Former Officer Faron White Expected to be Released from Prison

A Decatur police officer convicted of theft is expected to be released from federal prison at the end of the week. This Friday, Faron White will head home from a federal prison in Louisiana.

For 21 years, White fought crime in the city of Decatur.

"He was always the go-to guy. He always seem to know the answer," said John Bradford, who is now retired from the Decatur Police Department.

One day in January of 2009, White ended up on the wrong side of the law when he staged his own kidnapping with accomplice Sarah Richardson.

Bradford supervised White a few years before the incident.

"He was a great guy. It was just a total shock that he got involved with this," said Bradford.

Bradford believes White has some roads to mend when he gets out of prison. Namely, with the men and women who tirelessly searched for him.

"Those guys went at it 24-7, virtually not eating or sleeping, following every lead they could imagine in hopes of finding somebody they respected as a supervisor and a good friend. I hope he finds a way to somehow bring closure for those fellows for what he put them through," said Bradford.

Bradford hopes White will be able to land on his feet once he is released from prison. He'll have to find a job.

"To me, it's just obvious that the guy fell on some rough times, made some mistakes that snow balled on him and just got worse. It just got to the point that he couldn't get out of it and he did something very, very stupid," said Bradford.

White pleaded guilty to a federal theft charge for stealing $82,000 from the Decatur Police Department. A judge sentenced White to 16 months in prison.

He'll be getting out three months early, but will then be on supervised released for five years.

White's attorney, Jake Watson, says his client plans to get in the cabinet making business when he's released.

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Former Officer Sgt. Faron White Hearing Set for Friday Morning

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

A former north Alabama police officer accused of staging his own disappearance to cover up the theft of funds from his own department is due in court in Birmingham.

A hearing was set for Friday morning for former Decatur police Sgt. Faron White of Falkville. It will be his first court appearance since his indictment earlier this week on federal theft charges.

Prosecutors say White stage his disappearance from his office on Jan. 2 to cover up the fact that more than $5,000 in confiscated drug money was missing from a safe at work. He was arrested three days later in a hotel in Las Vegas.

A former police volunteer is accused of helping White.
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Other Information: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/01/former_alabama_police_officer.html

Former Sgt. Faron White Booked Friday for Staging his Disappearance

DECATUR

Former Decatur police Sgt. Faron White, accused of stealing seized drug money from his office and staging his disappearance, is back in Morgan County from Las Vegas.

White, 48, was booked into the Morgan County Jail at 3:25 p.m. Friday, a jail spokesman said. White, a Decatur officer for 22 years, has been charged with first-degree theft and his bond set at $20,000.

Morgan County District Attorney Bob Burrell has said he will seek to have White's bond increased or have him held with no bond because White is a flight risk.

White is accused of stealing at least $2,500 from a safe in his office on Jan. 2. His family reported him missing and police conducted a widespread search for White after they found signs of a physical altercation in his office.

But investigators determined that White stole the money and staged his disappearance with the help of Sarah Richardson, a volunteer worker in White's office.

Richardson, 29, has been charged with first-degree hindering prosecution or apprehension.

U.S. Marshals found White in Las Vegas on Jan. 5 and took him into custody without incident in a Las Vegas hotel lobby. White waived extradition. Richardson has told police that she thinks White may have stolen $70,000 from his office over several months.

Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/search?q=Faron+White

More Information on Sgt. Faron White Accused of Faking his Abduction

DECATUR, Ala.

A north Alabama police officer accused of faking his abduction and flying to Las Vegas took about $70,000 from a safe containing confiscated drug money, according to an affidavit.

Authorities initially said Sgt. Faron White, a 20-year veteran of the Decatur Police Department, took about $2,500 from the safe of the narcotics unit he directed, although they said thousands more could be missing.

The affidavit with the new amount was filed Tuesday by Morgan County authorities in support of an arrest warrant for Sarah Richardson who is accused of helping White stage his disappearance.

The sworn statement by Decatur Sgt. Richard Archer said Richardson was aware that White had stolen about $70,000 and on Saturday morning drove him to the airport in Nashville.

Federal marshals arrested the 48-year-old White in a Hampton Inn hotel lobby Monday night in Las Vegas, three days after he was last seen working late in his office in Decatur. He faces an extradition hearing in Las Vegas Thursday. Police say he planned to try to win money to pay off gambling and other debts.

The affidavit says Richardson, a police volunteer, met up with White at the Decatur Police Training Center at about 11:30 p.m. Friday before driving him to Nashville early Saturday morning. Police have said the two were romantically involved.

The affidavit, which does not specifically say where Archer got the information, was first reported by The News Courier in Athens.

Richardson is accused of helping White scatter papers from his desk to make it look like he may have struggled with someone before being abducted.

Sgt Faron White Accused of Staging his Disappearance

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

An Alabama police organized crime specialist who vanished last week amid signs of a struggle, triggering a search of a nearby river, was arrested in Las Vegas and accused of staging his disappearance to cover up a theft, authorities said Tuesday.

Police said Sgt. Faron White, 48, vanished in a bid to cover up a theft of $2,500 from his department in the north Alabama city of Decatur.

