HEADLINE: Officer pleads no-contest in drug charge 

BYLINE: Staff and wire reports 

ROSWELL A former Roswell police detective has pleaded no contest to two counts of drug possession. 

Michael Cooper entered the pleas Monday in state district court. A no-contest plea means that Cooper has chosen not to challenge either of the two counts. 

Last November, police found cocaine in Cooper's desk at work. The packaging of the drugs suggested they may have come from the police evidence room. A subsequent search of his home revealed more evidence of cocaine, as well as methamphetamine use. 

DATELINE: BATON ROUGE, La. 

Two police officers accused of stealing guns from an evidence room have been placed on unpaid leave. 

Sgt. Robert McGehee and Cpl.  Tommy Morrison had been on paid leave until April 24, just over a month after they were arrested, according to letters from Baton Rouge Police Chief Greg Phares to the two officers. 

Both men still face hearings to determine whether they will be fired. 

McGehee and Morrison were arrested March 23 on one count each of conspiracy to commit felony theft and 36 counts each of felony theft, malfeasance in office and filing or maintaining false public records. 

They are accused of keeping and distributing guns from the evidence room that were documented as destroyed. McGehee was supervisor of the evidence room at the time and Morrison worked under him. 

HEADLINE: CLARIFICATION 

An article about the Police Department evidence room in the Sunday Advocate reported that police officers can get three "found property" handguns for their own use during their careers if the guns are not claimed by their owners.  Police Chief Greg Phares said several restrictions apply. The guns must be of the caliber and type approved by the Police Department for off-duty use and be from a quality manufacturer. Also, revolver barrels can be no longer than 4 inches and semiautomatic pistol barrels can be no longer than 5 inches. 

HEADLINE: Prosecutors dismiss state charges against former sheriff's deputy 

DATELINE: GREAT FALLS

Prosecutors have dismissed state charges against a former Cascade County sheriff's deputy accused of stealing more than $15,000 from an evidence room. 

In doing so, prosecutors noted Deborah Baumgart, 44, may have tampered with evidence in federal cases and could not be prosecuted in U.S. District Court.  State charges must be dismissed before a federal indictment can be filed, but Baumgart has not been charged with any federal crime. 

District Judge Kenneth Neill dismissed the state charges Monday without prejudice, meaning the state case still could be reopened. 

Baumgart pleaded innocent in April to felony theft and evidence tampering and misdemeanor official conduct. She was fired in March.  Baumgart, a former sergeant, was the highest-ranking woman ever in the sheriff's office.  Court documents described an accumulation of large debts and an admitted gambling problem.

HEADLINE: Collinsville police chief stepping down 

Collinsville's police chief will leave office June 1 after resigning under pressure from the City Commission, which the chief says is upset about his planting a listening device to eavesdrop on department employees. 

"I would have preferred to go on being the chief but can't under the circumstances," Roger Horner said Wednesday. 

He submitted his resignation Tuesday after a representative from the City Commission asked him to do so, Horner said. 

Suspecting that someone was tipping off suspects before his officers could serve search warrants, the chief hid a listening device in the room with police dispatchers, he said. 

"We had served a number of warrants over the past six months when it was obvious that the suspects had been expecting us," Horner said. "I knew I had a leak, and I wanted to find it. It was a matter of protecting my officers." 

The listening device didn't prove to be helpful in the investigation, but other evidence of leaks led to the firing of a department employee, Horner said. 

After more than 23 years in law enforcement, Horner said he plans to take college courses and consider another type of career. He served as chief for three years and two months. 

This is the second time in recent years that Collinsville, a town of about 3,600 people 20 miles north of Tulsa, lost a police chief under controversial circumstances. Horner took office after the City Commission fired former chief Don Abel in fall 1996.  Abel was charged with distributing a controlled substance, allegedly stealing ephedrine from the department's evidence room and offering it to a female dispatcher in exchange for sex. 

He pleaded no contest and received a two-year deferred sentence in July 1998. The case was to have been dismissed with no conviction if he successfully completed his two-year probation. Abel was arrested again in January and later charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Michael Overall, World staff writer,  can be reached at 581-8383 or via e- mail at michael.overall@tulsaworld.com. 

HEADLINE: AGENTS PROBING LOSS OF MONEY, GUN, MARIJUANA FAIRFIELD SHERIFF'S OFFICE 

BYLINE: Rita Price, Dispatch Staff Reporter 

State agents are poring over hundreds of items in the Fairfield County sheriff's evidence room, trying to determine how marijuana, money and a gun disappeared. 

The investigation is the latest unwelcome flap at the department, where Sheriff Gary K. DeMastry continues to serve despite the weight of 323 corruption charges pending against him. 
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation began an audit of the evidence room last week at the request of Terre L. Vandervoort, Lancaster city law director. 

