

An internal investigation revealed that Wright was giving strippers heroin and methamphetamine to persuade them to work as drug dealers for him. His ultimate goal was to dominate the area drug trade using his authority, knowledge of the underworld and access to evidence.

After being placed on administrative leave, Wright resigned. Later that month, King County deputies discovered three baggies bearing DEA case numbers inside of his old police car. Each tested positive for heroin. It's estimated that Wright seized between $36,450 and $52,490 worth of drugs during his stint with the DEA and never turned them in as evidence.

For his most recent arrest, Wright was charged with distribution of over five grams of meth and conspiracy to distribute meth. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine.

Officer Frederick Sayles Arrested for Marijuana

A California police officer and his retired co-worker were arrested last week in Tysons Corner for allegedly bringing more than 27 pounds of marijuana from California to Virginia, police said.

The men, along with a third accomplice, were charged with conspiracy to import and distribute more than five pounds of marijuana. The estimated street value of the marijuana is $635,000, police said.

Police have charged Selma police officer Frederick Michael Sayles, 34, who lives in Selma; former Selma police officer Gabriel Hernandez Sepeda II, 38, of Fresno; and David Ray Flowers, 38, of Fresno.

The investigation was run by Alexandria police and prosecutors along with the DEA, authorities said. All three men are being held in the Alexandria Detention Center without bond.

Read more: The Post’s crime coverage

Three Rhode Island Officers Arrested in Cocaine Dealing Operation

Three Providence police officers, including a narcotics detective and a school resource officer, were arrested Thursday on charges that they helped with a cocaine-dealing operation.

Detective Joseph Colanduono, Patrolman Robert Hamlin and Sergeant Steven Gonsalves were arrested at police headquarters and have been suspended without pay, said Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman, who called it a "hard day" for his department. The officers either used the cocaine or helped arrange the drug deals, police said.

"These actions that we saw are an offensive display of a violation of trust that we cannot and will not tolerate," Attorney General Patrick Lynch said.

The chief of the State Law Enforcement Division met Thursday with the leaders of the tiny coastal town of Atlantic Beach to discuss a possible new partnership to stave off drug crime there during the coming summer months.

"Our plan is to be much more aggressive around the state, particularly when it comes to narcotics and violent-crime issues," said SLED Director Reggie Lloyd.

Lloyd traveled to Atlantic Beach for the informal meeting with the town's new attorney, Steve Benjamin of Columbia, a friend of his since law school. Sitting in the town's community center, Lloyd listened as Councilman Donnell Thompson, Police Chief Randy Rizzo and Town Manager Kenneth McIver described how Atlantic Beach's drug trade has mostly subsided.

Authorities arrested Guatemala's anti-drug czar and national police chief Tuesday in a case involving stolen cocaine and slain police, acting just two days before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives to discuss the drug war.

The detentions were the latest embarrassment for Guatemala's embattled anti-narcotics effort and came amid U.S. complaints that corruption is impeding the battle to stop the flow of drugs north through Central America.

Attorney General Amilcar Velasquez said Police Chief Baltazar Gomez, anti-drug czar Nelly Bonilla and police officer Fernando Carrillo were detained after an investigation by Guatemalan authorities and the U.N.-sponsored International Commission Against Impunity.

The arrests of Guatemala's drug czar and national police chief underscore how deeply the world's multibillion-dollar drug industry can corrupt small countries with weak institutions - a trend the Obama administration warned Wednesday threatens global security.

As U.S.-funded wars pressure cartels in Mexico and Colombia, drug gangs are increasingly infiltrating vulnerable countries, particularly in Latin America and Africa. Drug profits total about $394 billion a year, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime - dwarfing the gross domestic products of many nations and making them easy prey for cartels.

"Violent traffickers are relocating to take advantage of these permissive environments and importing their own brand of justice," the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's intelligence chief Anthony Placido said Wednesday in testimony before a U.S. House subcommittee.

The State Law Enforcement Division is reviewing information city leaders provided Thursday regarding allegations that William Bailey covered up a criminal domestic violence case, according to SLED spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons.

Bailey, the city’s public safety director, is on administrative leave for lying about an unrelated handgun theft.

City Manager John Smithson told The Sun News on Thursday that SLED is investigating the allegations.

The arrests followed a more than four-month investigation that began with information from a state police detective and involved wiretaps and intercepted phone calls. Police seized several hundred grams of cocaine and firearms as part of the probe.

Three other men were arrested, including Hamlin's brother, Albert, who police describe as a major cocaine dealer and the primary target of their investigation. Police say Robert Hamlin, a school resource officer at a Providence high school, helped his brother avoid getting caught by giving names of narcotics detectives and providing descriptions of their police cars, said State Police Capt. David Neill.

The Providence Journal reported on its Web site that Gonsalves is a former driver for Providence Mayor David Cicilline and the husband of the mayor's executive assistant, Xiomara Gonsalves. The Journal said the mayor described his assistant as "incredibly heartbroken."

Cicilline's spokeswoman, Karen Southern, did not return calls seeking comment Thursday night.