White — the head of the city's organized crime unit and Decatur's officer of the year for 2007 — was arrested late Monday by a federal fugitive task force in the lobby of a Hampton Inn hotel in Las Vegas. He was charged with theft.

Authorities said a 29-year-old woman, Sarah Richardson, was arrested at her home in Decatur and accused of helping White flee. Police didn't release details of any relationship between the woman and White, who is married with three children.

White was held on $20,000 bond; Richardson's was set at $2,500. Additional charges are possible against White and Richardson, who was accused of hindering prosecution.

It was unclear whether White, of Falkville, had hired a lawyer. Richardson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Police said the officer's family reported him missing early Saturday after he failed to return home from work. Police found signs of a struggle in White's office and began a search, which included a helicopter and rescue teams scouring the banks of the Tennessee River.

White joined the Decatur Police Department in November 1986, working in the jail before becoming a police officer.

The American Legion honored White last year as the city's officer of the year for 2007, noting that his unit was responsible for 354 arrests and the seizure of more than $100,000 worth of cash, weapons and property from drug dealers.
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More Information: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jan/06/fugitive-police-officer-arrested-las-vegas/

Former Officer Victor Munn Charged with Hiding Girlfriend

Two people arrested in Effingham county this afternoon - one a former Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police officer. The former officer is charged with hindering law enforcement in the apprehension of a criminal - and authorities say more charges could be forthcoming. The Effingham County Sheriff's Office had gotten a tip that a woman wanted on contempt of court warrants in Chatham county was staying in a home in a new subdivision off highway 275.

The Federal Marshalls were called and authorities went to the home in search of Catherine Hickling - they say former Metro Police officer Victor Munn met them at the door.

According to the Effingham County Sheriff - Munn told authorities that Hickling - who is his girlfriend - was not in the home...but a search found her hiding in the attic. Both were taken into custody. The Sheriff says, "You would think that he would be man enough to say - yes, she's here and we're gonna do the right thing - but for whatever reason - he chose the other path and denied it and so he's got a 17 year career that's basically shot down the drain."

Munn is now being held in the Effingham county jail on a charge of hindering the apprehension of a criminal. He had been suspended from metro police back in June due to an investigation of some dealings he was being implicated in with Hickling who is a convicted felon. He resigned from the force on November 28th. Hickling had been supposed to report to jail on November 4th to begin serving a three year sentence for fraud, but never showed up. She has now been transferred to the Chatham County jail.

More Information: http://www.wsav.com/midatlantic/sav/news.apx.-content-articles-SAV-2008-12-16-0012.html

Officer Allen Pettit Charged with Stealing Drugs

A former Fallowfield Township police officer is in jail today after he was formally charged Tuesday with stealing drugs from a case he investigated.

Allen E. Pettit, 46, of 824 Maple St., Harwick, was charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition, perjury, hindering apprehension or prosecution, tampering with or fabricating evidence and obstructing the law.

The case against Pettit stems from 2006, when he arrested Charles Paith, 26, of Van Voorhis. During the raid of Paith's house, Pettit seized 5 ounces of cocaine and nearly a pound of marijuana.

Washington County District Attorney Steve Toprani said Pettit is the last person to have custody of the drugs when he picked them up from a state police laboratory in March 2006.

The drugs were discovered missing when Pettit allegedly falsely testified in court during an April 2007 hearing that the evidence had been destroyed.

Toprani declined comment on the status of Paith's prosecution.

Washington County Chief County Detective Mike Aaron served an arrest warrant on Pettit in Springdale Township.

He was arraigned before Cheswick District Magisterial Judge David J. Sosovicka and remanded to the Washington County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 straight cash bond.

Pettit faces a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Larry Hopkins in Charleroi at 2:45 p.m. Nov. 7.

Pettit resigned from the Fallowfield police department, where he was captain, in 2006.

In July 2007, he pleaded guilty to a charge of theft for using his municipal gas card to fill his private vehicle.

He was placed on probation for 12 months in the wake of that incident.



http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_595689.html

Officer Nicole Drane Arrested for Helping a Serial Bank Robber

An East Point police officer has been arrested for allegedly helping a serial bank robber, East Point police said.

East Point police said they arrested one of their own officers, Nicole Drane, on 15 different counts.

Drane is accused of misusing the police department’s computer to let a suspect in 12 bank robberies know if he was wanted.

VIDEO: East Point Officer Accused Of Helping Robber

Authorities said they took Drane into custody Thursday for violating her oath of office, hindering the apprehension of a suspected criminal and bribery.

The charges are related to Drane’s connection to Malik Dillard, a suspect involved in a string of bank robberies along the East Coast, including some in Georgia. Dillard told the FBI he had help from someone on the inside, according to East Point officials.

Dillard told investigators that he would call Drane after some of the robberies to see if authorities were looking for him.

"Well, it doesn't sit very well but I have to look again, maybe they're not paying them enough at East Point so they have to have some extracurricular activity. But no, it doesn't sit well," said East Point resident Michael Freeman.

Authorities said Drane is currently in custody at the Fulton County Jail.

Drane's first court appearance was Friday at 11 a.m. Her bond was set at $450,000.

More Information:

http://www.cbs46.com/news/17689058/detail.html