Vandervoort, whose office handles misdemeanor crimes, said "a small amount'' of marijuana, cash totaling less than $ 100 and a gun that were being held as evidence in two cases disappeared between September and March. She said yesterday that she wrote DeMastry about the missing marijuana on Sept. 20. "We had no response,'' Vandervoort said. 

On March 2, she recommended an audit to county Prosecutor David Landefeld. Landefeld then contacted the bureau. A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office, which oversees the bureau, said yesterday that investigators would not comment on the case. Landefeld said the sheriff's department is cooperating with agents. "I know that BCI has done these audits in other counties,'' he said. "This is not unique. I'm not saying it's routine, either.'' 

DeMastry was out of the office yesterday. Capt. John D'Andrea said the department performs inventories on the evidence room regularly. "We don't have any idea'' what happened to Vandervoort's evidence, he said. D'Andrea said it's possible that some of the items were removed and not returned. "It could be in testing,'' he said of the marijuana. Generally, evidence is kept until the court makes a final disposition in the case. "I've never had this happen,'' Vandervoort said. 

Tim Schaffer, chairman of the county Republican Party, said community leaders are tiring of law-enforcement scandals. DeMastry has pleaded not guilty to 323 charges, including theft in office and money laundering. His wife and three officers also have been charged in the 351-count indictment, which involves allegations of use of thousands of taxpayer dollars for personal travel, dining and entertainment.

And last week, Lancaster Police Chief Richard Schwader resigned rather than face administrative charges of 53 ethics violations. 

Schwader was accused of using police money improperly to keep items such as paintball guns, a computer, a camera and an M-16 rifle for personal use. "Frankly, I've had it with some of the ethics being exhibited here,'' Schaffer said. "It's disappointing.'' Schaffer said party officials still want DeMastry, who lost the Republican primary, to step down. He has said he will serve out his term, which ends Dec.  31. 

HEADLINE: Sheriff's wife faces new charges 

DATELINE: LANCASTER, Ohio 

The wife of Fairfield County Sheriff Gary DeMastry has pleaded innocent to 12 additional charges of theft in office and money laundering, a newspaper reported. 

Penny DeMastry - who was in charge of finances in the sheriff's office - was charged with 10 more counts of theft in office and two more counts of money laundering, the Eagle-Gazette of Lancaster reported for its Thursday editions. 

The sheriff was indicted on a reworded racketeering charge, said Assistant Special Prosecutor Stephen Wolaver. The previous charge is expected to be dismissed and replaced with the new charge. The charges came from a grand jury session last week. 

Both DeMastrys pleaded innocent Wednesday at an arraignment before Judge James Luse of Fairfield County Common Pleas Court. In February, Sheriff DeMastry pleaded innocent to 323 charges, including theft in office and money laundering. Along with his wife, three officers also were charged in a 351-count indictment. 

Mrs. DeMastry was charged in February with three counts of theft in office and two counts of money laundering, along with a variety of other offenses. A special grand jury investigation started last year after a state audit accused the sheriff's office of misspending $287,275 from 1994 to 1997. Last week, it was announced that state agents were looking into whether marijuana, money and a gun disappeared from the evidence room of the sheriff's office. 

HEADLINE: Ex-officer pleads guilty to stealing 

BYLINE: ROD WALTON 

MUSKOGEE -- A former Muskogee police officer pleaded guilty Friday to stealing more than $ 30,000 from his department's fund for undercover drug bust operations. 

Joseph Randolph entered his blind plea to a felony embezzlement count in front of District Judge Mike Norman.  The blind plea meant that Randolph had made no plea bargain with Muskogee County prosecutors. 

He will be sentenced by Norman on July 28. ''The only statement he gave was 'I took money out of the evidence locker,' '' Assistant District Attorney David Pierce said. 

The amount of money, investigators believe, was $ 30,378 taken over a period of time and from different accounts. Some of the funds used were reserved for undercover-unit equipment and some was from seizures, Pierce said. 

Although the District Attorney's Office has made no penalty recommendation, state guidelines say Randolph could serve up to five years in prison and pay $ 3,000 in fines as well as restitution. 

The city of Muskogee has been negotiating with Randolph and his attorney, Orville Loge, on possible methods of restitution. One possibility, Pierce said, was paying the city back money from Randolph's retirement account. 

Loge previously has stated his client planned to make restitution. Sending Randolph to prison, however, would make that payback impossible, he said. Randolph was a 20-year police veteran and former member of Muskogee's special investigations unit. He was charged last year with the embezzlement count. Randolph was arrested after leaving Muskogee for Wisconsin.