Also arrested was Khalid Mason, who in 2007 faced drug dealing charges that were dismissed by a federal judge after a Providence police sergeant testified at a pretrial hearing that he didn't have any notes or reports from his investigation. That case is not connected to the current arrests, police said.

Mason supplied drugs to Albert Hamlin, who would purchase one kilogram of cocaine at a time for about $35,000 and break down the drugs into smaller quantities, which he would then sell, police said.

Gonsalves, 47, is charged with soliciting another to commit a crime. Robert Hamlin, 33, is charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine, and Colanduono, 44, is charged with conspiracy to deal cocaine and compounding and concealing a felony.

A phone message left with the police union was not immediately returned, and it was not immediately clear if the officers had lawyers.

State Police Col. Brendan Doherty told The Associated Press that at least some calls were made when the officers were on duty, though police say there's no evidence that any drug dealing took place at a school.

Doherty said the alleged drug dealing was "the act of a few rogue officers - rogue officers who compromised the trust of the citizens of city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island."

Cicilline called the arrests "gravely disappointing" and said the officers deserve to be prosecuted aggressively.

The investigation is continuing.

Gonsalves was released on personal recognizance by a bail commissioner Thursday evening and is due in court March 18. The other five defendants, including the two officers, are being held without bail overnight and will be arraigned Friday in Providence District Court.

Former Officer Pedro Martinez III Pleads Guilty to Escorting 40 Kilos of Cocaine

A former Laredo Police officer pleads guilty in a federal drug case after escorting what he believed to be 40 kilos of cocaine.

Wednesday morning, Pedro Martinez III, who worked as an officer for six years with the Laredo Police Department, and co-conspirator Guillermo Villareal each plead guilty to conspiracy to poses with intent to distribute cocaine, before U.S. Senior District Court Judge George P. Kazen.

Martinez admitted to meeting with an undercover FBI agent posing as a drug trafficker, back in October and November of 2008.

In their meetings, then-officer Martinez twice agreed to escort vehicles carrying cocaine from Zapata Highway to North Laredo, for two thousand dollars.

On one of the occasions, Martinez escorted the contraband while wearing his Laredo PD uniform and driving a marked patrol unit.

Additionally, Martinez introduced Guillermo Villareal to an unnamed party to facilitate the storage of cocaine at a private residence, which he did.

Villareal went on to sell a quarter kilogram of cocaine to undercover officers in December of 2008 and then again in January of 2009.

Martinez has been ordered released on a one-hundred-thousand-dollar bond.
Guillermo Villareal is still pending bond.

The two men each face a minimum ten year prison sentence.

In response to the conviction, Laredo Police Chief, Carlos Maldonado released a statement saying, "The Laredo Police Department remains committed and steadfast in our resolve to serve and protect the citizens of Laredo and the United States.

In this effort the Laredo Police Department will continue to collaborate and partner with federal, state, and local law enforcement entities to bring those who are inclined to break the law to justice".

Martinez had been on administrative leave by the Laredo Police Department since October of last year. He resigned from the force on Tuesday.

Former Officer Shanita McKnight Sentenced to 20 Years

A former Lake City police officer will spend 20 years in prison for conspiring with drug dealers to keep them from getting busted.

Shanita McKnight was very emotional and sobbed very loudly at times. She begged the judge to have mercy on her, saying she needed to get home to her young daughter and son.

McKnight's family and friends gathered outside the courthouse following her sentence. They could barely contain their emotions.

"This has been a hard pill to swallow today," said Eric Daniels, a close friend.

"Obviously we've disappointed today with the sentencing but we all believe in her," said Peggy Sells, McKnight's former coach.

Wednesday morning, a judge gave the former lake city police officer 20 years for drug conspiracy and extortion. In October, a federal jury convicted McKnight for tipping off drug dealers in lake city so they wouldn't get caught.

Sheriff Kenney Boone said, "You had a police officer who took an oath to enforce the laws of the state and use that oath and their position against justice, and we feel like justice has been served."

McKnight's family says justice won't be served until she's released from prison. They plan to urge mcknight to appeal her 20 year prison sentence.

Eight people spoke to the judge during the sentencing hearing saying McKnight was a good officer, who cared about Lake City.

When released from federal prison, McKnight will be on supervised release for five years.

Correctional Officer Marco Moniz Arrested for Delivering Contraband

Dartmouth

A Bristol County correctional officer from Fall River was arrested Wednesday while on duty at the House of Correction for allegedly delivering contraband to the penal facility.

Marco Moniz, 20, of 928 Cherry St., Fall River,is also charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Major Nelson DeGouveia of the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office and Lt. John Silva of that office’s Internal Affairs Division made the arrest.

DeGouveia of the Law Enforcement Division of the Sheriff’s Office is assigned to the South Coast Anti-Crime Task Force.

Bernard Sullivan, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said he did not immediately know what kind of contraband was involved as the investigation is ongoing.

Moniz was held overnight for arraignment today in Third District Court, New Bedford.
The arrest was a result of a textbook collaborative effort by Fall River, Fairhaven and New Bedford police, assigned to the Drug Enforcement Agency and District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter’s Office.

Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson expressed pride in the performance of members of the task force, internal affairs units and Sutter’s office.

“While I am deeply saddened when a sworn officer violates the badge he wears and the trust it implies, I am exceptionally pleased that our officers joined in a collaborative that conducted an extensive investigation that will, I hope, result in an end to criminal activity that is a danger to my officers, the inmates and the entire staff of our office,” Hodgson stated.

“Policing our own is not pleasant, but it is necessary to maintain the pride we have in the conduct of the staff of our correctional officers, who perform with pride the most difficult job in law enforcement,” he said.

More Information:http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090212/NEWS/902120399

Archie Stallworth Said he was Undercover

The feds say Archie Stallworth is a crooked suburban cop who sold out his badge to provide muscle for a drug dealer -- who actually was an undercover FBI agent.

But Stallworth, 36, insists he was simply playing a bad guy, too.

"If he's going to get an Oscar, I should get an Oscar because we were doing the same thing," Stallworth said of the FBI agent.

Stallworth -- who also worked as a Metra train conductor -- says he was also undercover, gathering intelligence on a narcotics ring. He provided the Chicago Sun-Times with police reports that he says prove his innocence by showing that he and a partner were documenting their own investigation months before the FBI arrested Stallworth on Nov. 19.

But a federal grand jury last month indicted Stallworth on charges of drug conspiracy as well as filing fake police reports. He provided the Sun-Times with those same reports but insisted they weren't fake.

Stallworth is among four Harvey officers, 10 Cook County sheriff's corrections officers and a Chicago Police officer who have been charged with drug conspiracy. He says that after his arrest, the FBI asked him to wear a hidden microphone in an attempt to capture remarks by Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg, but he refused.

On May 27, the undercover FBI agent told Stallworth's partner at the Harvey Police Department that he needed protection for a shipment of up to a kilogram of cocaine, Stallworth said. Stallworth provided the Sun-Times with a document entitled "Harvey Police Persons Incident Report" dated May 28. The report, supposedly written by Stallworth's partner, details the May 27 conversation.

Stallworth says his partner faxed the report to the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, which coordinates narcotics investigations.

The Harvey Police Department refused to vouch for the authenticity of the police reports, referring questions to the U.S. attorney's office, which declined to comment. Stallworth's partner could not be reached for comment. Stallworth said he was forced to resign from the department but now wants his job back.

According to the charges against Stallworth, he met the undercover FBI agent at a south suburban fast-food restaurant July 26 to provide security for a meeting. Afterward, the agent paid Stallworth $300 and said he needed someone to provide security for drug deals.

Stallworth provided the Sun-Times with a July 27 police report he said he filed after the meeting at the restaurant. The report says he met with a man who "began to speak in detail about his interaction in trafficking narcotics." Stallworth wrote that he planned to contact federal authorities when he received more information on the drug operation.

Prosecutors say Stallworth met with the undercover agent Aug. 11 at DuPage Airport, where he agreed to help make a drug pickup for $1,000. He is accused of moving several duffel bags from a plane to the undercover agent's car. Prosecutors said Stallworth, who was armed with a pistol, thought the bags contained 30 kilograms of cocaine, but it was actually fake.

Stallworth gave the Sun-Times a purported Harvey police report dated Aug. 12 in which he detailed the drug exchange at the airport and said he would store his $1,000 payment in a safe until he could turn it over to federal authorities. Stallworth said he did not make an arrest at the airport because he was worried it might lead to a shoot-out.

http://www.suntimes.com

UPDATE: Officer Xavier Herrera to Remain in Custody

Two defendants-including an East Chicago, Ind., police officer-accused of conspiracy to possess and distribute three kilograms of cocaine remained in federal custody after a hearing Wednesday at the Dirksen Federal Building.

Officer Xavier Herrera, 47 was arrested on July 3 after he tried to purchase $60,000 worth of cocaine from an informant working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a federal complaint. Chicago residents Juan Gutierrez, 29, and Fredrick Farmer, 34, were also arrested. Farmer was the ultimate purchaser of the drug, and Gutierrez was brokering the transaction with Herrera, according to the complaint.

At Wednesday's hearing, Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox announced that Herrera, who was led into the courtroom in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs with Farmer and Gutierrez, will remain in federal custody until Friday, when it will be decided whether or not he will be released on bond. Herrera's attorney, Frank Cece Jr., said the decision was not reached today because of "paperwork that has yet to be gathered."

At the time of Herrera's arrest, the officer signed a written statement admitting to his role in the drug ring, according to the complaint. However, when asked about the statement Cece replied, "The charging documents are not accurate relative to any involvement he may have had."

"He's an 18-year vet. He has several commendations, no criminal background," Cece said. "He's a good and decent guy."

The U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment on Cece's statement about the charging documents.

While Farmer also remains in federal custody after waiving his right to a detention hearing, Gutierrez was released on conditions including that he turn over his passport, enroll in a substance abuse program, relinquish any firearms and remain in northern Illinois. The news came as a relief to Gutierrez's family, who filled much of the courtroom.

"We all want him home, and hopefully we get this all behind us and move on," said Gutierrez's brother, Luis Ruiz. "Hopefully it works out for everybody," he added. "You hate to see anybody put away."